Kimmy: "Oh, I'm not going anywhere, Missy." Kevin McKinley: "Kim, c'mon now..." Adrian McCullough: "Yeah, can you not get us kicked out?" <to Cara> "And you saw the other couple! Lindsey and Samantha? You chased them off, remember? ALL of 'em. Don't come whining to me about it." Kevin McKinley: "Can you two not antagonize these people?" Kimmy: <sighs> "Fine." <curtly> "So what do you want?" Kevin McKinley: <exasperated> "WHY do I hang out with you!?"
Cara: …we did no such thing. Sapphire: Did we? Kathryn: Yeah, we did. Jade: When? Kathryn: It might've been when we told them about our world. Sapphire: What's so scary about that? Medieval world, magic, and we're not gonna tell them everything right off the bat. How'd that scare them? Kathryn: *shrugs* Beats me.
Henrietta: It is so rough here. It's nothing like home at all. What would Mama say? Vanna: You weren't here before the Bar opened. There were fights, swearing, and discussions about all kinds of unmentionable things. Jasmine: Like what? Vanna: Didn't I just say they were unmentionable? Henrietta: But swearing... It is a sin against the Lord! And someone here has left the Pope! By turning your back on God's representative on Earth, how do you ever hope to gain salvation? Vanna: Different times, Your Highness. If it helps, I don't believe in God at all. Or Heaven. Henrietta: Please, just call me Henrietta. And...did you just say that you didn't believe in God?! Then who put us here? Vanna: Oh, boy. Can we just say that I have my beliefs, you have yours, and avoid the grand theological debate?
Kimmy: "Personally, I left Catholicism because I was tired of being lumped in with the whole 'anti-gay baby rapers' lot." Adrian McCullough: <flatly> "Yeah, rough..." Kimmy: "Ugh! This is why I stay out of this sort of thing." <to Kevin> "And you're not helping by just standing there!" Kevin McKinley: "Hey, you brought it up, not us."
Sapphire: Jeez, you're overly religious. Don't even bother trying to force your beliefs on me--I made my decision back when I was ten, and I still believe it. Kathryn: Yeah, my girlfriend's pretty adamant about what she believes in. I'd advise that you don't argue with her. Jade: Okay, we've got a super-religious lady over here. Lemme guess, you're gonna tell me that God made males and females and that I need to recognize my calling as a young lady? Or something like that? Because…don't. Cara: *takes out her phone, mutters "f**k this" and starts playing Geometry Dash*
Kimmy: "Fuck all of you!" (Storms off) Adrian: (runs after her) Kevin McKinley: (stands dumbly) Mishu Jerni: (walks in, narrowly avoiding Kimmy) "Uh, did I miss something?"
Henrietta: Super-religious? What does that mean? Vanna: They're talking about you. They mean you're very, very Catholic and I think you've offended a few people. What year did you say you were from? Henrietta: I apologise if I have offended anyone's honour. I assure you that that was not my purpose. Our country is Catholic, although we have many Protestants as well, but I have never met anyone who does not believe in God at all. And it is 1732. Vanna: I could tell from your clothing that you were from around that time. So, everyone, calm down. The world was a lot more religious back then. She's just not used to you. But what's the whole "baby-raping" thing? What was that all about?
Sapphire: …we're from medieval times. Kathryn: Kind of. They aren't your medieval times, most likely. Unless yours also included magic and girls having a moderate amount of freedom. Jade: They're not speaking for us. These two *she gestures to Cara and Isabel* and I are from the 21st century. No magic included.
Kevin McKinley: "Well, you all pissed Kimmy off. She thought you bought into the stereotype that all Catholics hate gay people and molest small children. And we're from the 21st-century also. No magic." Mishu Jerni: "I'm from a completely made-up fantasy world. Amos is from your 1700s, and that lady, Captain Chert is from a sci-fi."
Henrietta: Of course I don't hate gay people! What could possibly be wrong with being happy? Vanna: I think it's probably best that we close this discussion and talk about something else.
