[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200507/3172b76c699a5400e2cee4174371b60a.png[/img]  [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200507/735939bbb450cb9ee8bb687fe1e82b15.png[/img]  [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200507/1ee8c36b9c13b6e3eb6462695bb39964.png[/img] 
[img]https://i.imgur.com/zt4muLr.png[/img]
[sub][color=ff4de1]Savannah Payton[/color] [color=slategray]|[/color] [color=ffcc00]Erica Monet[/color] [color=slategray]|[/color] [color=FFA54D]Tyler Jane Morrissey[/color]
[color=slategray]A [@NeoAJ] [@smarty0114] and [@Melissa] Collaboration[/color][/sub][/center]
[hider=Moments earlier…]

Once she’d gotten her tray of food, a bowl of fruit along with a plate of scrambled egg whites and some toast, Erica strutted across the cafeteria and took a seat across from Savannah, flashing a grin. [color=ffcc00][b]“Savvy, you’re looking excellent, as always.”[/b][/color] She took a bite of her food, and once her mouth was free, continued speaking. [color=ffcc00][b]“If I try to take an 8:00 AM next semester, hit me.”[/b][/color]

...

At that moment, Tyler finally spotted Savannah and Erica sitting across the room and made a beeline towards them, fumbling with her tray and nearly dropping her breakfast along the way. Choosing one of the seats that ensured her back was towards public enemy #1, she sat down at the table with her friends and gracefully slipped off her backpack, placing it on the floor beside her. 

Trying to shake off the unsettling feeling in her stomach, the redhead offered a smile to her friends, hoping it didn’t come off too forced. [color=FFA54D][b]“Morning ladies,”[/b][/color] Tyler Jane greeted, relieved she didn’t need to eat alone, especially today. Taking a sip of her breakfast, she relished the delicious taste of fruit which masked out the flavor of the greens completely, just as she liked it. [color=FFA54D][b]“What’s everyone up to today, anything exciting?”[/b][/color][/hider]
Savannah bristled slightly at Erica’s compliment. Granted, she was flattered that even after an hour on the track she could still maintain a high standard in her appearance. However, at the same time, she knew that made her an attractive target. [color=ff4de1]“I’ll try to hit you Erica, but you and I both know that’s a tough ask. Granted it’ll probably shake up my routine.”[/color]

Not that she wanted to. Sav liked the little schedule she had for herself now. Run, eat, school, eat, Netflix, sleep, rinse, repeat. The routine felt safe, like she almost knew where everyone and everything was going to be. It was a soothing thought in this crazy New Mexico world.

[color=ff4de1]“Same as it ever was for me,”[/color] she confirmed to TJ. [color=ff4de1]“Besides, you two are more exciting than I ever am. What’s the plan for y’all today?”[/color]

Erica chuckled at Savannah’s comment, and then turned to greet Tyler. [color=ffcc00][b]“Hey TJ,”[/b][/color] she said, a warm smile spreading across her face once more. Her attention was stolen for a moment, by one Samuel Costigan, and her eyes followed him until he met up with Sol and Leo. Erica quickly brought her attention back to her friends. She didn’t totally understand why the sight of Sol and Sam next to each other made her stomach do flips. She also wasn’t very keen on finding out.

[color=ffcc00][b]“I’ve got Bio in a bit, and then P.E.”[/b][/color] Erica said, shrugging. The tips of her fingernails tapped a quick rhythm against the table. [color=ffcc00][b]“My calc teacher was saying something this morning about an assembly after dinner though.”[/b][/color]

Tyler Jane popped a few pieces of granola into her mouth, washing it all down with a sip of her green smoothie. [color=FFA54D][b]“Yeah, there’s supposedly some campus wide event on Wednesday and they’re telling us about it tonight. The administration wants to promote ‘community’ and ‘friendship’...”[/b][/color] Emphasizing the two words with air quotes, she shook her head, a sarcastic laugh flowing from her lips. [color=FFA54D][b]“Like that’ll ever happen.”[/b][/color] As friendly as Tyler Jane was, the idea of being forced to socialize with people she didn’t get along with was not her idea of fun. 

