we don't want to remember || OPEN

[ESTER LEILA SUZUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true] CUT THE CABLE

LEAVE THE OAK

[atrb=border,0,true] WE ON OUR OWN TRIP

It was well past dusk and Ester wasn't in her room like she was supposed to be. She usually stayed out of her room until past midnight when her roommate was sleeping. Ester had a low tolerance for people in general, but this woman... Ester was convinced she was sent from hell to torment her. She was loud and obnoxious. She liked to play Katy Perry and paint her toenails. There was a time when Ester asked her if she could use her headphones, but her roommate just laughed and said she didn't have headphones. Which was a lie because Ester had seen her wearing them. In frustration, Ester offered her own headphones, but her roommate squealed and said that her earwax was all over them. So in order to prevent herself from pulling that girl's hair out, Ester chose to avoid the situation. She stayed out until she was certain it was too late for her roommate to be up yapping away on her phone. Ugh... the conversations Ester had to sit through. So superficial. Shaking her head at the memory of her roommate talking about the boy who sit's next to her in algebra, Ester made her way up to the bell tower. She was almost sure she shouldn't have been here at this hour, but Ester could care less. She just needed something to help pass the time and she often took long walks along the campus. It was either that or somehow getting something to drink. It wasn't easy finding alcohol on this campus when you didn't really know anyone... or no one liked you... oh, and you weren't of legal age. That was another hurdle. Ester decided she didn't feel like climbing all the way to the top so she set herself down in the middle of the staircase. She didn't expect anyone to be around, so she wasn't concerned about blocking anyone's way. And even if it was prime hours, she didn't care. Ugh! Apathy! You son of a bitch.

FALLING IN LOVE BY THE MILLIGRAM

SO CONTENT TO SLEEP WHERE WE LAND

Lyrics by P.O.S.

[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

It was late out but Arianna couldn’t sleep. Lately she couldn’t seem to sleep a lot, as something always seemed to be on her mind. Nothing helped anymore. She tried playing music, taking sleeping aids, everything she could think of, but in the end she just ended up staring at her ceiling for hours until she did finally fall asleep. So tonight she decided to go for a walk, thinking the fresh air might do some good. She knew her roommate would appreciate it, for now she would not have to listen to the restless Ari for hours.

She didn’t understand why she had been unable to sleep during the past week. She wasn’t under any unusual amounts of stress or anything, but for some reason her brain would just not allow it. She wondered briefly if she was homesick. She hadn’t been back to the States in a couple months, opting to stay in Canada during summer, and she missed her brother. Arianna doubted that was the cause though, as she had been homesick several times during her freshman year and she had never lost sleep over it.

She tore away from her thoughts as she approached the bell tower, not realizing that had been where her feet had led her. She paused for a moment wondering if anyone was there, she really didn’t want to be bothered, and decided it was most likely her best option. What were the chances anyone was there? She carefully opened the door before walking in, watching out for any objects that could potentially trip her. She had only been in the tower a handful of times but and only during the day time, it seemed a little creepy at night. She didn’t like the dark as it was, and she could only imagine something popping out at her through the shadows.

She made her way up the stairs and she was almost halfway up before she saw someone in the middle of the staircase. She sighed in frustration as she came to a stop in front of the girl, Ester. She had seen the thunder elemental around before, it was hard not to when they were the same element and the same grade, but Arianna tried to avoid her. It was nothing personal they just didn’t mesh well sometimes. “What are you doing here?”[/color] She asked trying to keep the annoyed tone out of her voice. [/size]

[ESTER LEILA SUZUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true] CUT THE CABLE

