Blackmail 0/0

Melissa noticed Ciel’s glances. “This is Ciel by the way. Ciel this is Grace, David, and Jen,” she said looking between Melissa and the group. The group waved.
“Nice we haven’t gotten a new kid since Lisa here,” Jen said leaning on her desk.

"Oh, hi." Ciel turned her full attention to Melissa and the other kids. "It's nice to meet you all." She offered them a smile, then looked down at her notebook before glancing back up at them. She didn't know what to say to them– she didn't really know any of them, not even Melissa. "So… Is Lisa a nickname chosen by you?" Ciel asked, looking at Melissa.

“No not really,” she said still smiling. The boys phone pinged. He checked it.
“Hey Lisa Branden said he’s been trying to text you. He’s at your usual spot,” he said. Melissa nodded her smile was slightly weaker but she tried not to change anything else.
“Yeah I think I accidentally put my phone in mute. Tell him I’ll be right there,” she said standing up.

"Oh, well, it's pretty anyway," Ciel said, her eyes straying to the boy and his phone. She stayed silent as the boy spoke, noticing Melissa's smile fading slightly. Whatever could that mean? "Isn't class going to start soon?" Ciel asked, frowning slightly. "Sorry, I don't know the bell schedule just yet."

“Yeah in a second,” she said. “I got to go though. I’ll be right back.” She went up to the teacher as soon as the bell rang and the announcement went on. She got a pass from the teacher and left.

"Okay…" Ciel watched Melissa walk up to the teacher and disappear out the door. She found it a bit weird that she was getting a pass to see some boy, but that was Mellisa's buisness. Still… It seemed like something weird was going on. Ciel decided not to pry, exactly, but she would still pay attention to everything that went on. Like usual.

A few moments of close to silence passed. The teacher didn’t even say anything. “So where are you from?” Jen asked. All three of them where staring at Ciel. David openly checking her out.

"I moved from the next city over," Ciel said, glancing between each of them. She was hoping this wouldn't turn into an interrogation. That was the last thing she needed at the moment. Ciel self-consciously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked towards the front of the classroom to avoid the group's stares.

The group went back to their phones. Except for David who kept glancing at her. He pulled his chair from behind her to next to her. “Hey what’s up?” He asked smiling.

Ciel looked over at David, a neutral expression on her face. "Oh, nothing much. Just.. trying to adjust, I guess." She smiled slightly, turning her pencil over in her hand. "Is this usually how the class goes?" Ciel nodded towards the front of the class, where the teacher was still not saying anything.

“Pretty much. Sometimes they give us packets. Don’t worry though rumor has it we’re getting a new teacher tomorrow,” he said. “Great for our future test scores but now it means we’ll probably have to do something.”
“Brandons not going to be to happy. Losing his ho during first period,” Grace joined in smirking slightly.

"Great. Hopefully, it won't be too much work." Ciel laughed slightly and flipped the pencil around her fingers again. "Why– what?" She looked over at Grace, her eyebrows creased slightly. "What do you mean, 'losing his ho'?" She was surprised at what Grace was saying. Did that mean Brandon was Melissa's boyfriend?

“You’ll see when Lisa comes back. She’ll have hickeys all over her neck,” Jen chuckled.
“Don’t know why they don’t just do it at home. She practically moved in with him,” Grace joined in again.
“It’s probably not that easy with her kid always around,” David said. The three of them where basically having a conversation between themselves. Almost forgetting about Ciel.

Ciel listened to them talk amongst themselves, noting everything that they said. So, Brandon was her boyfriend, it seemed. Or something like that. And she had a kid? Ciel bit her lip, wondering if Melissa was okay. Having a kid at that age seemed like a huge burden, at least to her.

The three talked away pretty much ignoring Ceil. Melissa came back near the end of class. She walked over to the empty desk and sat down. Staring at the desk. There where a few marks on her neck. Just like they said.

Since everyone was ignoring her and the teacher had yet to do anything, Ciel got out a book and started reading. She looked up when Melissa sat down at the desk. "Are you okay?" Ciel whispered, her eyes wandering to the marks for a second before looking back at Melissa's face.

