PART 2
Eden
Option 1: Attempt to remove the glass -5 points
Deciding to try and play hero, you reach down and attempt to pull the piece of glass from the kitten’s paw, careful not to cut yourself. However, as soon as you tug on the glass, the kitten lets out a loud cry of pain and Eden immediately shoves you away, knocking you flat on your butt. When you look up, you see her glaring down at you fiercely, blue eyes cold as ice with none of the gentleness she directed at the kitten.
“What are you doing??? You’re just hurting it!” She’s not quite shouting, but her voice is loud enough to draw attention, earning the two of you some curious stares from students passing by. Woops…“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-” you try to salvage the situation, but she is having none of it. In one flourish she stands up, the kitten clutched in her arms, and quickly heads back inside the school, presumably going to the nurse’s office…
You decide not to push your luck by trying to follow after her.
Option 2: Offer to take it to the vet +5 points
“There’s a vet near my house. I could take it there?” Eden jerks a little in response to your voice, proving that she really had been unaware of your presence.
She furrows her brows in thought, eyeing you up and down as if deciding if you’re trustworthy enough for such a task.
Noticing her hesitation, you add, “unless there’s one on the way to your house? I doubt we’re going the same way.” No, you were sure the two of you weren’t going the same way. It was obvious from the way she carried herself that Eden Murphy came from a well off family. You certainly weren’t poor, but you lived in a perfectly normal middle class neighborhood. She probably didn’t live anywhere close to you.
Eden confirms your suspicions with her next words. Nodding in agreement, she says, “No. That would be too far away. I don’t want it to suffer for longer than necessary.” With those words, she places the kitten in your arms and stands, giving you a stern look. “But I expect a full report on its health tomorrow!” With that, she turns around and leaves, apparently putting her full trust in you for this task.
Hmm…that would have been a good opportunity to get her phone number. Sighing, you begin your trek to the vet, kitten clutched securely in your arms. Oh well, another time.
Option 3: Suggest taking it to the nurse +10 points
“Maybe we should take it to the nurse’s office?” Eden jerks a little in response to your voice, proving that she really had been unaware of your presence. She bites her lip in contemplation (and you have to make an effort to NOT stare), before nodding in agreement. Standing up with the kitten clutched delicately in her arms, she heads back towards the school, not quite running, but steps quickened. You follow after her at a slower pace, trying not to pay attention to the obvious stares being directed at the two of you.
The school nurse is already getting ready to leave when the two of you enter. If she’s surprised to see Eden with a cat in her arms, she doesn’t show it. Instead, she smiles, walks over, and gently pets the kitten's head. “Well, what do we have here?” The nurse took the kitten from Eden’s arms and gave it a once over. “Poor thing. I’ll remove the glass and then take it to vet on my way home. Good on you kids for bringing it here.” There’s a pause as she tilts her head to the side, a curious look in her eyes as she looks from you to Eden, then finally fixes her gaze on you. “I don’t recognize, by the way. Perhaps you’ve just been lucky to never need my assistance?”
At that, Eden also glances over in your direction, as if just remembering your presence. She answers the nurse for you, simply saying, “they’re new.”
The nurse nods, a knowing smile making its way onto her lips. “Well, it’s quite unusual to see Eden here with other students.”
At that, Eden stiffens, a slight scowl making its way onto her face as she lets out a terse, “we’ll be going now,” before walking out, not bothering to wait for you. Despite saying “we’ll,” you got the feeling that she did not actually expect you to directly follow her. Nonetheless, you trail after her, and you both make it to the steps of the school before she stops and turns towards you.
She just stares at you, a frown on her face and head tilted to the side. Under her intense gaze, you feel a bit like a helpless prey, about to be pounced on by a vicious predator. What was it you’re supposed to do when encountering a bear? Play dead? You suppose the equivalent of that here would be standing very still and avoiding eye contact.
Of course, Eden Murphy was not a bear, and in fact, that was a rather crude comparison. She doesn’t sink her teeth into you, instead, she says, “thanks...for helping me with the kitten.” The words sound stiff and unnatural coming from her mouth, as if she’s not used to handing out apologies. Somehow, you don’t doubt that.
But you’re not trying to ruin her goodwill here, so rather than pointing that out, you just smile. “No problem. I’m sure most people would do the same.”
