Internet-Degenerate

Fun fact: The wood frog can hold its pee for up to eight months.

April 25th. Wait, no, it's the 26th. I don't know, I haven't slept in at least 35 hours and now my circadian rhythm and mentality is all whack. Time is nothing but an abstract idea fabricated by humans as a means to schedule our lives and measure the passage of existence. We even use it to monitor our ongoing decay.

"Seraph, is everything okay?" I either hear a really real voice or an auditory hallucination. Sleep deprivation is making me determine whether what I'm hearing is real or not. If I determine what I'm hearing is real, I respond. If I determine it is not, I ignore it. Playing it safe, I ignore this question and sip on my tea.

"This tea is exquisite," I comment, ignoring the question I may or may not have heard. "It goes great with this bread."

"...You're becoming quite the gourmet." Oh! I recognize the voice of that slight sarcastic remark. It's Chloe's, I think.

"Yes, I guess I am," I confirm. "All the food here is lovely. I would rather not go back to dumpster diving for food again."

"I don't think anyone would want that..." Chloe says, with an air of pity.

"It's amazing how Seraph makes even eating a spectacle," Sol says. "He's always so fun to be around." That was a compliment, so obviously, I'm hearing things. And if I'm hearing things, I ignore them.

"Well, it surprised me when I came here, too," Chloe says, slurping her tea. "I feel bad saying it, but it's much better than my mum's cooking."

"But your mum's cooking is so good, though," I say, shocked by her statement. My words caught Sol's interest.

"Oh. You've eaten at Chloe's house before?" she asked.

"Yes, quite often, actually," I confirm. "My dad never cooked and I didn't know how to."

"Oh... ho ho." Sol giggled a little, sounding relieved. "For a moment I thought you were seeking parental approval."

"Approval for what?" I ask.

"Ah, nothing... ho ho ho..." Sol dismissed my question with another giggle as if she were Santa. 

But now that I'm rich, I won't have to bother anyone for food ever again. I love having money.

"I was really relieved to see you recover that lottery ticket. It really was haunting me," Sol says, after having read my mind. Or maybe I just said that out loud. That seems more likely. 

"An overnight millionaire..." I utter, swirling the tea in my teacup and acting extremely smug. "The penniless peasants around me must feel like gold-diggers now." I look straight at Chloe.

"Who might you be referring to, I wonder." Chloe's wording and glare implied that she already knew who I was talking about. 

"You." I tell her anyway. She kicked my shin from underneath the table, and deservedly so.

"...It's obvious you have been through a great deal," Rosalia softly spoke up from beside me, referring to my disfigurement. "But I never would have thought it, looking at the way you act."

"Oh, I think it's just a standard case of self preservation through depersonalization." I take a sip of my tea and continue to explain to her. "Basically, I just pretend that all the bad stuff that's happening to me isn't happening to me. I was in a more often than not in a state of 'that is not me' or sometimes 'that is not happening to me,' and when I was, nothing was as bad as it actually was."

Rosalia looked up at me, slightly aghast. "...That is not healthy..."

"No, but it works," I tell her, giving a little smirk and tapping my temple to indicate my genius. It didn't seem like anyone else was paying attention to my explanation.

"Money is important," Sol said out of nowhere, or continuing on from another conversation (I don't know I wasn't paying attention). She spoke in solemn tones, tapping the rim of her teacup with her fingertip. "Would you believe the cups that the students use are Royal Booster?" She directed the question at no one in particular.

"I don't know what Royal Booster is," I tell her. From context clues, I'm guessing it was the brand or company that made the teacups.

"Ah, you're not familiar with Royal Booster?" she asked me.

"Did I not just tell you that I don't know what Royal Booster is?" I answer her dumb question with another question. It seems my sleepiness has left me rather irritable. It doesn't seem like anyone noticed, though.

"It's the finest brand of bone china, isn't it?" Rosalia asks, uncertain.

"Yes," Sol confirmed. "They cost so much... you get in trouble if you break one. Although porcelain is quite difficult to break..."

"It's not just the dishes," Sapphire adds. "Everything at Vincennes, including the furniture, is of the highest quality. Even these chairs and this table where we sit..." 

"And the beds in the dorm are so soft," Chloe adds.

"Is this all supposed to be a bad thing?" I ask. It sounded like that's where they're going with this.

"Well, the school's finances being what they are..." Sol somberly trailed off, but that action said more than enough. "Really... I'll never know why they go through all this for mere students," she complained.

"The remodeling of the building was also quite costly," Rosalia says, adding insult to injury.

"If they'd done the remodeling to accommodate our current number of students, that would have been better. But well, in a way, it means we already have the facilities to handle integration." I don't know how Sol manages to find a reason to stay optimistic about things, but she does it anyway. It's like an art form. It's quite admirable, actually.

"Do you really believe the school will integrate?" Rosalia asked. There was no malice in her tone. She just seemed genuinely curious.

"Yes," Sol answered with certainty. "I do not intend to lose this fight. By the way..." Sol turned to face the person on her left. "You've been quiet all this time, Luna. Are you feeling unwell?" Honestly, I had been wondering about her, too. She looked healthy enough, but she had kept her eyes turned down miserably. For what ever reason could she be acting this way? I'm being a smartass, of course. She's looks hella guilty.

"I'm fine." Luna shook her head slightly, but didn't say any more than that. Then a moment later, she turned her eyes towards me. "Ah, Seraph." She sounded uncertain of what she was going to say next after she addressed me. 

"Yes?" I give her a gentle, knowing smile, just to let her know that I know what she did. Shortly after addressing me however, she turned her eyes down again and fell silent. Fell silent in guilt, of course. Then she turned her face away. Is she actually going to apologize?

"I-I heard a rumor," she said. I guess she wasn't apologizing. "That you peeped on the girls while they were changing."

"Oh, you heard that, huh?" I decide to mess with her state of mind a bit. But I don't think it's obvious that I know what she's done, so I doubt she knows I know, you know?

"I-I suppose you really are the Serpent Séduisant. It's your destiny to leave here after one term. Thank you for the food." With the final words to Sapphire, she quickly walked away. Walked away in guilt, of course. 

"I wonder what was wrong with Luna. She hasn't heard the truth yet...?" Sol said, baffled. It seemed she was quite dense. "Ah, well. By the way, Seraph, have you heard? The May Festival is coming up." 

"Nope. What is that?"

"It's an all-night dance ball. In our way of speaking, a Soirée Dansante."

"It's so much fun," Sapphire butts in, reminiscing with a soft smile on her face. "It's quite the custom to for girls to feud in private with each other over the right to dance with their favored." 

"The May Festival is also, in a way, the debut of the Association," Sol continues explaining to me. "The student council runs it, but the Association each submit a theme. It would be unbecoming to do the same thing every year, after all. Rosalia, has the Red Rose society finalized its plans yet?"

"No, not yet."

"I see. Neither have we. On that subject then," Sol addresses the Blue Lilies. "Our meetings beginning tomorrow will be about choosing a theme for the May Festival."