Sapphire: No. Kathryn: Medieval. Isabel: I don't watch sports, I play them. Cara: You literally only do cross-country, stop acting like a major badass. Isabel: Well, I'm good at it! Cara: Fair point. I prefer drawing. Jade: F**k TV, I have books.
Jade: ...where'd they go? Cara: Away. Jade: Well, tell me about different forms of poetry. Cara: *rolls eyes* Alright, then. There's sonnets, which are fourteen lines long and... *she and Jade continue their study session* Sapphire: It got quiet. Kathryn: I guess there's nothing much to talk about. Sapphire: It's either that, or we naturally drive people away. Kathryn: *laughs* That's silly. After all, we didn't drive away each other.
Vanna: Well, my author's been busy with prep. It's only been a day or so. None of us really watch or play sport. Cis: *Clears throat* Excuse me, Vanna? Bonnie and I are both in lacrosse teams, thank you very much! Elsie: I hate sport. Once, I broke someone's arm with a hockey stick. But we don't play matches, because we're the only girls' school in reasonable distance. Vanna: What about you, Henrietta? I'm sure you have plenty of sport to watch. Henrietta: Of course. I am ever so fond of horses, so I enjoy watching the races. Tennis is also very fun to watch. I really love riding my own horse, La Petite, and sometimes I race with my cousin Magdalena, or go on royal hunts. Vanna: Hunting. Sounds...fun.
Sapphire: Wait, there are schools just for girls? Kathryn: …wow. Girls aren't even required to go to school where we come from. I'm not even sure if it's technically permitted, but plenty of girls go anyway. Sapphire: I went until I was 11. The new town's school didn't accept girls, and there wasn't another one within 5 miles. Kathryn: Those three, on the other hand…*gestures to the other characters* It's definitely a different time for them. *Jade throws a flash card at Cara* Jade: My God, Cara, it's a wonder I love you at all. Cara: It was an innocent mistake! Jade: I don't care how you twist it; a cinquain and a limerick are nothing alike. Cara: Well, they both have 5 lines! Jade: Yeah, and so does a f**king pentagon. Kathryn: *watching this unfold* They do love each other, right? Sapphire: Yeah, they can't get enough of each other. It's just that they like to mess with each other a lot. I think. Jade: Yes, of course I still love you, but you are going to flunk this f**king test. *sighs, pulls out another flash card* Tell me about acrostics.
Vanna: Well, St. Edith's is a girls' school as well, a boarding school. Is yours? Elsie: No, Willowdown is a day school. I think Miss Everdene has plans to make it a boarding school, but it's only been a term since we started. I think we'd have to leave Nesserton as well, because I can't think of anywhere that would be big enough. Henrietta: This is very interesting - they send girls away to school in the 20th century! I wonder if they do in Caballia. Naturally, it would be extremely inappropriate for us to go to school, although we - my siblings, cousins, a select few other children, and me - have a very good lectrice called Madame le Soubrieux - or to us, Madame Léonora, just Léonora, or even Léa to the particularly brave and cheeky. Jasmine: What sort of things do they teach you five?
Jade: Well, if ya couldn't tell, my girlfriend here's learning all about poetry in ELA. I'm not sure how much she's actually retained. I'm in AP English; we did poetry last year, and now we've moved on to analyzing books. Cara: Okay, I respect what the first feminists stood for, but why in God's name did they want to go to school? In any case, I admit--I don't retain much ELA. I like science, though. We're doing biology. It's cool, except for when we dissect things. Isabel: I'm a year ahead of those two. They're both insane. Math is where it's at. We're doing geometry right now. Sapphire: Kathryn and I, on the other hand...not much. We kinda just learned reading, writing, and arithmetic and the teachers called it a day with us females. And no, there're no girls's schools. At least, not in our home province. You really think anyone would bother building a school just for women? Kathryn: My parents wouldn't dare send me to a school with the "common folk." They got me private tutors. It stopped once I hit my teens, though; they wanted me to focus on dancing.
