fandomhighdorms | Fifth Floor Common Room, Thursday Night

Rinoa was sitting on the couch in the fifth-floor common room, surrounded by several thick books. Most of them were propped open with torn papers crammed inside, with scrawled notes about sovereignty and the illegal use of force. If it looked like she was doing research, well ... she was. Just not for school.

She was also in the process of becoming very upset at the cable channels she could find. There was a History channel, and it was showing ... something about dangerous roads. That was history? Seriously, where were the shows about military invasions?! Okay, fine, there had to be other educational channels, right?

She flipped through and found a show about a pregnant stripper, a way too tanned medium, some weird shocking incidents caught on tape, and a really detailed show about how to live off the grid, which -- while fascinating -- was not exactly relevant, and was somehow the only one that even counted as remotely educational.

She was seriously going to write a letter to ... to ... whoever was in charge of educational television, to tell them how badly they were doing with it and make them try harder to fix it, except she didn't have time right now. She'd settle for flipping channels and glaring at it and maybe hoping people would come in that she could commiserate with. Or else ask about military strategy. One or the other.

(open like a CR, bbs)

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Freddie popped into the common room looking rather... conflicted.

"I wish it was, like, everyone you know but your parents weekend coming up," he remarked, before plopping down onto a couch with his PearPad.

Rinoa huffed. "I know, right?" she said. "My father is coming."

You invited him, Rinoa.

"Maybe I can pay someone to tell him I'm not here."

"Can we do the same for my mom?" Freddie said. "She's going to freak. It's not going to be fun. I'm expecting to end this week trapped in a tick bath while being flown back to Seattle while she cleans my ears!"

There was no part of that sentence that didn't sound insane, Freddie.

"Hey sis," Jack said jovially as he flopped on the couch. "What's on the old boob tube?"

... um. Okay, his insanity sounded kind of interesting, and way more fun than her research on unlawful occupations.

"She thinks you're a dog?" Rinoa asked.

"Well, no, she just thinks that people need to have tick baths too," Freddie said. "My mom is... protective. Very protective. And once she sees the school she's just going to... I don't even know what."

"Weird stuff," Rinoa said, frowning at the TV. "I'm flipping through educational channels, but they're not showing educational stuff. They're showing exploitative stuff that's got nothing to do with anything except ... bizarre interest in other people's lives."

Rinoa was somewhat new to television. It explained a lot.

She tossed down the remote. "If you're my brother, then that means I can sic you on my dad, right?" she asked. "He's your dad, now, too, and that means you also hate him. Yes?"

Jack paused for a moment to consider that. It might be a couple of moments.

"Yes! Absolutely," Jack agreed enthusiastically. "I absolutely hate that old bastard and his... bastardly ways. He is a bastard, right?"

"My dad used to lock me in my room a lot," Rinoa said. "I got used to picking locks and shimmying down drainpipes. Then I ran away."

And had joined up with the least competent resistance group ever. Details.

"You need a security guard," she decided. "Someone to keep her from kidnapping you and dragging you back there. I'd lend you Squall, but he's mine."

"He's completely a bastard," she said, warmly. "We'll have a united front against him. This is kind of fun. I didn't realize siblings would be this much fun."

What, like it was news she was an only child? How else would she be this spoiled?

Freddie waved at Jack. "So, can we count on you for the show tomorrow?" he joked, trying to distract himself.

"...okay, I was kind of half-joking," Freddie said, after hearing Rinoa's story. It had sort of snapped him out of his whining. "But... he locked you in?"

That kind of worried Freddie.

"United fronts. Good. I like united fronts," Jack agreed, "And when my dau- sister comes from home you'll help me keep all the guys from hitting on her, right?"

"Um. No," Jack replied. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to humiliate myself anymore."

Until he stumbles into another show. Seriously. How does he do that so often?

"Come on, it's not that bad," Freddie said. "And hey, you won an autographed photo last time. That's a big plus."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "He's such a dick," she grumbled. "He kinda freaked out after Mom died."

A little, yes.

"It's cool," she said, waving a hand. "He's not going to try anything this weekend." Which was totally the point, yes. "So what do you think your mom's gonna do, for real, then?"

"Awww, I'm not your only sister?" she laughed. "Of course I will. Is she going to rebel by trying to hit on hot guys anyway? Or is she better behaved than me?"

"Well, the tick bath might be a real thing," Freddie admitted. "But... I mean, I come from a totally normal world without magic and stuff. So I really have no idea how she's going to react."

When he wandered in, Squall looked at the strange programming on the television, and the pile of books around Rinoa, and had no idea what to make of it. "Is this some sort of homework assignment?" he asked.

"Oh," Rinoa said, nodding. "I promise I won't get my wings out in front of her, then."

Er.

"That ... probably ... doesn't make you feel any better, does it?"

Parents suck," Squall agreed with an emo-filled grumble.

Especially when they abandoned you.

"Not a real one," she huffed. "Okay, you're a SeeD. Or you were. Whichever. I need strategy help. Tell me a good, solid tactical reason why Galbadia should hand back Timber to its own rightful citizens and haul ass back to Galbadia. And not just 'because it's the right thing to do' because that appears to not count for anything."

Hey, if you were going to date a trained military operative, you should at least get some perks out of it.

"...you have wings?" Freddie said, more focusing on that. At least his reaction made it sound like he thought that it was so very cool to have wings.

"Well, my mom doesn't suck," Freddie said, a little defensively. "Just... it's not going to be pretty when she learns more about the school here."

Squall gave Jack what he hoped was a friendly-ish smile. "Hey," he said, trying to remember if he'd ever actually spoken to the guy before.

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Fifth Floor Common Room, Thursday Night

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