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Nicole laughed along at the betrayed look on their own beloved bespectacled girl, even as her blonde counterpart seemed to further tug on what remained of Penny's social graces. Having already weathered what passed for Astrelle's good cheer, Nicole found it hard to be bothered by the girl's snide attitude, but she also wasn't the one directly under attack. If Penny could go without using that cast of hers as a club and beating down on Amanda's head, then Nicole could go without getting her in a full nelson and helping her out.

Her head craned upward at the sound of the dinner chime, and she felt a little rush of excitement go throughout her body - not a rush, actually, more of a breeze. Yeah, a breeze, fluttering out from her core and into her extremities. She found it hard to even concentrate on whatever remained of her food from here.

[color=ec008c]"What else?"[/color] she asked rhetorically. [color=ec008c]"It's just about showtime. Soon we won't have to argue about whether it's all it's cracked up to be or not. We each can just decide for ourselves."[/color] If she could have winked at Amanda and Astrelle at the same time, she would have. [color=ec008c][i]I guess that would just be a normal blink, though.[/i][/color] Not cool looking. So she didn't even try.

Speaking of the girl in question, she turned to the aloof half of the table - the one-woman bridge between them, Penny, and Dana in their little burgeoning clique. She smiled at them both playfully.

[color=ec008c]"I'm counting on you two not to upstage me, okay?"[/color] she asked, with a mock note of pleading and a twinkle in her eyes. [color=ec008c]"I know I'm just a material girl, material world and all, but if I'm not the chicest girl on the team I don't really have much else going on. So do your best to be average for once, [i]vi prego, belle?[/i]"[/color]