Study Hall, Wednesday [01/27]

[eager-platypus.livejournal.com]

It was Wednesday, and that meant Ziva was back in study hall, keeping an eye on everyone as she read through a book on American History. It was bulky and overly comprehensive and made Ziva wonder how there was still a United States today, but it also brought her one step closer to being able to take her citizenship test, so it was worth the trouble, for the most part.

Comments

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

After her fourth period class, Emma decided that she was going to avoid the dorms and do her statistics homework in study hall. There was less mental-chatter going on, for one, and it was easier to concentrate.

The textbook and her homework were spread out before her, and Emma was happy to lose herself in the progression of numbers across the page. Tasty, tasty, logical numbers. They were a balm to the cranky telepathic soul.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

Unless there was a nosy curious little witchling following the feel of a cranky telepathic soul. Then there was nowhere Emma could go to avoid her.

"See? I told you math was dumb," Karla said quietly. "It's making you all scowly."

Even Karla could tell that that wasn't true. But one didn't start a conversation with Emma by asking about her feelings.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"It's not the math that is making me 'scowly', darling," Emma answered, pushing her glasses up into her hair as she turned towards the nosy curious little witch. "It's whatever karmic gods thought putting me in a class called 'Love and Romance' was a good idea."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

Karla couldn't help but grin at that. "Maybe they wanted you to serve as the voice of logic and reason?"

Mind you, Karla was too much a friend of the goddess of love to believe that completely, but if it helped Emma be less grumpy about it...

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"I did get named the class skeptic," she replied, almost smugly. "Those that can't say anything nice, can come sit by me."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

Karla just grinned. "By the end of the semester, you'll be able to lead a revolt of the unromantics," she teased. "Poor Professor Drake won't know what to do."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"He can concede defeat at anytime," Emma said graciously. "I won't even rub it in that he was wrong."

Too bad she wasn't sure he was wrong, right now.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

"So, besides waging war against a demon over the forces of love, what've you been up to? I heard you had to take Jack to the clinic over the weekend?" Karla rested her chin on her hand, giving Emma a sad pout that asked why didn't you just call me?

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"We were out and about, when Jack managed to trip over his own feet and crack his head open," she replied, waving it off. "The brain damage is permanent, I fear, but since I didn't want to startle anyone at a potentially bad gremlin-ish-time, I walked him down to the clinic. I figured a few of you healer-types would be around there somewhere."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

And that had Karla raising an eyebrow. Usually Emma wasn't quite so scathing when she mentioned Jack. "Permanent brain damage, huh? Must've been some fall."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"He couldn't stick with a single language, or remember most-things from one moment to the next," she replied cheerfully. "I suppose I'm lucky he didn't go hopping off thinking he was a bunny, or something insane like that."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

"But he's better now, right?" Karla asked. "He was speaking English in class yesterday. And at rehearsals."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"He's better," she allowed, "although I think he's still a bit rattled. Not quite thinking clearly."

Not that Emma was a bit biased or anything.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

"He's not?" Karla pressed.

Look, Jack might be a close-minded idiot sometimes, but that didn't mean Karla wasn't concerned for him. "Did Ino check his brain for additional injuries? Do you think there might be bleeding? Hell's fire, Emma, if Jack is still rattled he could be seriously hurt!"

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

Emma snorted. "If being an idiot could be cured by a healer, the world would be a better place."

<<He proclaimed himself in love with me. Multiple times. And now he wants to 'talk' about it at some point.>> Emma's eye-roll was mental and physical. <<He'll get over it?>>

...that did not sound as confident as she had hoped.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

Karla sighed. "Don't scare me like that!" she scolded.

Though in the privacy of their own minds; *Of course he will,* she soothed. *I'm sure he is well aware of your feelings on the subject.*

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"Considering all the times you've complained about 'males' being brain-damaged, you have no room to talk," Emma teased, waving it off. "But if you're going to distract me from my numbers, darling, entertain me. What were you up to this weekend? Playing hero?"

There. They had 'talked' about feelings. See Emma try to change the topic.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

"True, but I don't say it right after they've had their skulls bashed in, do I?" Karla retorted. "And then Healed by people who are not me?"

No offense meant to Ino or her skills, of course, but Karla didn't understand how she healed people and wasn't sure how good the other girl was at it.

"And, of course I was running around playing hero. Though it was far too goopy to be entertaining. Those things smelled. And were impossible to kill without making a horrid mess."

See Karla not let it go without a fight. *Ems, whether he loves you or not, can you really see Jack doing anything about it beyond simple confessing? I thought he had his life all mapped out and it involved returning home to his ridiculous time.* Seriously. Women as chattel. What the Hell.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"I don't know, do you? I'm rather sure you've conked that cousin of yours over the head plenty of times," she replied. "And Morton probably didn't let you heal him afterward."

It was totally true, and Karla knew it.

<<It's Jack. He likes getting his own way.>> Which meant he was going to keep pushing until he got whatever reaction he wanted out of Emma... and she had no clue what that was. <<I have no idea what's going on in that tricky little brain of his.>>

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

"Morton's skull is far too thick to even notice when I'm hitting it with things," Karla snorted. "And like anyone would be able to tell even if he got brain-damaged."

*You could always look,* Karla suggested. She didn't mean it, not at all, but Emma's reaction could be verrrrrrry interesting.

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

"I could make the same arguement about most of the boys here," Emma answered sweetly, "including Mr. Priest."

<<I'm not going inside the head of someone who's had a recent concussion, I could sprain my brain!>> she continued silently. <<andJackdoesn'tlikeitwhenIpeekpastthesurfacewithoutaskingsoIdon't.>>

"Maybe I should check you for brain damage, if you were willingly out getting gremlin-guts on your shoes."

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

"I was shielded!" Karla protested. "At the end of the day, my shoes were perfectly fine."

Behind her own inner barriers, Karla was privately "A-ha!"-ing over Emma's confession. Because Emma was going to let something as paltry as 'they'd prefer I didn't' get in the way of something she really wanted to do.

*Well, we couldn't have that, now could we?* she asked, keeping all hints of amusement (or squeeing) out of her thread. *Emma with a sprained brain is not a happy Emma, I'm sure. I guess that leaves talking to him, then.*

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

Emma groaned, and her head thunked down against the desk and the textbooks she'd been working with. <<I don't want to talk about it. Why should I talk about it? Everything has been just fine up until now without talking about it!>>

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[glacial_queen]

*Because regardless of whether he's being an idiot or not, you care for him and this is important to him,* Karla soothed. *He likely knows as well as you do that this whatever-it-is has nowhere to go. If you ask me, Jack is just trying to be honest with you. He'd rather you hear it from him--deliberately--and both talk it out and agree that it will come to nothing, than have you pick up on it accidentally, frea--err, react poorly, and feel like he was hiding it from you.*

Okay, Karla was mostly making this up as she went along, but she figured this was probably the only explanation that wouldn't send Em fleeing in terror.

*You are both mature and you're rational and so talking about it and making it Not An Issue is so much better than hiding from it and letting it be an Issue.*

Re: Fifth Period [01/27]

[icecoldfrost]

<<Don't take that tone with me. I didn't ask you, and it's not an issue. It won't be an issue,>> she replied crankily. <<I was perfectly willing to forget the whole thing, chalk it up to his injury, since he never would have said some of those things to me otherwise.>>

Jack had more tact than that, and Emma hadn't really needed (or wanted) a verbal reminder that Don de Ulloa always came first. That was the real salt in the wound.

<<I'm fine, really, he just needs to stop...saying those things.>>