welcome to derane academy.

[Aliyah Patterson]

Suppose you had a best friend that was exactly like you, and you know this guy that is paranoid about being gay? Why, you take them out for ice cream, of course. That is exactly what Aliyah did that Monday afternoon. They had organized all on AIM. Well, rather, Aliyah had first invited Richard just last week, but then Emmy invited him for ice cream as well, so she decided to just invite herself because she had nothing better to do on this day.

She was wearing something 'normal' today, instead of her usual Renaissance dresses she always wore. Wearing some comfortable jeans that clung to her legs and a t-shirt that was much to small for her, for if she moved her arm the tiniest bit her belly button would show. The poor dear didn't notice this of course. She twirled her hair absent mindedly in the ice cream line.

The door behind her swung open in the little bell made the familiar 'ding!' as a familiar face came in. Aliyah smiled and signaled for them to get in line with her.

[short-again. agghhh.]

[Emmy Foster]

Emmy opened the door to the ice cream shop, heard the ding, closed it, then opened it again and walked in, smiling mischeviously. She raised one eyebrow at Aliyah, silently asking if she should walk in and out again. That was just too much fun.

She joined Aliyah in line. "Hey! I didn't know you were wearing that today!" She said, admiring Aliyah's outfit. Then she looked down at her own outfit, a light blue tshirt and denim mini skirt. She was wearing flipflops on her feet, and her hair was loose. "We both look pretty casual today," she commented, brushing hair back from her face.

"So, tell me about Richard, since he isn't here yet. What's he like?" It was kind of weird to be meeting somebody she had only talked to online, even though they went to the same school.

[Aliyah Patterson]

Aliyah's smile was engraved in her face once again, as it always was when she saw Emmy. "Hey," she said. She looked down at what she was wearing. "Yes. I didn't want to spill any ice cream on one of my dresses, that's why." she said, the smile never disappearing. She looked at what Emmy was wearing. She was also wearing casual. She nodded approvingly and took a step in the line as it continued to move.

Aliyah's hair was in some bouncy curls today. Her brown hair flowed to her stomach. A few bobby pins stuck here or there in her hair. She thought for a moment. Should she tell Emmy about Richard's...she we say...dirty little secret? Remembering the night before, in the front lawn, and the awkward talk they had. Aliyah thought that Richard might be gay, and he just didn't want to admit it. (She was all wrong about this, of course, but she didn't believe him when he said he wasn't gay.) "Ohhh..." she bit her lip, wondering what she should say.”Oh, he's really nice."

When it was her turn to order, she ordered one gigantic ice cream sundae filled with crushed Oreos and fudge. Perched on top was a cherry. She coughed up the money and sat down, waiting for Emmy to finish ordering. She plunged the plastic spoon into the moon and started eating.

[Emmy Foster]

Emmy nodded. "That's really smart. I just wanted to get out of the school uniform, is all. And then we agreed to meet here, so I ran on over. I obviously beat Richard," Emmy said, looking over the different people in the restaurant. None of them appeared to be Aliyah's "Goth friend". That was how Richard had been described to her, at least.

"I would like a double chocolate Oreo Sundae," she instructed the person behind the counter. She paid, then took the sundae and joined Aliyah at a table. She dug right in. "I think I know what Heaven tastes like..." she commented, her lips turning into a smile.

"So anyway, I can't wait to meet Richard. He sounds like he's nervous about eating with two girls. I wonder why. It's not like I'm gonna kiss him or anything."

[Aliyah Patterson]

As Aliyah waited for Emmy to sit down, she looked around the ice cream shop. It was warm. The walls were painted a soothing dark brown. They framed posters of special deluxe ice cream sundaes. Aliyah and Emmy sat at the booster table in the corner. The seats were soft and made of leather.

"Yeah, I know!" she said. "I always get the Oreo sundae. They're so good." She ate another spoonful. "Yeah, I know. I don't get why, though." the junior chuckled. "Perhaps." At this moment, she had a flashback from last night- in the front lawn. Richard had kissed her. He did it without knowing it, however. He was trying to prove that hey wasn't gay. She shut her eyes tightly for a few seconds, trying to get that moment out of her head, and opened them up again.

"He's probably going to be late, as he usually is for things." she said, plopping the sweet cherry into her mouth. "I know Richard." She put the stem on a napkin and she swallowed the cherry, the taste still remaining on her tongue.

[Emmy Foster]

Emmy was enjoying her sundae, but not so much that she wasn't paying attention to Aliyah. She could tell when Aliyah wasn't telling her something. She looked on curiously as Aliyah closed her eyes briefly.

Emmy raised one eyebrow suspiciously. "So, are you gonna spill?" She asked, eating another bite of sundae and running her tongue over her lips. Maybe it was something juicy! Emmy wasn't a gossip, but she was incredibly curious, and she liked to know people's secrets.

"I knew we should have told him ten minutes and arrived in fifteen," Emmy commented, using a napkin to wipe her face. She hated when hot fudge made her lips sticky.

[Aliyah Patterson]

Aliyah gulped down some more of her sundae. "Oh, it's nothing." she said, reassuring her. "Just a weird flashback, that's all." Weird wasn't really describing it. You have to use many words to describe that night. Awkward, strange, surprising- that's what she wished she could have said. She silently wished that what happened last night didn't happen.

She took another spoon full of ice cream, along with a few crushed Oreos, slipping it gracefully into her mouth. She heard soft classical music somewhere in the background of the store. She sighed. That’s why she loved this place- it was so relaxing.

"Yeah, I know. He always leaves me hanging like this. At first, Richard is quite..." she tried to think of a word. "...confusing to figure out,” she finished. “At first you think you know him, and then something really bizarre happens, that changes everything." she still couldn't get that flashback out of her head. Everything had gone totally wrong.

"Well, anyway, that's Richard." she said, trying to get her mind off of him. "Let's talk about something...other then Richard, shall we?" she asked. Thinking of Richard made her sick.

[Emmy Foster]

"Weird flashbacks..." Said Emmy, letting the sentence dangle in the air between them. She wanted to know! But Aliyah obviously wasn't willing to spill, because nothing was being said. So Emmy took another bite of her sundae, trying to take her mind of the secret that was bouncing around inside of her brain. The speculation was driving her crazy.

"Everybody's confusing to figure out," said Emmy matter of factly. Everybody had personality traits that contradicted each other, which made them impossible to understand perfectly upon first meeting. It was paradoxical.

Emmy looked at Aliyah, confused. What was wrong with talking about Richard? But she complied and dropped the subject, talking instead about the atmosphere. "This shop makes me feel good about fattening myself," she commented, giggling.