IDFC [open]

It was a bit of a game she played with herself.

What was the most ridiculous thing she could do and still go unnoticed?

Evelyn took another drag off the cigarette and another swig from her flask, lounging back against the bleachers. So far, so good. She was still new to smoking, but she thought she was getting the hang of it. The first time around she'd hacked her lungs out, and the second time, and a few couple times after that, but a few days later, she'd managed to get through it easy enough.

She couldn't say why she'd picked it up. It still tasted awful, and she hadn't even gotten through her first pack yet. If she had to say why, it might have been just because she knew her parents would hate it.

How stupid was that, right?

That's what made it exciting. Evelyn crossed her legs and leaned against the wall, staring over the empty rows of seats in an empty gymnasium, not even trying to hide herself. Her gift had its perks. This was just her trying to turn a negative into a positive.

She didn't know where she was. That was the main issue.

Eliza was new to this place and still didn't understand where things were. She knew where the dorms were and the office that was it, and for some reason she decided going out by herself today would be a good idea. Now she was lost. She could detect a building in front of her but it wasn't familiar but she stepped inside anyway.

And she nearly died. Well the smell that was. Since she didn't have her sight she could easily smell the scent of smoke that steadily filled the air. She gripped her cane tightly and looked towards the source of the smell. "Smoking inside isn't a good idea." She said looking directly at Evelyn.

There she was. Evelyn sat watching her, taking another small sip from her slip as she watched the girl walk into the gym with a  tap-tap-tap. She flicked the ash from the end of the lit cigarette, still smiling from behind the flask. Hey, did that mean she was...

She spoke. No, more than that, she looked straight at her. Straight through her. Evelyn almost jumped in her seat. No way, how did she see me...? Was her gift that useless? Her eyes flickered from the cane, to the lit cigarette in her hands, to the girl again, meeting her eyes, blank and vacant. But no. That made even less sense. How did she catch on right away? She bit her lip, knitting her eyebrows together for a moment, before sighing.

There wasn't any use questioning anything at Beata Academy.

"Yeah..." she agreed, glancing down to the cigarette. She'd said the same thing, once. Her first time in Spion's class, walking into this gymnasium for the first time. Back then, she'd been shocked watching him smoke while he taught in a room with no windows, but that kind of thing was the regular here. "Probably." Evelyn took another drag and exhaled, speaking through a cloud of smoke. "Sssmoking isn't... really a g-good idea in g-ge... gen..." General. In general. Her tongue was tying itself into knots. "...at all, though."

That was no reason to stop.

Eliza pulled up the cane from it's slanted position and held it by her side. She didn't need it too much. She already had a general understanding of the room from her gift. She knew where the girl was but didn't want to get too much closer because she couldn't stand the smell of cigarette smoke when it was really strong.

The initiate let out a small hum. "If it isn't a good idea then why are you doing it?" She asked, being generally curious. If she knew it was by then why did she continue? She understood it being an addiction thing, but couldn't she quit? Her dull eyes remained on the girl, and she shifted her body so she was facing the girl completely so she didn't hurt her neck looking off to the side for a while.

Was she being scolded, or was this just making conversation? Evelyn had to think on that for a second, but no matter what way she tried to spin it, she couldn't make up a good excuse. Nope. It was definitely stupid. "Good q-question," she sighed, letting her head loll back. She fidgeted in her seat, rubbing her knees together, squashing down the tension rising up in her gut. Her head was buzzing, her face was warm, and something about that made talking easier. That was the perfect recipe. "Ww... W-wanna try?" she half-blurted.

It felt like the polite thing to offer.

She wasn't trying to scold the girl. Being blind she lived a very sheltered life, so she didn't realize that sometimes her tone wasn't fitting for certain conversations. Eliza shook her head. "I already lost my eyesight I don't need to lose my lungs too." Well she was born without her eyesight, but it was basically the same thing. She moved forward to the edge of the bleachers without the assistance of her cane and let it rest there as she adjusted a sleeve that was bothering her.

"Why did you start smoking in the first place?" She asked hoping maybe that would give a reason as to why she kept smoking even though it was bad, not noticing the fact that she made the girl feel like she was being scolded.

So she was blind. Was the cigarette that much of a giveaway? Evelyn shrugged, slipping her hand into her pocket to the cheap lighter she'd picked up with her first past. She guessed that was reasonable enough, but was that kind of life really worth extending? It was a sick thought, but it was the first one that flitted through her head. If she lost her eyesight, then that was it; she'd rather put a bullet through her brain than fumble through life with a cane. It was scary enough thinking of needing glasses when she got older, but going blind was a nightmare. Literally.

Well, not like being blind had stopped her from scoping her out the moment she'd walked into the gym. In a weird way, she saw her better than most people did.

Dark. That was all too fucking dark. Evelyn chuckled under her breath, letting her head hang and pinching her nose. What's wrong with me?

She set the flask down and rubbed the back of her neck, watching the smoke curl up in wisps from the end of the butt. "W-well, I just st-started," she mumbled, trying to avoid slurring her words. Why did she start, anyways? "Because I... c-c-could, I guess..." A part of her had always felt stifled, sheltered, wrapped up in her own invisible boundaries. It took a lot to realize she'd barely tasted a normal life. The only person who could set rules for her was her. Nothing could hold her back. "No one sss-stopped me, s-so I... d-d-did it." Did that even make sense? Maybe that was it, at the core. She was tired of trying to reason with herself. Stupid, right? "Y-you sure you don't w-wanna try?"

