Red Roses ~Marcus Lopez Arguello

21~ They Know.

Atypical combat, December 16th

Master Zane and Ms De Luca had decided to cohort a class for the day, one purely meant for the dirty fighting that students will eventually have to partake in. They stood in the front of the room, one where Ms De Luca had taught the blow dart workshop a month prior.

Scarlett stood in the front row of students right beside a now sober Saya, who couldn't even bother to look at the girl beside her. Scarlett had returned to her dorm last night to a passed out Saya, sprawled on Scarletts bed with a trash can filled with the contents of her stomach beside it. Scarlett didn't bat an eye, and instead placed all of the snacks down on the nightstand before cleaning up Saya's mess and heading out once again.

Last night she just walked aimlessly through the dorm halls, merely in thought. Her bandaged hand spun her keys around her index finger, and she just stared at the floor, letting her feet take her wherever.

And that's how she ended up at Marcus' dorm door. She stared for a long while, counting sheep, before going to knock. Her knuckles grazed the dark wood of the door before she paused and removed her hand, deciding not to knock.

She was going to ask if she could possibly spend the night in his dorm, but she shook her head at the idea. He had a girlfriend, and she knew that they weren't even supposed to be friends. She wasn't supposed to like him, so why was it so hard not to?

She made it back to her dorm, and entered quietly, trying not to wake Saya up. She placed her keys gently on the dresser filled with her supply, before sitting down on the floor in front of her bed, her hands resting on her propped up knees. She fell asleep on the floor, exhausted with everything.

And Saya found her like that in the morning, her arms wrapped around her legs, trying to warm up her freezing body. Everything that Saya had done that night came crashing into her hungover head, and she just grabbed her clothes and jacket from the floor and walked out, leaving Scarlett.

And now, Scarlett stood beside her, not mentioning anything about what happened last night. No sly remark or passive aggressive comment. Just a small smile on Scarlett's features when she walked into class, before greeting the girl and taking the spot beside her.

Marcus stared daggers at the pair from a few people down, upset at the closeness of the two girls. After last night, he had a bit of regret for his semi-breakup with Maria, and he was scared at what she was capable of. He just found out she was bipolar and off her meds because of him, and he was afraid of what she might say or do. She was a ticking time bomb now, but he hoped that maybe she'll start taking her meds again, now that Marcus and her are technically not together. He still had one issue that he cared more about.

The girl whose name means the color red. He had reflected over the past month that he's known her, and if she showed any signs of liking girls. He was questioning their past as well. Because if she was gay, and used him to hide it, was she really that good of an actor to have him falling this way? He had more questions than answers, and he couldn't even ask her because she refuses to talk to him now. He just stared and tried to focus on the class, but his mind kept wandering.

He had to have meant more to Scarlett, right?

"Gouging was invented in the 18th-century South." Master Zane books to the class. "It's known for its emphasis on maximum disfigurement. I dig it 'cause it's a way for poor people to protect their honor. Now," He clears his throat directing the students attention to the teacher beside him. "Miss, uh, Neocon '87 here- She likes anything that turns the clock back to the good old days of indentured servants and dysentery." He jokes.

Ms De Luca smiles at the man's remark, cracking a small joke as well. "While Master Zane would prefer a land of liberal lawlessness, where prostitutes sell schoolchildren crack cocaine." She becomes more serious as she starts on today's lesson plan. "Today we will be practicing basic nose biting, testicle ripping, and eye poking."