Instinctively, the redhead grabbed a strand of her hair and began playing with it as she spoke, one of her famous quirks when she got anxious. [color=FFA54D][b]“Whatever, maybe it’ll be entertaining, who knows. All I’m focused on though is trying to survive the day, I’ve got a quiz in History later. As we all know, my memory sucks and I barely remember what happened last week so it should be interesting.”[/b][/color] 

The buzzwords sounded like absolute garbage to Savannah. Who wanted to try and bring this mishmash of students together? The school may not have a large student body, but that didn’t mean that she had to know everyone’s favorite romantic comedy to survive it, right? [color=ff4de1]"Community? Friendship? Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. Besides, maybe there are some members of the community that I don’t need to be friends with.”[/color] The Texan looked right at Leo when she said that last sentence, staring a hole through the man who she was still steamed was with her workout buddy. [color=ff4de1]“At least we’ll have something in P.E. that will help me deal with this unwelcome and unnecessary addition to the schedule, right Erica?”[/color]

Erica nodded along as her friends spoke, taking bites from her fruit salad and risking glances at Sam as the steady trickle of students through the line for food continued. [color=ffcc00][b]“Oh come on,”[/b][/color] Erica said, a sudden seriousness washing over her. [color=ffcc00][b]“It might be fu-”[/b][/color] Erica’s stoney stoicism was abruptly broken. She snorted, and burst into laughter, cutting off her sentence. After a moment she calmed herself, wiped a tear from her eye, and continued. [color=ffcc00][b]“Jesus, couldn’t even say that with a straight face. Do they really think some stupid kumbaya session is gonna erase all the tension at this place?”[/b][/color] 

[color=FFA54D][b]“Apparently so.”[/b][/color] Tyler Jane stated matter of factly before catching Erica stealing glimpses in the direction of the breakfast line. Once she followed the girl’s gaze, the redhead quickly realized it wasn’t because she was hungry. After all, she had a plate of food sitting right there. [color=FFA54D][b]“Speaking of tension…”[/b][/color] Tyler drawled, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Erica, taking another sip of her smoothie instead of finishing her sentence. 

Sav had to stifle herself when Erica burst out laughing. She knew that Erica wasn’t down for this either. It’s like they almost shared a personality or something. They definitely shared the same concerns apparently, and there was no way Tyler Jane was going to let that one go. Savannah knew she always had concerns, but Erica? That was something else. The girl finished another dollop of oatmeal. [color=ff4de1]“Yeah, Erica. I mean, I know why I’m tense. What’s up with you? Math really that terrible this morning?”[/color]

Erica smirked, and locked eyes with TJ and Sav. She could lie, pretend like it wasn’t that big of a deal, brush whatever it was that they might have noticed off. Erica Monet was not a liar though, and the way she saw it, there wasn’t much to hide. [color=ffcc00][b]“Sam is just looking particularly good today,”[/b][/color] Erica said, almost nonchalant. [color=ffcc00][b]“I would go talk to him, if he wasn’t with [i]those two[/i].”[/b][/color] Erica nodded her head towards the trio, ever so slightly.

[color=FFA54D][b]“Oh [i]really[/i]? Is that all?”[/b][/color] Tyler Jane pried, trying to get just a bit more information out of her friend. Maybe it was something about the way that Erica looked at Sam that sparked curiosity. The redhead was a bit of a hopeless romantic, so she was all for any type of gossip relating to guys, especially when it came to the interests of her friends. But as Erica mentioned his compatriots, Tyler rolled her eyes and fake gagged out of pure disgust; a complete 180 degree switch. 

[color=FFA54D][b]“Ugh I’d stay far away from Leo this morning if I were you, total perv city. He tried to seduce me in the dance studio right before this. I kicked him.”[/b][/color] Acting like it was nothing, Tyler gingerly picked up a piece of granola and inspected it before placing it in her mouth, repeating the same process with her next few pieces.

[color=ff4de1]“Oh TJ, please tell me you neutered that douchebag with your kick!”[/color] Savannah commented, not ready for that tidbit of information. Granted, she always fantasized about delivering a solid boot of her own to San Agustin’s resident lover boy, but then she would have to get close to Leo, and that was a proposition the Payton girl had no desire to be a part of. So the fact that he tried to get close enough to Tyler to pull it off and received what Sav determined in her mind to be an exquisite roundhouse kick was validation for this morning’s bad vibes.

