Fifth Floor Common Room, Sunday Evening

[wasthecuteone]

Okay so. Half of everyone were little kids running amok. Petra didn't think she had a hope of corralling them all, and she wasn't that great with kids anyway, so she honestly hadn't even tried. But as the day wore on, she'd realized they'd all be getting hungry soon, if they weren't already, and might not be able to fend for themselves. She'd thought about ordering pizza, but she didn't think she had enough money for that and feared the kids would think 'pizza party' meant 'excuse to act even crazier.' So she'd called her dad and gotten his recipe for vegetable soup, packed up Fake Baby Sadie, and gone shopping, then to the common room, where a big pot of soup was now simmering on the stove with a pile of grilled cheese sandwiches on a plate nearby.

"I sure hope there are some hungry kids around here!" she sing-songed as she stirred the soup. "I can't eat this all myself!" Fake Baby Sadie made a burbling noise, and she frowned at her. The thing was really kind of creepy, the more time you spent around it. "Not you. You don't eat real food."

If any hungry big kids wanted to stop by, that would, of course, also be fine, and probably help Petra's sanity.

Comments

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

And that would be a tiny Toby peering in the doorway with a hopeful look on his face, yes.

[wasthecuteone]

"Hi, there!" Petra said, smiling warmly at the unidentified kid. "Do you want some soup? And a grilled cheese sandwich?" Kids still loved grilled cheese, right?

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Yeah!" Toby grinned, his eyes lighting up. "I mean. Yes, please."

[wasthecuteone]

Petra ladled some soup into a bowl and put a grilled cheese sandwich on a plate. "Do you want something to drink? There's milk and juice boxes in the fridge." She was not offering soda. She wasn't stupid.

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Milk's good. I don't like pop much anyway," Toby assured her.

[wasthecuteone]

"Milk it is!" Petra agreed, completely missing the mind reading there. She pulled the milk out of the fridge and poured a glass, then thought to ask the little boy, "So what's your name? I'm Petra." In case he didn't know.

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Toby. Petra's a pretty name," he remarked thoughtfully.

[wasthecuteone]

"Toby's a nice name, too," Petra said. "And that's baby Sadie," she said, pointing to the fake baby sitting up and playing with a ball Petra had knitted and stuffed with scrap fabric. "She's not real. I'm watching her for class." Wait, Toby was in that class. "Do you have a doll like Sadie, Toby?" she asked as she carried his soup and milk toward a table. She figured he could manage the sandwich.

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Um," Toby had to think about that one, grabbing the plate with the sandwich and following behind Petra. "Maybe? I think someone else is playin' with her right now, though."

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"I'm a hungry kid," Richie announced, bounding into the room. "I'll help!" He hadn't had much real food since he got up yesterday and he was kinda hungry.

[wasthecuteone]

"Great!" Petra said, already fixing him a bowl of soup. "What's your name? I'm Petra."

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"Hi Petra!" Soup? He hadn't had soup in a while. Soup was good for slurping, even if you got in trouble if you slurped too much sometimes. "I'm Richie."

[wasthecuteone]

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Richie," Petra said. She was pretty sure she didn't know a Richie already. "Do you want a grilled cheese sandwich with your soup? And you can have milk or a juice box."

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"I love grilled cheese sammiches," Richie said happily. "And juice boxes! I never get juice boxes anymore."

[wasthecuteone]

"You can have one now," Petra told him. It was apple. She was not hearing any protests. She set it on the plate with his sandwich for carrying purposes and said, "Let's find you a spot to sit and eat."

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"Thanks!" Richie had decided he was never ever going back to the orphanage. This place was way better. "Can I watch tv too?"

[wasthecuteone]

"Sure!" Petra said, looking around for the remote. Aha, remote. "Let's see if we can find some cartoons, yeah?"

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"Yeah!" Richie nodded enthusiastically. Petra was well on her way to being Richie's very favorite grownup ever, for today.

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Hi!" Toby waved tentatively.

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"Hi!" Richie waved back. "Wanna watch the cartoons with me?"

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Sure!" Toby beamed. "What ones is it?"

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"I dunno." Richie shrugged. He didn't get to see a lot of cartoons. "The lady found it."

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"I don't get many cartoons either," Toby sympathised. "So whatever it is, it'll prob'ly be good."

[richieryan.livejournal.com]

"It's a cartoon," Richie said, as if that explained everything. Of course it was good. But then, Richie wasn't exactly discerning when it came to entertainment, what with being 5 and all.

"Have you seen this one afore? I don't 'member it."

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

Toby shook his head. "Nope. It's all new." Which was bound to happen with the fact that six-year-old Toby was from the mid-80s.