4th Floor Common Room, Sunday Evening

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel flipped on the TV and sat back on the couch waiting for the opening credits of The Amazing Race to begin. She really hoped Team Goth would be able to get through whatever the Speed Bump turned out to be.

Comments

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

Charlie had gotten back late the night before, and spent a lot of time thinking, but was now looking for diversion. "What's on? And hi, merry Christmas!"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You're either a little late or pretty damn early," Isabel teased. "But same to you."

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

"Deadlines, bah," Charlie said, settling in next to Isabel. "Oh, hey, I have a present for you back in my room? Don't let me leave without giving it to you."

[itsjustlanguage.livejournal.com]

Hoshi was happy to be back in the familiar common room after the week she had. "Hi! Is there anything good on?"

[mrodneymckay.livejournal.com]

Rodney, having just dumped his stuff in his room, wandered through the dorm to see who else was around. Seeing Charlie, he entered the Common Room. "Hi!" He grinned. "How was your break?"

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

"Rodney! Hi! It was good, actually," Charlie said, maybe just a shade too cheerfully. "I have a present for you back at my room. You should stop by later."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I've got one as well." Isabel glanced at the TV and frowned. "And since it looks like there's a football delay, let me go get it for you."

She returned down the hall to her room and returned two minutes later with a small box (https://shop.thehungersite.com/store/item.do?itemId=30367&siteId=220&sourceId=17&sourceClass=Category&index=3). "Here. Merry Christmas!"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"The Amazing Race should be on in a few minutes," Isabel told her. "That's always fun."

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

"Awwww, yay!" Charlie ripped into the box with enthusiasm, then held up the necklace with delight. "Oh, this is gorgeous, Isabel! Thank you!"

[itsjustlanguage.livejournal.com]

"I don't think I've seen that one. What kind of race is it?" asked Hoshi.

[mrodneymckay.livejournal.com]

"That's great," he said as he failed to notice any false cheer. "I'll bring your gift when I come down later," Rodney nodded.

"My break was okay. Well, aside from my parents being there, of course. But it was good to spend some time with Jeanie. She's almost as smart as I was when I was a few years younger than her," he added proudly.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome. I thought it was nice. I got it from a place online," she told her. "Actually I got a bunch of stuff from there. Then I saw it. I had a hard time giving it up."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"A race around the world by teams of two," Isabel explained. "They have legs to complete and tasks to do along the way. It's fun to watch how crazed people get as they get more and more tired."

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

Charlie smiled ruefully at the comments on Jeanie, used to it by now. "I'm sure she was glad to have you back for the holidays. And your parents too, really. Mostly." She took a breath. "I had a great time with my grandfather and cousins. Some new things might be coming up there, too."

[itsjustlanguage.livejournal.com]

"That sounds kind of cool," said Hoshi, smiling.

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

Charlie giggled a bit, then admitted, "I got a really old laptop from my cousins; they chipped in together, but now I can go to any coffeehouse and log in, send e-mails and play online. That was probably the coolest thing I got. Did you get to see all of your family this Christmas?"

[goodgirlmeg.livejournal.com]

So the fourth floor was pretty much Meg's home now. She spent most of her time there anyways.

"Hey!" she said when she came in.

[mrodneymckay.livejournal.com]

"Oh no, I don't think they're ever too pleased to see me. They have a tendency to blame me for the fact that they hate each other," he explained with a shrug. He was used to it by now.

"New stuff with your family?" Rodney asked distractedly. He was wondering if anyone had made coffee.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Aren't they the best?" Isabel grinned. "I love mine. I can give you some links to some addictive game sites if you'd like."

"I did. Wyatt brought me out last Sunday and brought me back this morning. It was a lot of fun."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It is," she grinned. "I'm rooting for Team Goth at the moment. And I really hope Nathan and Jen get eliminated this week because they're so damn annoying."

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

"My cousin David is sick of living with my aunt. So he and my grandfather have been plotting." Charlie checked to see if Rodney was really paying attention, and sighed. She wasn't sure if his mind was on what she was saying. Not one of his more fun traits. "They move in together, back at Hastings Glen."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Hey!" Isabel waved. "How was your holiday?"

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

"Cool! That's a good way to kill time." She gave Isabel an envious look. "So, you can just go see your parents any time you want? That's got to be convenient." And it would solve all her problems if her boyfriend could do the same.

Sadly, her boyfriend hadn't invented a teleporter. Yet.

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Hoshi. How was your break?" Charlie called out, studying her new necklace in the light.

[girlzippo.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Charlie waved to Meg, smiling as she put the necklace from Isabel on. "How was your break? Have you seen Dean around?"