[color=ff4de1]“I’m sorry, I mean, how could you do that Tyler Jane? The poor boy won’t be able to get laid for a week!”[/color] She laughed, but it also could explain why Sol was hanging so close to him this morning. As comfort. [color=ff4de1]“Well, maybe Sol can tell me just how much damage you did to his psyche later on. Gotta be some good to come out of her hanging out with him so much. I don’t understand it…”[/color]

[color=FFA54D][b]“Sorry to disappoint you Sav, but as much as I would have loved to kick that boy where the sun doesn’t shine, I over exaggerated. He had the [i]audacity[/i] to get in my face while I was stretching- you know like a leg extension, foot to ceiling moment- so foot went to chest and I pushed him away. I surprised myself actually with how strong of a push was.”[/b][/color]

[color=ffcc00][b]“Good for you TJ,”[/b][/color] Erica said. [color=ffcc00][b]“It’s like he’s on a fucking mission to sleep with every single girl before the end of the year,”[/b][/color] she said, rolling her eyes. She ignored Sav’s comment about Sol. She didn’t love that the two of them had gotten so close, Sol made her nervous, which was annoying to say the least. She would never say it out loud, but Erica was intimidated by her. That said, she liked Sav a lot, and she wasn’t about to jeopardize a friendship over some gut feeling. [color=ffcc00][b]“One of these days, it’ll bite him in the ass. Karma’s a bitch, and sometimes she’s late, but she always gets there eventually.”[/b][/color] 

[color=ff4de1]“Let’s hope so,”[/color] Savannah concurred. [color=ff4de1]“I mean, let’s face it, I’m not going to be the one to do it, although I can guarantee I will block his attempt to fuck his way through the entire female roster of San Agustin. I don’t need dick that badly. He tries it, I’m just gonna take off on him. Let’s see him catch me.”[/color]

Tyler Jane laughed [color=FFA54D][b]“You do run pretty fast. I doubt he’d be able to keep up even if he tried- I’m sure his ego would weigh him down.”[/b][/color] 

The redhead took one last sip of her breakfast before the dreaded slurping noise from her straw indicated there was nothing left of her smoothie. With a slight frown, she placed the empty cup back on the table and gazed around the cafeteria. Mondays always had this sort of bad energy that seemed to weigh over the day like a storm cloud, even if the weather outside was absolutely perfect (like it was today). Hopefully something interesting would happen to brighten the mood, and not just for her sake. With a grumble, she placed her forearms on the table and rested her chin on her hands, pouting her lips. [color=FFA54D][b]“Can we skip to the weekend already? I really don’t want to take this quiz.”[/b][/color]

[color=ffcc00][b]“You’ll be fine,”[/b][/color] Erica said, drawing out the last word in order to emphasize just how fine TJ would be. [color=ffcc00][b]“Speaking of the weekend, we should do something, I don’t know, normal.”[/b][/color] Erica’s head swiveled as she looked around the room. [color=ffcc00][b]“We could have a little shin-dig,”[/b][/color] Erica said, almost singing the last bit. [color=ffcc00][b]“There are [i]some[/i] cool people here.”[/b][/color]

Savannah’s ears perked up at that notion, to the point where she was rubbing behind her left ear as her right hand tried to scoop up the last bit of oatmeal. There would be only one reason that Erica was doing her sneaky monitoring when she mentioned her plan for “something normal,” and that meant all kinds of trouble. [color=ff4de1]“Are you talking about the kind of ‘shin dig’ I think you’re talking about? Because, one, it’s probably not the best idea on a campus like this where there aren’t a lot of places to pull that sort of thing off. Two, cool people may show up, but there will also be the uncool people, because everyone will know about this party. Including the king of the jackasses over there.”[/color] She nodded at Leo. [color=ff4de1]“Three, we know no one here who is 21 and can score booze. Four, parties are so played out, aren’t they? What is this, Euphoria? I don’t need to be trying to think about that while I’ve got midterms coming up. And five,”[/color] Savannah held the hand out that she was using to illustrate her points but she was struggling to finish the job. [color=ff4de1]“Five, I really wish I could think of another thing off the top of my head to make this even out, but I can’t.”[/color] Dissatisfied with herself, she officially finished off her oatmeal.

Tyler Jane’s head popped up as soon as Erica mentioned the word shindig. A quote unquote get together was exactly the excitement she craved on this dreary Monday morning and would easily help her sail through the week. Ever since arriving on campus, things felt a little too structured. Maybe it would do her, and the rest of her friends, some good to let loose a little bit. Especially after hearing the blonde next to her ramble on about every reason why it was a bad idea, made it seem even more like a good one. 

