"Which Way Up?" Rozalia undressed for bed, all the way to her skin, and buried herself under the covers, finding the feeling to be exceptionally erotic. She didn't consider herself very sexy—after all, who on Earth would want her? Then again...she spent more time away from Earth than on it. Maybe on one of those dream worlds, far away, she could really be herself, be loved, and be accepted. Just one more reason to go there. When she came home that night, her uncle already had dinner made and was waiting for her. They smiled at each other, a rare moment of tranquility between them, and sat down for their meal. Rozalia spoke of her day, how she was doing in her classes and whether or not she had made any friends (she hadn't), and mentioned the possibility of staying late to attend a special club. Her uncle seemed pleased that she was actually socializing and not staying in her shell as much, and was silent for most of the meal. Rozalia helped wash dishes, and excused herself to her room so she could complete her reading assignment. Since books were a way of escaping that stagnant life she lived, she went to them whenever her other outlets were unavailable—or, as was the case now, to appear like she was a good student and not some nerd. "Just a suggestion," sang van Dijk. She sauntered ahead, "Well...enjoy your book, Rozy," and walked away feeling a little better. Rozalia sneered. Foreigners!! "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard." "You are too much. Very well, I shall leave you to your book, but might I make a suggestion first? If I have ruined the ending, as you say, why not just start at the very end of the book and work your way backwards? You already know what's going to happen, so what harm would there be?" Rozy glanced up at the Dutch redhead, wishing that looks could indeed kill. "I can't read with you distracting me," stated Rozy as politely as she could. Mira scoffed. "I thought it was obvious. And at least you're talking to me." "Oh, yes. Thanks so much for ruining the book for me." "He gets off the island, you know. At the end." Of course, that would require her to be in close contact with Mira herself. Well, she'd think about it some other day. Right now, she had a book to complete. As she entered into the thick of it, nearly the exact center, who but Mira herself should come along, her mood foul and her step threatening. Her job at the supermarket was...stressful, and her manager was hardly a fun character. She needed a way to release her anger, an outlet, and found it in her "dear friend" Rozy. Mira walked up to the girl, noticed her book, and purred. March third, a Thursday, was rainy and cold as usual. Rozalia had been assigned to read Robinson Crusoe, and so far she was loving it. If only she could be shipwrecked on an island, far away from all this nonsense! Of course, she'd take her portable game systems with her, and opt for solar-powered batteries so she'd never stop playing. Now that was heaven! Every time she closed the book, however, she was back in the same dull world, with the same dull miso soup-colored sky, living the same life in the same body, so on and so forth—what a drag! She actually contemplated going to Mira's anime club a few times, if only to find other people who might've shared her love. "Listen," said Mira, her moment of fun now over, "I'd like to invite you to my anime club. I am president, so I would like to have more people there. Do you like anime? Have you heard of it? Are you interested?" Mira continued to pester her until the end of lunch, when Rozalia effectively left her stranded in the swarm of girls moving to and from their classes. As it happened, Rozalia was familiar with Japanese animation, but she wouldn't go to a meeting if Mira was going to be there. Mira again tried to "befriend" Rozy the next day, but fared no better. She joined the girl at lunch and threw several nasty blonde jokes at her. Now Rozalia's hair was actually dyed a different shade, but she was still a natural blonde, though Mira (or anyone else) certainly wouldn't figure out the truth. There was no escaping the girl while lunch was on, even though she tried going to different tables. She couldn't eat outside—it was raining—so she had no choice. That didn't mean that she had to talk, though. "What are you running away from? Come on, turn around, let's talk." Rozalia completely ignored her and kept on walking. Mira had succeeded in making her day even more miserable; she laughed to herself, vowing to fantasize about this new girl the moment she got home. She had to wonder, did beautiful Miss Miklos like anime? "Leave me alone." Mira giggled. She even pushed Rozy from behind. "Oh my, that's a big word for you! How long did you have to look through the dictionary to come up with that? I bet Miss Madsen is having difficulty schooling you." "Please, I'd rather not have company." Now came the terrible part. Mira just couldn't resist. "Oh, what is the matter? Why are you so upset, huh? Don't walk away; let's talk." "I'm not in the mood to talk." "Hallo," she greeted, deliberately letting her accent drool. Most found it charming. Rozalia found it obnoxious. Mira van Dijk was not a cruel person, but she couldn't resist taking a blow at Rozy when she looked weakest. Once drama class let out, the Dutch redhead sauntered over to Rozy, first staring at her tough-girl clothes (surplus military fatigues), then her well-defined shuck of blonde hair. Oh, she had a thing for blondes! They drove her insane, more than anything Blake or Usha could do—more than any other woman could. Mira fantasized about all the pretty blonde girls in school, even those she knew to be taken by other people, and so of course she zeroed in on Rozalia, who was