At that, she scoffs and rolls her eyes, as if you just same something terribly stupid and naive. But she looks more amused than anything, a twinkle in her eyes you can't quite put a name to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alex
Option 1: Applaud his performance -5 points
Without thinking, you begin to applaud his performance.
Alex jerks in shock at the noise, his playing coming to an abrupt stop as he stares wide eyed at you. Without the music, the sound of your clapping sounds far too loud in the empty room, so you stop.
For a moment, the two of you just stare at each other. In the silence, you can’t help but notice how green his eyes are. His glasses sit low on his nose, barely kept in place, and the hair that was previously covering half his face is held off to the side by a clip, giving you a perfect view of both his eyes.
Shaking your head, you snap yourself out of your ogling and open your mouth to say something, anything to make this situation less awkward, but before you can, Alex stands up and rushes past you out the door.
Well, that could have gone better.
Option 2: Ask what the song is +5 points
“What song is that?’ You raise your voice slightly to make sure he hears you, and clearly he does, if the way his hands slam against the keys in shock are any indication. He stares blankly at you for a few seconds, during which you can’t help but notice how green his eyes are. His glasses sit low on his nose, barely kept in place, and the hair that was previously covering half his face is held off to the side by a clip, giving you a perfect view of both his eyes. Their color reminds you of emerald gems, like the one on your moms wedding ring.
While you’re busy waxing poetry in your head about the color of his eyes, Alex finally answers you. “Um…it-it’s Claire de Lune.” You have to strain to hear him, but still, at least you actually got a verbal response.
“Ah.” Maybe his shyness is contagious, because that lame response is the only thing your brain could come up with in response. The two of you just stare at each other, before Alex seems to realize what he’s doing and quickly focuses his gaze onto the piano keys. Realizing that this situation is quickly turning awkward, you say, “it sounded beautiful,” to which he simply nods in acknowledgment.
Well…you think that was a positive interaction? It certainly wasn’t negative. Deciding to make your exit before you could somehow screw this up, you say, “well, I’ll be going now!” You turn around to leave, but then stop. Unwilling to just end things there, you add, “I’d love to hear you play again sometime.” With that, you make your exit. He doesn’t respond, no surprise, but you can feel his gaze lingering on you on your way out.
Option 3: Try to guess the song +10 points
You decide to take a guess, hoping you’ll get lucky. “Is it Moonlight Sonata?”
Alex starts, the beautiful tune of the piano abruptly cut off by an ugly noise as his hands slam against various keys in surprise. “H-huh?” He is clearly shocked by your presence, but despite that, he doesn’t look ready to bolt away like he did in the classroom, so you consider that a win and slowly inch closer, as if approaching a wild animal. “The song you’re playing, is it Moonlight Sonata?”
He stares blankly at you for a few seconds, confusion evident in the furrow of his brows. You feel real stupid, but then his lips twitch upwards, a hint of a smile, gone just as quickly as it appeared. Focusing his gaze on the piano keys, he shakes his head, “no. That’s…that’s not even close. Did you just guess randomly?” The words come out in a mumble, but you think you hear a hint of amusement in his voice.
Grinning sheepishly, you shrug, grateful that he doesn’t seem to be a music snob, “well, you know, sometimes you hear a song and think it sounds familiar, only for it to end up being completely different from what you were thinking of.” Stopping next to the piano bench, you carefully sit down, making sure to keep a wide berth between the two of you. He gives you a wary glance out of the corner of his eye, but stays where he is, hands hovering over the piano keys in uncertainty. Eager to not let this turn awkward, you say, “whatever it is, it sounded beautiful.”
He doesn’t acknowledge the compliment, just says, “it’s called Claire de Lune.” Then, after a beat of silence, “it’s my mother’s favorite.” He frowns immediately after revealing this tidbit, as if he doesn’t understand why he told you it. But before you can give it too much thought, a quiet ping catches both of your attention. Alex pulls his phone out of his pocket and peeks down at it. It takes all of your willpower to not be nosy and do the same. Whatever he reads causes him to let out a sigh as he stands up and makes his way towards the door.
Not willing to let the encounter end just like that, you call after him, “I’d love to hear you play again!” He looks back in your direction, opens his mouth, but then seems to think better of it and leaves without a word.
Still, you think that went quite well. Pleased, you smile to yourself and head home humming the tune of Claire de Lune.
@Events Squad
)
Is it a trick question?