Eliza shook her head once again, her pink hair swaying and moving as some of her body got in the way. "So you did it because no one stopped you?" She shifted slightly. "I have to admit that is a pretty dumb reason." She mused. "What if I stopped you?" At this range it might take a little work to grab the cigarette but she could do it.

She didn't know why she kept questioning this. It was this girl's life she could do whatever she wanted with it even if that meant smoking herself to death. But there was something about her reasoning for things that just seemed off. Normally when she asked why, most people answered because it helped them relax. This time she got something different. It just made her want to press, and this would be one of the times one of her mothers smacked her upside the head for being so damn questioning.

She felt her lips twist into something like a smile, letting out a small snort of laughter. What, was she going to snatch it out of her hand? Report her? If anything, she'd be impressed, considering... well, considering. "I guess I-I'd be... st-stopped...?" For a little while, anyways. Evelyn turned the cigarette over in her fingers, staring into the embers. "Wh-why would you?" Maybe the blind girl was just missing the point, but Evelyn had never been good with words. It was the idea that gnawed away at her, the idea that'd made her buy her first pack, not the cigarettes themselves.

Evelyn hadn't signed up for all this self-reflection. With a sigh, she brought the cigarette back to her lips and inhaled.

A frown appeared on Eliza's lips as soon as the girl laughed at her. Oh so she just assumed that because she was blind she was helpless to do something? It made her slightly angry that people were so quick to assume just because they lost one sense. Eliza let out a small huff, and singled out the space where the cigarette was, and quickly tore it away from the girl's lips and hand. "Well now because you underestimated me." She quickly realized she was exhausting her gift and starting to lose what little 'sight' she had of the world. In her slight moment of fear she dropped the cigarette onto the plastic bleachers.

"I'm not helpless you know." She stated with a slight annoyance in her voice. "I can do things just as well as everyone else can." Well that was mostly thanks to her gift in allowing her to detect objects, but still she could do things.

Her little smile was cut short as the cigarette was wrenched out of her hand. "He—...! Hey..." She almost jumped in her seat, sending up a startled look at the other girl, and then to her lap, chewing on the inside of her cheek.  wasn't that kind of petty? Evelyn stared at the cigarette laying on the bleachers, smoke still curling up in wisps from the lit end. "Whatever," she grumbled, drowning out the flash of irritation by popping the cap off her flask and taking a quick swallow. Her face tingled. No, her face was burning. "Who s-said I was l-laughing at you...?" Another sip, to try and bury the anger swelling in her chest, but it was like pouring gasoline on a fire. "You can't just... t-take st-stuff from pe-people be-b-because t-t-they..." Her throat was dry. Another swig, wincing from the burn. Damn it, why couldn't she just talk? The more flustered she got, the less she could articulate each word. She waved her free hand in frustration as her throat closed up, as if to make her point. "Wh-whatever...!"

bitch.

"No one said you were laughing at me, but it's very easy to tell, especially when you get laughed at a lot." She said crossing her arms over her chest. Her dress swaying slightly as she shifted her weight to one leg. She hoped this place would be different but it didn't seem to be starting out well. Some of it was her fault though. And of course the girl got mad when she proved her wrong.. She should have stayed home.


She heard the clinking of a metal container but unsure of what it was. She could detect the shape in the girl's hands but it was unclear. She figured it was a drink but what? She blinked a few times her curiosity getting the better of her. She wanted to know.. she needed to know.. "Hey... uh.. What's that?" She really needed to get better at identifying things.

How was that an excuse? Evelyn tried to fumble for the words, but they all choked up in her throat, and she just turned her gaze to her lap with her face heating up. She tapped her finger against the flask, just wishing she could phase out of the gym and out of this conversation. What did she want from her anyway? Just to swat her cigarette away? That cost her a lot of money...

Evelyn paused, tensing up when the girl raised her voice again. What? Was she going to try and stop her drinking too? "Bourbon," she mumbled after a moment of hesitation, bringing the flask closer to her chest. She didn't offer a drink this time around.

Alcohol? ... She always wanted to try Alcohol but her moms would never let her... Smoking she refused because she hated the smell of it, it was disgusting to smell. But alcohol? That was a bit different. It was always something she was curious about.

She shuffled in her spot for a moment. Knowing the girl wouldn't be too happy with her asking if she could try seeing of what she had said about the last thing she had offered, but her curiousity was getting the better of her and her judgement. "Could... Could I possibly try? I.. have never.. had alcohol before.." She asked sheepishly, afraid of how the girl would respond.

That was a shift in tone. She'd pushed past the neutral curiosity to stung pride and toward an almost timid sheepishness. It was kinda jarring, and she couldn't help but stare in silence as she fumbled for a response, blinking. So was that where people drew the line? Whiskey wasn't that much better than tobacco, at least what her parents told her growing up. Evelyn frowned, glancing down at the silver in her hands, and she couldn't help but wonder if this was just another chance to 'stop' her.

But she couldn't deny she looked sincere; it was kinda funny, the way she struggled with the question. Wasn't that the reason she'd started down this path? Just to try it? Her mom would've thrown a fit back home. After fighting with herself for a moment, chewing on her cheek as she deliberated on her answer, she nodded. "O-o-okay," she murmured, "but..."

Well, it was a bit strong, but she'd live. Evelyn glanced around them to make sure no one was around before passing it into her hands, extra firm to make sure she had a clear grip on the flask before she pulled her hands back into her lap. "Here."