certainly not in the mood for company. "No...I just get irritated when I see PDI." Even Elspeth knew what she meant, and let her off with a warning before returning to her class. Rozalia grumbled, wishing she could just crawl into a hole and...well, not die, but what? Emerge in Wonderland, like Alice chasing the rabbit? It certainly sounded better than this. "Would you mind explaining yourself, Rozy?" she asked. Miklos sighed. "Oh, get a room, you two!" she snapped. Hero and Ayanna looked at her, appalled, and hid themselves. Rozalia turned around and noticed that everyone was staring at her, and Miss Post was frowning with disapproval. "Look at us," they seemed to say. "Our relationship is fine and dandy. And what about you? Met anyone nice lately? Of course not. You're still stuck in your imaginary world, and you don't want to be let out, because you'll just be hurt again. That's right—none of us were ever hurt. We can't be hurt, not like you. We can't understand, because we were never hurt like that. Poor, poor Rozy. Poor Ki—" Whoops, too late. Public Display of Affection, dead ahead! She grimaced, stuck her tongue out, and turned the other way. Well, that was unnecessary. It wasn't as if Rozy had anything against lesbians, she just had a thing against people showing their affection to each other in public. Even observing a couple holding hands made her sick. Perhaps all this distaste rooted from her own hollow love life, along with the terrible experiences she had yielded to earlier in her life. She hated to look at it because in truth, she felt like they were mocking her, laughing at her. "She looks like one!" screamed Ayanna, the other lead rioter. The scene lasted until Arthur, played by Alisha Fox, knighted Bedivere and ended the scene. Everyone had loads of fun, even those who didn't care for Monty Python, and broke apart to rehearse for their next scene. Out of the corner of her eye, Rozalia noticed two of her classmates, Hero and Ayanna, having a strained discussion in private. Since she wouldn't have a scene for awhile, she could spy as long as she wanted, provided they didn't... "How do you know she is a witch?" she asked, her voice almost identical. Ana, who was one of the minor rioters, restrained herself from laughing. "We found a witch, might we burn her?" she recited, her English accent acceptable. Blake had chosen the famous "witch burning" scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Rozalia was one of the lead rioters and Rai was Sir Bedivere, since she could easily fake an English voice. The first day of March, a Tuesday, was pretty fair when it came to school. Outside, it was still cold and gloomy, and things didn't look like they were going to brighten anytime soon. Oh yes, Spring Break would be a hoot. But things were nicer inside: Rozalia was with her so-called drama buddies, hamming it up in every scene she was in. Post had asked the girls to each cast and direct a small scene, usually something pulled out of Saturday Night Live or another sketch comedy. Rozalia was one of the girls who was most frequently cast, and proved to be a competent actress, though she did seem to rely too much on melodrama. School was a drag. Most of the teachers were pretty cool, but some were genuine nutcases. Many of them gave her homework assignments that would make Steven Hawking turn pale; others only reinforced her love of make-believe with their tedium. A few did seem eager to tap into her creativity and draw it our further, such as when Miss Post put her on the drama team, or when Ms. Madsen introduced her to the creative writing team, or when Miss McGowen let her "play" with her lab equipment. Perhaps she was pathetic because she chose to constantly escape from the dreary "real" world. Imagining herself in the worlds of her dreams—the thousands of planets dotting the Star Wars galaxy, the imaginary worlds of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, the mythical land of Asgard, the divine landscape of Olympus, et cetera—it all far surpassed this place, the place she was thrown into, the place she was forced to live in, because there was no other way. Rozalia took the bus to school, since she couldn't drive yet and there was no way she could walk. Being the new girl, she still didn't know very many people, and nobody had made a conscious effort to befriend her, except that one girl, the shy one. Rozy didn't know any names. She was too busy just trying to keep her grades up to keep track of anything else. Therein was the paradox: have friends but less time, or more time but no friends. Rozalia loved swords, but not when they were double-edged like this, wounding her no matter what path she chose. Once dressed, Rozalia then went to the dense jungle known as "Kitchen" to hunt the elusive prey called "Food". Cupboards had cereal and Pop-tarts, the fridge had fruit and juice, and the freezer had waffles, biscuits, and her favorite, hash browns. She cooked everything herself, chewing on some nuts and crackers while she fried the browns and waited for the tarts to pop out. It wasn't as if she was going to do this every day—wake up early, make her own breakfast, and walk out the door instead of run—she just wanted to see if she could do it. It was another test. Rozalia woke up on her own for once, wanting to prove to herself that she could do it. She was still naked though—she slept in the nude so her uncle wouldn't rudely whisk off the covers from her bed—but hey, that just made things easier. No more having to dress or undress; she could just save the time, go to her closet, pick something out, and she was done. Going to the bathroom to shower was a little harder, but she had her resources.
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