They Call Her Tala.

2. Dinner

Pulling out her phone, she texts Kenneth, the singer of the band and her history classmate. Sure you don't want me to just come over to your house this time?

Kenneth replies with, Naw, parents are out for the night and I would rather have a home-cooked dinner than a hotpocket. See you in an hour.

Groaning, Vixy strips out of her clothes, intending to take a bath. Pulling open the curtain, Vixy begins to scream, finding her bathtub covered in glitter. "I'M GOING TO KILL HER!"

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Tala walks carefully from the kitchen to the dining room, a large bowl of salad in her - now clean - hands. Abigail sets the cutlery, having already put out the plates.

"Where?" Tala asks, not wanting to mess anything up. Abigail points to the middle of the table. The dark-haired teenager places the bowl in the center with care, then returns to the kitchen to help Dr. Morrison with the rest of the food.

Soon, the table is set, with Dr. Morrison, Mr. Morrison, Abigail, and Tala all waiting for Victoria and her friend.

Vixy sits outside the house, swinging on the porch swing. A leg crossed over the other, Vixy tugs at the end of her button up shirt, the blue complementing her eyes. With her hair partially pulled back, the bangs surrounding her face, she hides in the darkness. When two lights flash across the porch, she lifts her head. Heart fluttering, her palms become slightly sweaty. This is the first time that Kenneth would be coming over without the rest of the crew.

Rising, she greets Kenneth with a hug. His piercings brush her cheek and a shiver runs down her spine. He takes the shiver as something to do with the temperature, "I'm sorry if you've been waiting on me. I got held up for a bit."

"Oh, it's okay," Vixy says, a small smile on her face as she leads him up the stairs and into the house.  "So.. mom took some patient in. I haven't met her yet, but I'm just letting you know, she's a mental case."

Kenneth chuckles lightly, "Aren't we all?"

Vixy, nervous, doesn't answer; instead, she ushers Kenneth into the dining room. "Mom, dad, you rememeber Kenneth, right?"

Her mother welcomes him with a warm hello, while her father gives him a look over, as if warning him, man to man, not to mess with his daughter. Though, he does so politely. Abigail bats her eyes, fanning her hand in front of her face, unknowingly mocking how Vixy feels.

Tala, who had been staring off at something across the room, breaks from her daydream and looks up. Her grey eyes lift timidly, and she tugs self-conciously at an end of her short black hair. As she takes in the two newcomers, she fights the urge to stand up and sniff them, remembering what Dr. Morrison had said about doing that. Apparently, humans don't sniff each other upon greeting.

Besides, Tala feels like she needs to make a good impression. Especially with the pretty one. She looks a lot like her parents, but she has strikingly dark hair, like Tala's own.

"Come, sit, both of you," says Dr. Morrison. "Victoria, Kenneth, this is Tala. She'll be staying with us for.. She'll be staying with us. Tala, this is  my daughter, Victoria. Kenneth is her friend."

Tala tugs her shirt slightly to the left, uncomfortable in it, and gives a cautious smile.

"Wild hair," Kenneth nods his head, "It's cool."

Beside him, Vixy looks at the stranger, taking her in. The dishevled hair shouts just how uncivilized Tala is. Putting a hand on Kenneth's shoulder, Vixy lets her eyes flit over the girl and to the empty seat in front of Abigail. "Would you like to take the seat besides my mother?" She asks.