xp_logs | [Sarah, Marie] I'm not checking up on you... (Reply)

After this post, Marie takes a trip downstairs to see how Sarah's doing. Remarkably, her 'interference' isn't met with any disapproval.

By the time she'd got to the basement, Marie still didn't have a reason for visiting Sarah other than the girl's irritable post. -What the hell.- She gave up the attempt. Sarah wouldn't be fooled; it was all just protocol and etiquette of the oddest sort anyway, the thin 'I'm not really worried, I just fell down four flights of stairs and there you were' excuses for checking up on someone. She knocked on Sarah's door and waited for the response.

Sarah, still clad in a thin t-shirt and shorts from her morning workout, laid sprawled out on the bed with a notebook opened in front of her with heavy blue scrawl on it. "Yeah. Come on in," she said listlessly.

"Hey." Marie let herself in and closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry that kid was such a shit," she said, leaning on the door with her hands in her pockets. "Kids are pretty cruel."

"Yeah, and I got all the winners." She tucked the pen inside the notebook, closing it, and tossed it onto the desk. "Now you see why I didn't go back."

Marie nodded. "I can see it. I always figured you had your reasons, and that they were good ones. Was that the straw that broke the camel's back? Or just one of many straws?"

"That was it. I realized what had happened, and I didn't get on the bus to go back." She ran a hand through her hair, and pushed herself up onto her forearms. "I was on my own for about a week before Callisto found me."

"Ah," Marie said, in that tone that said things had clicked in her head. She slid down to sit on the floor with her back to the door, forearms resting on her knees, staring at her hands. "I can see why you'd dislike today, then. I'm sorry, but in some ways, I'm glad you left. That probably sounds naive or sentimental, but it's true. I am sorry people treated you that way, though."

"Seven families in two years.. I was so fucking sick of it." A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth for a moment. "I was nine, nearly ten, and I was so fucking sure I could make it on my own. On the streets of fucking Manhattan."

Marie looked up at Sarah and grinned. "I like that about you. Crazy." She shook her head, laughing a little.

"I'm not sure crazy even begins to cover it." She finally did smile, gesturing vaguely towards her desk. "I think a good thesaurus would probably give us the alternative "absolutely fucking insane".

"Congratulations all the same," Marie said a little wryly. "And happy anniversary, so to speak."

"Yeah, something like that. It just pisses me off more than anything. I'll get over it." She shrugged, sitting up and swinging her legs off the bed.

"Well, it's that or die, right?" Marie made a face. "God, I'm in a mood today. That wasn't helpful. I'm sorry. Keeping up this responsible teacher thing is killing me.

Sarah eyed her, leaning forward as she let two bones come through at her spine. "Then don't. Don't play the responsible adult all the time. There's other people who can do that just as well, and it'll give you a break."

"Other people?" Marie waved a hand vaguely and let her head fall back against the door with a dull thud. She scowled at the ceiling as though it had offended her, or maybe the look was directed through the floors. "I'd say you're right but... in a couple cases I feel responsible for the people involved and it's hard to just say I'm not. Besides, I damn well live /right there/. It's a little uncharitable to turn a blind eye, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. But you can't fix everything Marie, no matter how much you may want to." She followed Marie's gaze up. "It's going to take more than just you and Shinobi to fix that."

"I know. Do feel free to remind us as often as possible. Somedays I just want to run away from home," Marie said irritably, then put a hand over her mouth. She looked at Sarah apologetically for a moment before speaking again. "Wow. That was amazingly insensitive of me."

If the comment offended Sarah, it doesn't show. She shook her head, looking back down at her knees. "Don't worry about it."

"I do." Marie shifted and crawled over, then lay on the floor at Sarah's feet, looking up at her appealingly. "I worry. And apparently I'm losing my sensitive touch. Sorry."

"It's okay. Really." She gave Marie an amused smile, and puffed herself up a bit. "I'm tough."

Marie giggled at that, shaking her head. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Big, tough Sarah. I'd ask you to prove it again, but I teach class at oh-why-did-I-say-I'd-do-this-hundred hours." She looked at her watch and sighed. "And I shouldn't show up to class with a black eye or anything."

"Yeah, people might get a little suspicious." Sarah nodded, and looked at her own watch. "And I should probably change and get some lunch before my next class."

"I don't know." Marie sat up and looked over her shoulder at Sarah. "You look kind of cute like that," she said with a grin.

Sarah laughed, "Yeah, but I can't imagine my pretty half would be very pleased when it finally tears in half. He gets jealous like that."

"I can see that. I can't fault him one bit. Besides," she said, getting to her feet, "he shares just about everything else with people."

"Very true." She nodded, swinging her feet again over the edge of the bed. "Thanks for coming down Marie."

"Thanks for not being annoyed by me coming down." Marie went to let herself out. "I'll see you later."