LEAVE THE OAK

[atrb=border,0,true] WE ON OUR OWN TRIP

Ester had been lost in thoughts of nothingness. Her eyes stared straight ahead, little light offered by the moon but enough that she could make out some details in the stone wall in front of her. The darkness didn't bother her - not because she was some goth chick who 'only stayed in the shadows' - but it just didn't frighten her or make her feel uneasy. Distantly, Ester wondered what time it was, but then her thoughts were cut off when someone stepped into her line of sight of the stone wall. Narrowing her eyes, Ester's eyes flickered over to the girl standing in front of her. She recognized her immediate. She was a thunder elemental as well, but they were also in the same grade. Ester usually didn't talk to her, but Ester didn't usually talk to anyone for that matter. But Arianna seemed like the kind of person she wouldn't be able to stand. But she wasn't really in the mood for a fight... not tonight. She was too tired but at the same time too restless to get worked up. Sighing as if relenting, Ester looked away begrudgingly. "Trying to get away from my roommate," she answered truthfully, which was something for Ester. "And what about you? Did you trip your way here?" Ester was aware of the girl's habit to fall over her own feet. She'd seen her in class before, practically falling into her seat.

FALLING IN LOVE BY THE MILLIGRAM

SO CONTENT TO SLEEP WHERE WE LAND

Lyrics by P.O.S.

[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

The shadows cast by the moon made the bell tower a little creepy, reminding Arianna of a setting for a scary movie. She hated scary movies. It seemed as though something would jump out at the two girls, but she knew that would not be the case. Why had she come in here again? It was proving to be a wrong decision already. Now she had to deal with Ester and her patience was already running thin. On second thought maybe an evil murderer would put her out of her misery.

She thought Ester was going to be nice, but she just had to slip in the insult. Of course she was a klutz, but the girl didn’t have to be a bitch right off the bat. Arianna had even tried to be nice. Well that track was done now. Honestly she didn’t even know why she tried to be nice. Most people seemed to prefer that she was a bitch anyway. Maybe she was the girl everyone loved to hate, or maybe she wasn’t as convincing as she thought she was when she was being nice. Either way she didn’t really care.

Arianna glared at Ester, crossing her arms across her chest. ”Haha. You are so funny.”[/color] She started out sarcastically. She couldn’t help the fact that her feet seemed to always trip over themselves. She had tried to work on it when she was younger, taking gymnastics for several years, and it did get a little better. But then it stopped improving and she gave up; accepting the fact that she would always be a little clumsy. ”No I did not. I just can’t sleep.”[/color] She admitted shrugging a little. ”But I’m not in the mood to fight. So if you could keep your snarky comments to yourself that’d be great. K?[/color][/size]

[ESTER LEILA SUZUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true] CUT THE CABLE

LEAVE THE OAK

[atrb=border,0,true] WE ON OUR OWN TRIP

The sudden shift between civil to hostile was noticeable to say the least. Ester really didn't mean to offend the girl, at least she didn't think so, nor did she intend to pick a fight with her comment. But Ester sometimes lacked the common sense and the filter to realize that people wouldn't like some of the things she had to say. Making fun of the girl's clumsiness seemed to be one of those things that was offensive. But Arianna just laid it on her, telling her to keep Ester's snarky comments to herself because she wasn't in the mood. Ester huffed out a short laugh, looking to the side. Who was she to tell Ester what she could or couldn't do. She sounded so entitled when she said she wasn't in the mood. Ester wasn't in the mood either! But Ester really wasn't ever in the mood. It seemed the only mood she was capable of was sour. And surely Arianna was aware of that. If Ester was aware that Arianna was a tad clumsy, she probably knew Ester wasn't a people person. So it surprised her that she stuck around instead of turning on her heel and heading back down the staircase. "I don't know why you're so hostile," she said softly with a slight roll of her eyes. "I mean, you are pretty clumsy, aren't you?"

FALLING IN LOVE BY THE MILLIGRAM

SO CONTENT TO SLEEP WHERE WE LAND

Lyrics by P.O.S.

