Third Floor Common Room, Saturday Morning

[lockestheway]

Peter prided himself in being able to adapt to any situation in a short span of time. By the end of this week, he was genuinely no longer thrown by their current location. Skeptical of half the stories that had been told him, yes, but a touch of healthy skepticism had never helped anyone.

He'd also noticed the importance everyone here seemed to put on their friendships with one another. Their little common room get-togethers. And, wel, it was obvious he was already a little behind, PR-wise, here. So what else could he do but move his ass to the common room in the morning and set out some cereal? Enough to make it look like a properly catered breakfast.

It took a little planning, sure. But if his brother had managed to make friends here - of course he had - then he'd just have to pretend to be just as loveable as Ender to get ahead.

So, cereal, a stack of plates, bread, stuff like that. And Peter with a bowl of cornflakes, watching the news.

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[dollpocalypse]

Topher was just going to wander into the common room for a bag of Cheetos, but then he saw all the food that was laid out, and his plans abruptly changed.

"Whoa," he marveled. "Did the island change again and make food?"

[lockestheway]

"Nope," Peter said, with a cheerful kind of friendliness in his tone that made him roll his eyes at himself on the inside. "Just a third floor kind of breakfast. Come on in."

[dollpocalypse]

Again with this third floor pride. But hey, free breakfast was free breakfast. He wandered in and took a bowl, then poured in a ton of cereal and comparatively little milk. Whatever, he was in this for the cereal anyway. He brought his bowl and a spoon over the couch and flopped down on it, ignoring the way the milk spilled.

"Hey."

Social skills. They existed.

[lockestheway]

Hey, third floor pride was a useful instrument if you wanted to make allies and paint a favorable picture of yourself without putting in too much effort. And it was easy to piggyback on, thanks, Kate. But whatever, Peter didn't expect anyone else to grasp that.

"Hey," he returned. "Don't I know you from the shuttle or something?"

Like seeing him from afar whilst Peter was busy mentally whining plotting the death of his parents?

[dollpocalypse]

"Probably, yeah," Topher said, actually having the decency to stop a spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth in order to respond. "I'm Topher."

[vanillajello]

Kate had a sixth sense about being mentioned in narrative wandered in, freshly showered and pulling her hair back into a ponytail, intending to get a pudding cup or two. She'd had a proper breakfast before returning from her trip, but driving was totally a craving-inducing thing.

She smirked when she saw the food laid out. "Someone's been making an effort."

[lockestheway]

This guy wasn't a big communicator, was he?

"Peter," he offered, poking his spoon through his own cereal. "So what brings you to summer camp, Topher? Parents being a pain in the ass?"

[lockestheway]

"Third floor pride, right?" Peter said, looking up. "I just thought I'd follow the bright example."

[dollpocalypse]

Nah. Communication was part of that whole "socialization" thing, and Topher was just plain bad at that.

"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "Something about getting kicked out of school, or whatever. You?"

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

What teenager wasn't going to be positive about easily accessible food? Even Effy, who picked at the best of times, wouldn't complain at being able to snag a bowl of cereal as she passed, without having to waste time pawing through every cupboard.

"Someone was busy this morning," she noted, as she sat, assuming someone might pipe up to claim it.

[vanillajello]

"Smart boy," Kate replied, not entirely sincerely but mostly. She headed for the fridge. "And the hungry people of the third floor thank you."

[lockestheway]

Oh, lovely. How many more juvenile delinquents did this school house? In his head, Peter could see the headlines again: Demagogue Actually Criminally Insane 15-Year-Old.

He gave Topher a smile that was only a bit sour if you paid attention to it. "My parents thought summer camp would be an 'educational experience'," he said.

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"It does that, it usually rains it," Effy informed him. "Likes to make you work for your food." Appearing it right on your plate was so mundane.

[lockestheway]

"What, didn't I cater enough to your exclusive tastes?" Peter asked, following her movements. "There's plenty here."

[dollpocalypse]

"Oh, gross," Topher said, wrinkling his nose. Because seeing ancient Egypt and future Japan was totally not educational.

It really was a shame he couldn't read Peter's narrative. Too bad Peter would be stuck with him a little while longer.
"So, uh," he said, around another spoonful of cereal. "You like it here?"

[lockestheway]

"Hey, I was getting some food for myself, and I thought: I can't be the only hungry teenager on the third floor," Peter said, his voice still firmly lodged in 'friendly'.

He really, really hoped this one wasn't going to be another juvenile delinquent.

"I'm Peter. Just recently moved in."

[daventryprince.livejournal.com]

It was probably not a good sign, for him, anyway, that when Alexander stepped into the room and saw plates and cereal and toast set out, his first impulse was to start cracking eggs.

He should probably see if anyone should want some first before he went about making them. He wasn't a slave anymore, after all, and kings were hardly known to fry eggs for the masses...

"Ah, good morning, everyone," he said in greeting with a smile. "Saturday morning brunch, then, is it?"

[lockestheway]

Locke Unmasked: Opinion Leader Turns Out To Be Aspiring Mob Leader, Peter thought. Or worse: Locke: Tricked Into A Mad House By His Own Parents. How Stupid Is He?

"It's... definitely different than North Carolina," Peter offered. "And that's not even going into the shifting scenery. How about you?"

[lockestheway]

"That's about right," Peter said, taking a sip from his glass of milk. "Come in and enjoy."

Please don't be another potential blot on my already-checkered record...

[dollpocalypse]

Topher blinked. "Typical," he finally said. "Well, roof food-catching parties can be fun."

[vanillajello]

"Oh, I already had breakfast." She snagged a pudding cup from a box on one of the shelves, then gestured with it in his general direction while still peering in the fridge for something to drink. "This is dessert."

[lockestheway]

"Wow, so someone's an early riser," Peter concluded, sitting forward. "Or is this one of those 'I only just snuck in and I didn't eat or sleep last night' kind of things?"

[dollpocalypse]

Topher shrugged one shoulder. "You'd think living in LA would've prepared me for weirdness," he said. Like hiding out in his basement and playing video games 24/7 counted as living in LA.

"It didn't."

[vanillajello]

Kate snorted, closing the fridge door. "I slept and I ate and I didn't sneak in," she said. "I was on a one-night roadtrip and we had to come back early 'cause my boyfriend has a workshift in the library."

[lockestheway]

"A big city kind of guy, huh," Peter said, thoughtfully. Of course he was. Weren't they the major crime centers? He wondered how much time this guy had done in juvie. Could he chalk that up to 'helping to rehabilitate' too, if the papers ever got a hold of it? "I hear the schools there can be tough."