ataraxia, lorenzo berkshire

"seven"

"goodmorning to my least favourite group of people, ever." i announced as id arrived in the great hall for today's daily breakfast banquet.

my circle of friends alone took up half of one of the benches, so it was a tight squeeze to situate myself between them.

i ended up sitting next to theodore and lucille.
lucille was next to draco, draco next to lorenzo, lorenzo next to saskia, saskia next to magnora, magnora next to onyx, onyx next to blaise, blaise next to mattheo.

and so on.

oh, i guess she actually decided to show up today.

"morning, val." theodore said, in the midst of putting jam on his slices of toast, his hair fluffy and freshly-washed - and shockingly, his robes looked spiffy.

"theo, you look extremely well-presented." i mimicked an upper-class mannerism in speaking similar to the mannerism draco's parents would have, except they weren't joking when they spoke.

"why, thank you." he mimicked the posh accent back, "ms.darlene."

i let out a few genuine laughs, and i felt my body temperature rise in a tingly sensation what felt like an embarrassment of some sort.

flustered, valentina.

you were flustered.

idiot.

once i'd felt myself recovering steadily from my small fit of laughter with theodore, i turned my head in order to attempt to engage with lucille, who's first time in weeks it was being present during breakfast.

i wonder where she had been.

"hey, luce." i tapped her on the shoulder gently, as i didn't want to startle her pale frame. she seemed to look distant, she stared into an abyss that everyone deemed unseeable, her eyes framed in bags of dark hues, and her fingers brittle as she held an apple, which she hadn't yet taken a bite from.

"oh, hello Valentina." she replied with a weak smile, yanking herself out of the paradox she'd supposedly lost herself in.

"how are you feeling? i haven't seen you in a while."

she hesitated, looking down in her lap at her intertwined fingers, she bit her lip nervously, steadily.

"i've been dealing with some.. things." she admitted sorely, pushing a strand of hair behind her ears, the mousy brown contrasting with her ivory skin.

"oh, i'm sorry about that." i said slowly, unsure on what the correct vocabulary to reply to that sort of blank answer would be.

uncomfortable silence.

"Valentina, pass the butter." a voice ordered me strictly, i could hear the sheer dislike within the anonymous feminine voice alone.

saskia.

"not even a please?" i pouted sarcastically, debating on wether to actually pass the butter or not.

"i'd add a 'please' if i felt like you were deserving of one, darlene." saskia shot me down, venom lacing her tone, each word acting as a bullet, which i spent the majority of my existence around her narrowly dodging.

"saskia-," magnora spoke up gently, but before she could advise saskia to back down politely, lorenzo interjected.

"ladies, please-," he asked calmly, reaching across the table and grabbing the butter himself, then passing it to saskia.

"not that hard, is it valentina?" he snakily said, a unpleasant tone present within his voice, as if he was on saskia's side the entire time.