[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

If she could, Arianna would punch the lights out of the girl. But she couldn’t for many reasons. The main one being the fact that Ester could probably beat the crap out of her. Ari had never been a good fighter. It seemed like no matter how much she trained or tried she just wasn’t capable of it. Something always ended up happening to her whenever she fought and so she learned it just wasn’t worth it. Now she stuck to verbal fighting, it was much easier and only required a quick retort instead and didn’t leave bruises the size of a state.

Instead of reacting the blonde clenched her fist together and took a deep breath. She knew Ester wasn’t really a friendly person but she really wanted to be in the bell tower now that she was here. Well actually she wanted to be at the top so she could look out. But with Ester in the way and continually insulting her whenever she opened her mouth it was becoming less likely. And for now the other girl seemed to be toying with her. Ester couldn’t be stupid enough to not know why she was being hostile. Arianna had a reputation for not only being a klutz but also a bitch. Thus the answer to the question should be obvious.

“Good for you! You learned how to point out the obvious.”[/color] She said in an annoyingly fake voice. “Now if you could move to the side so I could get around you then I could stop wasting your time. Maybe you can use it to start learning other things, like not being rude.”[/color] She finished smirking a little. [/size]

[ESTER LEILA SUZUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true] CUT THE CABLE

LEAVE THE OAK

[atrb=border,0,true] WE ON OUR OWN TRIP

The girl was really on edge. Ester could tell they had more in common that the two thunders would like to admit. They were both openly hostile to others and they both really didn't like being rubbed the wrong way. But for once Ester wasn't trying to openly start a fight. She was just too tired, but the way she said things made her seem like she was looking for a fight. And Arianna was responding in the way anyone would. And now she was openly mocking Ester. The girl sighed and rolled her eyes, looking to the side of the stone wall. "Like you're not being rude yourself," Ester said bitterly. Usually Ester wasn't one to offer life advice and she actually wasn't any good at it, but the girl was just being mean. "Does anyone even like you?" she asked as she looked back at the girl, a skeptical look on her face. "You're like me, but you would never admit it." She chuckled halfheartedly. "You're a bitch, too." Ester straightened her back. "I'm not moving for you, not with that attitude." Ester did not know why she was egging Arianna on at this point. Maybe it was because her attempts at civility proved to be pointless. The girl was going to be hostile regardless of how Ester responded.

FALLING IN LOVE BY THE MILLIGRAM

SO CONTENT TO SLEEP WHERE WE LAND

Lyrics by P.O.S.

[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

It was really funny how two people could be so similar and yet so strikingly different at the same time. Sure a lot of that had to do with their elements, but Arianna didn’t like it. One bitch was enough in twelfth grade. She rubbed her head and sat down a few stairs below Ester, only half listening to the other girl at this point. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been insulted before, in fact she had heard similar things in the past. At this point it didn’t really bother her and it was actually more annoying than angering.

“Actually people do like me. Very few but then again who needs shit tons of friends anyway.” Arianna said, her anger flickering off a bit. The time was starting to hit her and she was actually beginning to feel tired. But she couldn’t go back to her room yet, she would never be able to sleep. “Yea we are similar. But you are a little lamer and have a little bit more of an attitude than I do. Which congrats for you! I didn’t even know it was possible.” The blonde said nonchalantly unable to not take a dig at the brunette. “Can we drop the attitude now? This is getting more than a little annoying.” She yawned and crossed her arms looking back at the other girl with an eyebrow raised.

[ESTER LEILA SUZUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true] CUT THE CABLE

LEAVE THE OAK

[atrb=border,0,true] WE ON OUR OWN TRIP

Ester agreed with the girl on her notion of friends. Who needed them? While Arianna said something about a lot of friends, Ester was thinking mainly about any friends. Who needed any friends? Ester certainly didn't. he didn't have a single friend in this school and that didn't bother her - at least not on the surface. She didn't need them. She didn't need anybody. So Ester was slightly impressed by the girl's opinion - if only it was because it was similar to her own. Ester watched the girl sit down and she stared at the back of her head curiously. She said something about Ester being lamer and having more of an attitude and the girl couldn't help but smirk slightly, a breathy laugh coming from her lips. Arianna asked if they could drop the attitude and Ester wasn't going to argue that for once. She leaned back slightly, the edge of the stairs digging into her back uncomfortably. "Yeah..." she said after a moment. "I'm too tired to have a pissing contest anyway." It was the truth. And she was starting to not mind the girl's company so much. Of course she would never admit to anything like that. And silence wasn't an unwelcome guest.

