Fourth Floor Common Room, Monday Night

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

George was bored. And so George went to one of those common rooms, picked up the remote, and began channel-surfing.

One station was re-running the movie Hint, and nothing else seemed to be on, so she was going to go with it.

She rummaged in the kitchen to find microwaveable popcorn and settled in for the movie. People could join her, if they felt like it. It was a common room and all.

(Very open!)

Comments

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba had been reading, but a girl can't spend all her day going over books. She was a little worried by the tone of the book she had been reading. How awful to live in a world where no animal could speak. At least at this school there was a frog, even if he seemed like no frog Elphaba had ever seen.

She arrived in the common room and stared befuddled at the TV.

"Is this a film?" she asked, glad that Kate had at least somewhat prepared her for the concept.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it's a pretty good one," George said, offering Elphaba the bowl of popcorn she'd just retrieved from the microwave. "Kind of silly. Have you ever played Hint?"

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba had definitely never played Hint. "Is that a sort of guessing game?" she asked, trying to deduce from the name. There were plenty of guessing games she had played with Nessarose while growing up.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"Kind of," she said, munching on more of the popcorn. "It's a board game. You go around to different rooms and try to figure out which character killed somebody."

Murder mystery in its simplest form, really.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"And what does this have to do with the film?" Elphaba asked, trying to follow along with what George was explaining.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"Think so," Squall answered flatly, with a shrug.

(At least, it doesn't seem like a television program. Maybe it is.)

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Have you never seen one, either?" Elphaba asked. "This is beyond what we had back in Munchkinland, of that I am certain."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall sighed and shrugged. "I meant, it looks like a movie and not a show." Way to explain yourself there, Squall. "It's not awful."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"I am not following," Elphaba said. "They have different kinds of the moving pictures with sound?"

Thanks, Kate, for that description.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall stomped down from the fifth floor, opened the pantry, and stared at the snacks. Sure, he could just eat whatever -- he didn't care -- but all of the snacks upstairs sucked.

It wasn't his fault he was distracted by the television. It was Tim Curry's fault. Not that he'd moved from in front of the open pantry, yet.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"I have popcorn," George offered, waving the bowl in his direction. "The microwave even has a 'popcorn' button, so I didn't screw it up."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall shrugged. "Whatever."

He wasn't really in the mood for popcorn, but... he wasn't really in the mood for anything else, either. So he went and sat down by George and reached for the bowl.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

She munched silently for a few minutes before going, "You seem cheerful."

Well. It had to be said.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall munched silently for a little bit, too. "So do you."

Not that he cared, though.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss had been too full of energy after her hunt to just settle in her new room. So after replacing her bow in the weapons locker, she'd taken to wandering the dorms until she found a room that not only had people, but the scent of food.

"Popcorn?" she guessed. The smell was distinctive, even if she hadn't had it before Fandom.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"I believe that is what George made," Elphaba said, nodding in the other girl's direction. "She will share, if you are kind."

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss was reminded instantly and sharply of Octavia, the woman on her prep team who dyed her skin green. It was very fashionable in the Capitol! And as irritating as she had found her team, she still thought of them more fondly than any of the other Capitol-dwellers she'd met. (Cinna aside, of course.) So it was easy for her to give Elphaba the barest hint of a smile. "I wouldn't plan on showing unkindness to anyone with food," she assured the other girl.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"A good lesson to live by," Elphaba said, and oh how she wished this was a mere fashion choice. "Though I have learned that some will show unkindness no matter what someone may offer."

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"They should try going without," Katniss said wryly. "It's easy to be unkind when you don't need anything."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"Popcorn," George confirmed. "Fresh from the microwave, with extra butter. I didn't find any napkins."

Butter stains on her jeans would not be the end of the world.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss was hardly what anyone would ever call 'tidy,' anyway. But she was appreciative of butter -- well, all rich foods, really. So she eagerly took a handful of popcorn, finding a place to perch. "What are you watching?" she asked, eyeing the television. It had to be some sort of story, not news. The delivery seemed all too dramatic.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"Hint," George said. "From that board game. Ever play it? 'It was Mrs. Ivory, in the Basement, with the Steak Knife.'"

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall looked her over, but didn't answer. If she wanted popcorn, she'd have to ask George.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss looked him over in return, raising an eyebrow. She didn't much like being examined without comment -- it happened too often at home. "Is something wrong?" she asked, forcing the comment simply because she didn't want the silence.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall shrugged. "No."

He didn't have a comment for her because he didn't ever have a comment. Besides, the movie was more interesting.