[color=FFA54D][b]“Oh come on Sav, just think of how much fun we’ll have!”[/b][/color] The redhead exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her seat. [color=FFA54D][b]“And we’ll worry about the minor details later. When there’s a will, there’s a way.”[/b][/color] She stated, mostly in reference to the aforementioned alcohol. [color=FFA54D][b]“[i]This[/i] is the kind of thing that’s going to foster community and friendship, not some lame campus sanctioned event. We’ll simply do the administration’s work for them!”[/b][/color]

[color=ffcc00][b]“That is the spirit TJ,”[/b][/color] Erica said, grinning. She turned her head towards Sav and cocked it, a playful smirk pulling at the corners of her lips. She held up one finger. [color=ffcc00][b]“One, if anyone can keep this thing under control, it’s us. The boys upstairs will never even know anything is going on.”[/b][/color] Erica brought up a second finger, to join the lonely first. [color=ffcc00][b]“Two, wherever we throw this thing, it’s our party. We can always tell Leo to fuck off.”[/b][/color] Erica’s usual confidence was on full display, her words laced with a nonchalance that came only from believing you were right. 

A third finger went up. [color=ffcc00][b]“Three, getting booze isn’t about being twenty one, it’s about being creative. I’m sure we’ll think of something.”[/b][/color] As she finished her sentence, her fourth finger went up, leaving only her thumb resting against the palm of her hand. [color=ffcc00][b]“Four, this is obviously Zoey 101, but also, parties are absolutely not played out. We’re seventeen! This is our chance to do stupid things before life shows up to beat us into submission!”[/b][/color] Erica’s playful smirk was replaced by a triumphant grin as her thumb finally stretched out, and her five fingers stuck into the air. [color=ffcc00][b]“And five, it’ll be hella fucking fun.”[/b][/color]

Savannah was outnumbered. In more ways than one. She should have known better than to try and match wits with Erica, especially considering she was already warmed up with math stuff. Plus, there was no doubt that her small-town ideals are going to fall flat against Erica’s grand plans. There was no stopping her when she got on a roll like that. She was like a rampaging… avalanche. 

She let her spoon fall to the bowl and threw her hands up in defeat. [color=ff4de1]“All right, all right, you win. You both win. Party is on. But I don’t want things to get all crazy! This may be Zoey 101, but that doesn’t mean we have to do something stupid that leads to some touching moment at the end where we reveal we learned a valuable lesson about true friendship or something like that. Let’s keep it quiet, between [b]OUR[/b] cool people…”[/color] She leaned in and spoke softly. [color=ff4de1]“And if we can find some Hpnotiq, I’ve always wanted to try it. I heard it in so many songs…”[/color]

A gentle laugh escaped Tyler Jane’s lips, watching her friends banter back and forth. Something about the camaraderie between them was comforting in a way the redhead couldn’t explain, almost as if she wasn’t used to it, which didn’t make much sense since the three had been close since day one. [color=FFA54D][b]“Beggars can’t be choosers, Sav. We’ll take what we can get, if we can get anything in the first place that is.”[/b][/color] Drumming her fingers on the table, Tyler tried to brainstorm which student in their class would be the most resourceful when it came to smuggling in illegal contraband. With no name in particular coming to mind, she dropped the subject. [color=FFA54D][b]“Regardless, this is going to be great. Now who will we invite…”[/b][/color] The girl’s eyes searched around the cafeteria, analyzing which of their classmates would be on their unofficial guest list. 

[color=ffcc00][b]“Yes!”[/b][/color] Erica hissed, thrilled that she’d gotten Savannah on board. She joined Tyler in scanning the cafeteria, weighing her classmates pros against their cons. [color=ffcc00][b]“Charlie and Bradley are cool, Zakya too,”[/b][/color] Erica’s voice trailed off as she racked her brain for those outside of the cafeteria. [color=ffcc00][b]“Quinn and Frankie are fun, and if you invite one you’ll get the other. I trust your guys’ judgement.”[/b][/color] Erica said. Before she could continue, Hana took a seat at the table, and Erica’s thoughtful visage was replaced by her welcoming smile.

[color=ffcc00][b]“Hana! Just in time! You’ve been invited to our shindig, this Friday night. Don’t even try arguing with me, Savvy here already lost that one.”[/b][/color]