FALLING IN LOVE BY THE MILLIGRAM

SO CONTENT TO SLEEP WHERE WE LAND

Lyrics by P.O.S.

[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

Arianna let out a snort of laughter at the girls comment. She had never thought of it like that before, but it certainly was amusing. Maybe Ester wasn’t so bad, but Arianna still didn’t like her. They really were too much alike which made her a little frustrated. She did not like being compared to other people, least of all people she rarely got along with.

She turned sideways and leaned back against the handrail, giving her an easier view of the other thunder. It felt weird, being in this empty spooky bell tower with some girl she could hardly stand. “Funny, when I imagined taking a walk I did not imagine ending up sitting in the same place as you.” She mumbled shaking her head a little. It wasn’t meant to be an insult; she was just voicing her opinions out loud. The eerie shadows freaked her out a little and at least if they talked every once in a while she wouldn’t feel so anxious. “I certainly didn’t expect to agree to be civil with you either. Maybe we ended up in a parallel universe or something.” Arianna said dryly, half joking. Or maybe it was just a sign that they were both growing up and becoming more mature. The first one seemed a little more likely to her, given both their attitudes and reputations.

[ESTER LEILA SUZUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true] CUT THE CABLE

LEAVE THE OAK

[atrb=border,0,true] WE ON OUR OWN TRIP

Arianna mentioned that she didn't expect to end up in the same place as Ester. She wasn't surprised. Ester didn't expect to see anyone on her nightly trip. She usually didn't. When she left the room to wander the campus in the middle of the night, most people were inside and they stayed inside. There had been a few times when she had to make a run for it because as faculty member spotted her and tried to get her name so she could be written up. It's not that she cared if she was written up. She just didn't want to go through the hassle of explaining her actions - like she had to justify her own sense of freedom. But that was on rare occasions. For the most part, her walks were uneventful. Her next comment made her chuckle. "Ah, yes... A parallel universe where we are both civil. Astronomical odds." She gave Arianna a snarky smile. Absentmindedly, Ester raised her hand and started to make a shadow puppet on the wall next to her, her hand behind illuminated by the moon light from the open window. There was a moment of silence as Ester thought. "Do you like this place?" she finally asked. It must have been her exhaustion that was removing the filter from her mind.

FALLING IN LOVE BY THE MILLIGRAM

SO CONTENT TO SLEEP WHERE WE LAND

Lyrics by P.O.S.

[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

A parallel universe would certainly explain some of her actions lately. Arianna took the time to think of what this parallel universe would be like. She and Ester would actually be nice to other people, she would probably be dating that boy she had met at the beach, and she might even be friends with people on the other side of the alliance. It didn’t really sound like a great life to her, in fact it sounded pretty shitty. She couldn’t imagine being nice all the time, even the word nice as boring. “I’m pretty sure a parallel universe would majorly suck. Can you imagine what it would be like to not be a bitch all the time? It definitely would not be as fun that’s for sure.”

Arianna watched as Ester began making shadow puppets, still a little anxious. Puppets of any kind had always weirded her out a little, and even though these were shadow puppets they still were creepy. But there was no way she was going to tell any of this to the other Thunder. Who knew how long that would be held over her head. “It’s okay I guess. The Bell Tower isn’t one of my favorite places on campus but it’s not too bad. It kind of reminds me of an old church or something.” She said, sounding nonchalant but not really feeling that way at all. The more time she spent in the stronger the feeling to bolt grew. Now that Ester was in here though there was no way she could get away with it.