Jasmine: What does ELA stand for? And AP? Vanna: I'll admit that first part meant nothing to me, either. Are you American? Henrietta: Oh, are you from the British colonies? I have to say, I've always wondered what it would be like to have colonies, but Caballia doesn't have enough political or military power. Vanna: Oh, they aren't colonies any more. They'll gain independence in your lifetime. Anyway, we learn all sorts. History, Maths, Science, Music, French, Latin, all sorts. I was never good at Maths or Science. Music is my forte - no pun intended. I play violin, piano, and the electric guitar, and I sing. Jasmine: I like Art best. Miss Juniper says I'm a very talented painter. Ophelia: You are, and your sketches are lovely too. I'm good at Maths, and so it falls to me to help these two - and Bonnie as well, for that matter - with their Algebra. Elsie: Algebra is ghastly. Before I went to Willowdown I attended my father's school at the rectory where we live, and that was mostly Mathematics, English, and Religious Instruction. At Willowdown, we do things like Drawing, Singing, Domestic Science, and all the rest. I like Dommy Sci. It's nice to do something practical for once. English is definitely my favourite. I love reading and thinking about the books. I think I might like to be a writer when I'm older. I write a little bit of poetry, but not much. I agree, you cannot liken a cinquain to a limerick. Henrietta: Well, I can speak seven foreign languages - English, Latin, Greek, Russian, Spanish, German, and Dutch - to varying extents, I have learned passages of the Bible off by heart, I have studied all the great writers and philosophers, I was naturally schooled in etiquette from infancy, I have been taught all the most recent scientific discoveries, I write poetry, and sometimes short stories, I have been schooled in painting and various handicrafts, I ride, and naturally, I dance. I agree that dancing is of the utmost importance, but it is also incredibly amusing, is it not? When I was little, sometimes Mama would be my partner and she would always end up spinning me round and round the room while my sisters and cousins watched and laughed until it was someone else's turn. Surely you have also had such gaieties with your mother?
Grier: Oh, are we talking languages? I speak several foreign languages--badly--but my worst by far is French. I know enough German to at least get myself arrested for insulting the Queen of Germany or whatever, but I barely know enough French to ask, "Donde esta el banjo?" ...Which is a problem, because my research is all in France. Who knew, right?
Vanna: Er... Queen of Germany? Henrietta: What is Germany? And that isn't French. I can coach you if you like, it's an easy language. Jasmine: That's easy for you to say - it's your mother tongue!
Grier (with a bemused grin): Sure, they can have a queen if they want. Or whatever. It's none of my business.
Grier: Now, as far as I know. I guess I've been having some funny daydreams lately, but I'm sure that's not relevant.
Henrietta: You simply cannot go about insulting Queens! Why, if someone insulted my Mama, I would... Vanna: Calm down, Henrietta. You don't have to kick off every time someone mentions royalty. We live in a society that has much less reverence towards the Royal family. Although maybe it's different in Caballia. Grier, why don't you introduce yourself? I believe we've met, but I don't think we ever got to hear what your book is about.
Grier: I dunno if I've ever been in here before--I don't think so! Maybe? I just turned 23, and I'm a postgraduate student studying Celtic material culture. Technically, what I'm studying is more "Gaul" than France, but the difference is just a few feet of dirt and maybe a Franco-Roman accent. My-- Er. My book? ...My book is about love, jealousy, betrayal, and vengeful gods, and it plays out over the course of several thousand years. Or so I'm told. It's not like I'm going to read it; I don't have time for that stuff. Honestly, I'm not that well-informed. Maybe one of the other characters could tell you more? Makha: You "don't have time for that stuff?" Gods' oaths, are you ever full of first world problems. Even I know there's such a thing as an audio book. Grier: It's not even published yet, and it probably never will be, and they certainly won't make an audio book of it. Anyway, you ought to watch your mouth. According to the book, you're trash-talking your own reincarnation.
