Pride & Persistence

Ian wasn't sure how he felt when Anjya gave him some sort of a go-ahead. Her kind. The kind that said she wasn't happy. She was disappointed. He could read it. But he also knew that there was no way to argue it with her. He couldn't satisfy both girls in this case. The truth was, he would much rather be at home playing a game of virtual Risk than at the dance. "Uhm... yeah... mom did," he agreed softly. "So... we are going then?" He asked, obviously not schooled on how to ask a girl to a dance in any romantic way, especially when said girl had basically just cornered him into the whole thing.

“Yes! And you have to buy me a corsage.” Em informed him lightly, half focused on her phone as she swiped through. After a second she pulled up a photo that was just a square of fabric. “That is my dress color. You need a tie that matches it- and you can show the florist it, they will match it.” She informed him, already on top of his obvious out of depth state. Aniya slid a glance their way before she began to jot in her notebook.

Ian pursed his lips together for a moment, trying to take in all of the directions he was being given, "Okay- yeah- I can do that. Can you send me the pic?" He asked hopefully, not wanting to get it wrong.

Em tapped her screen a few times until the sound of the text swishing off pinged. She leaned over and pecked his lips. “Don’t look so tortured. It isn’t like it is baseball season, you won’t be missing a practice.” She drawled.

"It's not that," Ian promised Em. "You know how I am in social situations." He didn't do great in large crowds. Ian was definitely more of a small group kind of person. Popularity was never going to be his superpower. "But I'm sure we'll have fun," he assured her with a smile. He glanced at his own phone and realized the time, "Oh, hey, weren't you going to try to get to science early today? You said you wanted to talk to the teacher?" He reminded her. That meeting would give Ian the perfect chance to talk to Anjya.

“Oh dang, you are right!” Em stiffened as she glanced at the time. She gave a mutter of annoyance before moving to her feet. “Meet you after class? Bleachers?” She confirmed with Ian, leaning down to kiss him.

Ian nodded only once before returning the kiss. He hoped to surprise her as he pulled her just a little closer and kissed her more than their usual in-public peck. When he released her from the lip lock, he flashed a smile in Em's direction. "After class," he verified.

He waited until Em was gone before turning to Anjya, the whirl so quick that he might have made even himself dizzy if he hadn't been prepared for it. "I'm sorry, Anjya," he whispered to her immediately, apologizing for the turn of events with the dance.

Em did look pleasantly flustered as she wandered off. Anjya did her best to appear focused on her self appointed work- but when Ian apologized she gave a soft sigh. “It’s fine. I knew this was reality months ago. I practically marked it off the list.” She confeased

"I kinda forgot this one was even coming up," Ian admitted. "Maybe I can tell her about our bucket list and she'll understand for one of the other dances?" He offered, not wanting to leave his friend in the dust.

Anjya looked to Ian and offered him a light smile. “Hey, this was all about having the high school experience before you left. Right? So now you will get it with a girl. It is fine- I am not about to force you to a second dance.” She gave a light laugh. “Who knows, maybe by next dance someone will ask me.”

Someone asking Anjya... Ian considered this for only a moment before an idea came to him. If Anjya went with somebody, then they could still see each other at the dance and she wouldn't be disappointed about not going. Then it could fairly be crossed off the list! "I'm sure someone will ask you," Ian informed her, tone a little cryptic.

Anjya shrugged, not looking convinced but also not put out by the fact she didn’t have a date. “It is a junior /senior dance, most of them are. The next after this is what, two months away? That gives me eight weeks to convince my parents to let go.” She joked.

Ian grinned, "Not just go. Go WITH someone," he pointed out, amusement sparkling in his eyes at his friends' predicament. A plan started to form in his mind, coming together about as quickly as most plans usually did for him.

“Yeah,” Anjya laughed now. “I feel like mom would be excited for it- but Dad might just pop a vein.”