Melissa smiled. “Yeah I’m fine. What are you reading?” She asked turning to face her. Her smile looked real enough but didn’t fully meet her eyes.

"Okay." Ciel wasn't too sure Melissa was telling the truth, but she didn't want to push too much. She'd just met Melissa, after all, and she seemed to be the only good candidate for a friend at the moment. "Oh, this? It's called Once & Future. By amy (the most wonderful woman in the world) Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy? If you're looking for something to read, I recomend it." Ciel smiled gently and ran a finger down the page slowly. The book was worn– it was clear she loved it.

“What’s it about?” She asked her smile softening. She leaned on her desk slightly. Her eyes moving from Ceil to the book.

"It's about Ari Helix, the latest reincarnation of King Arthur. She meets Merlin– who's been aging backward and honestly deserves the best– and tries to take down the evil Mercer company with the help of Gwen– love her too– and her knights." Ciel's voice was full of excitement as she talked, a soft smile on her face the entire time. "It has amazing representation, too. Altogether, an amazing book."

“That sound really cool. If I have time one day I’ll read it,” she said. She actually looked interested. “Do you read a lot?” She took out a notebook and jotted down the name of the book and authors.

"Uh… yeah. You should see my room. There are books everywhere. And I always have one with me. At all times." Ciel laughed, putting the book down so she could focus all her attention on Melissa. "If you need any more book recommendations, I've got you." On the word 'you', Ciel made finger guns at Melissa with a dorky smile on her face.

Melissa laughed slightly. “Thanks I’ll definitely take you up on that offer. I love reading but I haven’t had a lot of time lately,” she said. She put her notebook away.

"Alright, then." Ciel nodded, a smile still lingering on her lips. "Oh, not having enough time to read is the worst. I'm very sorry about that." She paused a little before her next question, debating whether or not to ask it. In the end, her mouth beat her brain. "Uh… one of your… friends… said you had a kid?" Ciel hesitated slightly before a string of words rushed out of her mouth. "Sorry, sorry, that's none of my business." She bit her lip and looked away, cursing herself for asking. That was probably a sore subject, and she'd just crashed into it during their first day of knowing each other. But sue her. Ciel was worried about Melissa.

Melissa kept her smile and just shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I figured someone would tell you sooner or later. Yeah I have a daughter. She’s three,” she said trying to seem calm. She was really freaking out. Not only did she feel bad lying to Ciel but she was also scared she wouldn’t want to be her friend after. It honestly didn’t even feel like a lie anymore. She was raising Lili And she was practically her kid.

"Ah, okay. Good." Ciel let out a breath, glad Melissa hadn't yelled at her or told her it was none of her business. Well, it kinda was none of her buisness, but still. "What's her name?" That soft smile that seemed to live on her lips was back again. "Are you two doing alright?" Her head was tilted slightly to the left, her eyes full of concern. Ciel really hoped she wasn't making Melissa uncomfortable, but she didn't know exactly how to show her that she was totally fine with her having a kid.

“Her names Lili we’re doing great,” she said. She tried to think of a way to change the subject. She loved talking about Lili and she was proud that she was raising her but she didn’t want to be asked too many questions. She might accidentally let something slip. “So why’d you move?”

"Aww, Lili is such a beautiful name. I'm glad you two are doing alright." Ceil nodded slightly, hoping they were back on mostly level footing. And then Marissa asked The Question. Ciel's face didn't change, but inside she was screaming. Because she really didn't want to tell anyone. But Marissa had shared something kinda touchy, so Ciel felt like she owed her something as well. "I, uh… my moms decided that school wasn't a good fit for me," She said at last. It wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't the whole story either.

Melissa nodded. “I get that that’s one of the reasons I moved schools too. Don’t know why they picked this hell hole though,” she said laughing slightly.

"Hah, well, it was the closest one to where we live." Ciel shrugged. "Aren't all schools hell holes, though? Anyways, what classifies this one as a hell hole? Besides all the usual stuff." She put her elbow on the table, resting her head in her hand as she looked at Melissa.