“Ayla, will you stop fussing?” With it being the tenth time in the last ten minutes that Ayla had been trying to readjust her own dress as well as Eileen’s, she was getting a little sick of watching her.

“But it has to be perfect,” Ayla exclaimed in protest.

“It’s already perfect.” Eileen had no idea why looking absolutely flawless was so important to her, but she knew there was little else she could do at the moment. Ayla had already been fussing over it for the last two days.

She also didn’t think it was that important for going to a tea party with some women, but it made Ayla feel better, so she kept that thought to herself. But when it had started to go from a few times in the past days to the obsessive amount she was now checking over every little detail on their clothes, Eileen knew she had to put a stop to it for now.

Ayla looked like she wanted to protest but took one look at Eileen’s face and thought better of it. “Alright fine, let’s get on with this,” she sighed instead.

“Thank you.”

They’d been standing outside the venue for a few minutes too long and were starting to get stares for it. The party didn’t technically start for another five minutes, but Ayla had been so nervous they’d arrived earlier. She wasn’t surprised to note that the hosts had come by earlier, but as they walked in she noted that they were somehow the last to arrive.

Eileen frowned. Either that meant everyone else was nervous as well, or Georgina had somehow got the time wrong when she sent it to Ayla. Either way, she had a very bad feeling about being here. A glance at Ayla showed she was feeling a little overwhelmed by the stares boring into her.

She shouldn’t have been. The dresses she’d insisted they wear were absolutely beautiful and she’d already spent way too much time making sure everything was just perfect. Yet she somehow still was, and Eileen didn’t like seeing her that way.

Not giving the staring crowd much attention, she immediately made a beeline for Aminah and Georgina, taking Ayla’s hand to make her follow along as well.

“Hello! We’re so glad to be here.” Eileen beamed at them, “Are we late?” She tilted her head to one side in a curious expression.

If she was recalling correctly, Aminah cleared her throat in a nervous gesture. Yet, someone else answered for her. “Yes you are.”

Ignoring her, Eileen kept her stare on Aminah, who grew more embarrassed by the second before once again clearing her throat. “Just a little.”

“Is it normal in Teodes to come to a party early?” Eileen asked as if she didn’t know the answer, “Or did you get the timing wrong?”

Someone at the table next to them scoffed, “You can’t blame the host because you read it wrong.”

Now Eileen would have simply chose to pretend she hadn’t heard that if it weren’t for Ayla starting to close up. She turned to the woman and stared her down, tilting her head to the side, “I wasn’t talking to you. Why would you answer? My mama said it’s undignified to cut into someone else’s conversation.”

Then before the indignant woman could reply she turned back to the two women whose names she knew, “I thought you said this was a polite event for adults? Why are children here?”

“Children?” Georgina asked in confusion, eyebrows furrowing.

“Well yes.” Eileen told her like it was obvious, “why else would you say something like that?” She pointed at the woman who’d spoken as she did, ” People who are mature like adults don’t do that. Did you invite them by mistake?”

“She’s not a child.” Aminah told her.

“Really?” Eileen made her eyes wide and she could see the attention of the entire room shift from Ayla to her. “Then why is she acting like one?”

There was stunned silence for a few seconds before Georgina caved into the expectant stare Eileen was directing at her. “Well I-”

“And you still haven’t answered my question.” She turned to Aminah, before she could say more than a word. “You got the time wrong right? It would be detestable if you told her the wrong one. It’s not nice.”

Another beat of silence before Aminah cleared her throat, “Yes.”

“Good.” Eileen beamed at her, “So I guess you’re just as much of a good person as Ayla said you were. I was starting to think she was wrong and you were both horrible and mean.”

Then before the stunned women could reply, she turned around and directed both herself and Ayla to empty seats. A little of her annoyance faded when she heard the sound of muffled chuckles coming from Ayla’s direction. As they sat down, the silence in the room was deafening, but she pretended not to notice.