Ian laughed, "Your dad... sometimes he is the most calm person in the room... like... scary calm. Other times..." he rubbed a spot on his temple that strongly referenced the spot on Salu's where a vein seemed to betray his poker face when he was handling family matters. "Have you told your mom about the food thing? She's be proud, I bet," he insisted.

“No- I don’t want them to know I am sneaking around places I maybe shouldn’t…” Anjya confessed and focused back on her camera. “I have been watching the kitchen for the past week, I think I know the schedule- and the lock is just your typical pin and tumbler…”

Because Anjya knew how to pick locks. It was one of those weird skills their parents had taught them. More specifically, Salu and Becca. It was for ‘safety’ which didn’t make much sense until some terrible scenario was offered up. A kidnapping where Anjya was locked in a room by herself or someone holding her against her will. It was the same reason her father had always played those odd memorization games with her.

She didn’t know it, but she didn’t have the gift. Not like Ian. She was sharp, and she had picked up how to play the games and be successful enough to please her father- but her mind had never clicked over to the constant vigilance that Ian seemed to just naturally have. For her those would always be games, unless one day she was put in some terrible position that the skills would have to be used. Then she would have to hope they turned on just as naturally.

Ian considered what Anjya said about the schedule and the lock, "What about the security alarm?" He asked her. Of course he knew which buildings had a security system and alarm on campus. It was seven, in fact: the office and admin building, the cafeteria and kitchen, the state-of-the-art tech lab, the science building, the gym and locker rooms, the indoor pool, and the performing arts hall. There was no alarm on the English hall or library, nor the math hall. The social science building didn't have any special alarms either. Apparently stealing a bunch of books and maps wasn't high on the priority list for the kind of crooks and vandals the school anticipated potentially having.

“It’s broken. I heard one of the maintenance men talking to the head lunch lady.” Anjya supplied without hesitation. “I figure that a repair could take another few days at least- so-“ she looked to her journal again, determination flashing in her eyes. “I don’t know what it is, but I have to tell this story.”

"So you have to act fast. Once they get that alarm fixed, you'll either need to get the code or you're gonna get screwed," Ian presented her with a nod that was supportive of her endeavors as always. "And yeah. You have to tell that story. You know all the parents will lose it when they find out, right?" He smirked. Leave it to his best friend to stir up trouble with her reporting.

“I am counting on it.” Anjya replied happily, not seeming put out by the restrictions he pointed out. “And I will just hope my parents won’t freak if I get suspended.”

"If you got suspended for walking out of gym class, then yeah. But... for this? I think Aunt Tellisie would sue the school if they tried to suspend you," Ian pointed out with a laugh. While poor behavior, especially at school or in public, was not tolerated in either of their families, their parents also had a strong sense of justice. Surely they would understand this under those terms. "Do you need help?" Without fail, he'd be right at her side.

“Are you kidding? No! My parents might understand, but Aunt Becca is terrifying.” Anjya laughed and moved to slide off the bench, gathering her work. “You could get kicked off your team.”

"I won't get kicked off," Ian insisted. "They need me. And, besides, feeding expired food to a championship team? Mom would threaten to expose the school and find something they'd miss funding for over it," Ian laughed heartily. Oh, he would still be in trouble over it at home, but his mother would never let him get kicked off the team.

“Regardless, she would go scorched earth.” Anjya smirked and lifted her water. “Hey-“ she poked him with the bottle now. “Don’t worry about the dance. Or do. Do worry. Because you have to order Em a corsage and rent a suit and buy a tie that matches her dress- and plan for who you both will hang with after the dance- but me? Dont worry about me.” She sent him a good natured smile. This was her goodbye, she had to run to class- but she knew Ian probably hadn’t let go of this yet.

"Uhm- wait- whoa-" Ian could tell that Anjya was getting ready to go, and he knew lunch was coming to an end, but she just dropped a landslide on him. "You're going to have to back that up and slow that all down for me later," he insisted. "Which means you can't get grounded before you do!" He added, finally standing up himself. If whatever Anjya was doing got her grounded and their communication cut off before the dance, he'd be screwed-- at least, based on everything that had just come pouring out of her mouth.