“Oh look cake.” Eileen muttered excitedly before cutting into her slice. If she had to put up with these people and their weird power plays, she better have good food. Ayla soon joined her in ignoring the gawking women and eating cake.

In between bites she glanced around the room, and gave them a big grin. Privately she made herself a promise that if anyone tried to start something, they’d simply leave. She didn’t have the patience or the time to spend dealing with immature antics like that.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, it turned out her worrying was unnecessary. After her grin, everyone seemed to come back to themselves . She was pleased to see them no longer staring so blatantly at Ayla.

“Hi! My name is Lenora.” She told the women at the table.

They looked at her for a few seconds before nodding and introducing themselves in return.

“Eloise.”

“Kate.”

“Alice.”

“It’s very nice to meet you.” Eileen gave them a smile before going back to her cake. Thankfully Ayla filled in the silence in her stead if they asked them a direct question. The atmosphere grew less tense as time went on and Eileen didn’t know whether or not she was glad for it.

Perhaps more glad than not. Ayla seemed to be enjoying herself being there. After all the stressing she’d done, she deserved to enjoy the party. Soon, the tea arrived and the conversation fell into an easy pace. She had to admit, it didn’t taste bad at all.

She also had to admit that Ayla was right. In the message the girls had sent, the dress code had been stated to be more casual than it currently was. Eileen didn’t think it was a trick so much as a difference in understanding the definition. She’d been dubious when Ayla had told her to wear the more fancy red dress she was, but evidently it had been the right choice.

They’d have stuck out like sore thumbs if they had decided to dress even a little more casually. Though why they wanted to wear such heavy gown in this weather was beyond her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Ayla shoot her a satisfied smile. Eileen shook her head subtly. It seemed they’d been thinking along the same lines.

Internally, Eileen mused that this would most definitely mean that Ayla would insist on her buying more dresses in the future. And perhaps she’d be right. But that didn’t mean Eileen would ever like them all that much.

It was much easier to move in a pair of pants. As nice as dresses were, they didn’t offer the same amount of freedom. She’d found that out when she’d almost face planted after tripping over the hem of hers while chasing a target. They’d eventually caught him, but that hadn’t made the moment any less embarrassing.

“She only moved back to Teodes a few days,” Ayla tells the women, “she was living in a more rural area before she came here.”

If the words hadn’t already made it clear, the way the women tried to subtly glance at her would definitely have clued her in that they were talking about her now. Still, she chose to pretend she hadn’t noticed and tried to sip her tea in peace. The less she talked, the lower the chance of something going wrong.

“Have you known each other long?” Kate looked at Ayla expectantly as she took a bite of her cake.

Ayla smiled, “Yes. We’ve known each other for years.”

“Aminahwas telling me that she doesn’t go to the academy,” Alice told them, “but does she have any alternate interests?”

Aminahdoesn’t really know anything about her. A part of Eileen was also annoyed that they were talking over her rather than to her. But seeing as the last time she’d been talking to people while with Ayla, it had ended with her acquiring a group of fans, she didn’t want to risk talking.

“Alternate interests?” Ayla blinked at them, “Do you mean an occupation?”

Alice hesitated before saying, “Yes?”

“Yes she does,” Ayla’s voice this time lacked its previous warmth, “Why would you think otherwise?” The last question was said with such saccharine sweetness, that Eileen’s snapped up to glance at her friend.

Her face was set in a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Oh no. Her eyes widened as she caught the expression on her face. Ayla was angry. It seemed the girls had caught it as well because they hesitated to answer. The way they paled and surrounding people stopped to stare as well told her they’d never seen her be angry.

“Well?” Ayla narrowed her eyes when she didn’t receive an answer, “I’m waiting.”

“Ayla,” Eileen thought it was best to change her focus. Unfortunately, Ayla only glanced at her for a few short seconds before gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes on the girls. This wasn’t good.

The more time passed without an answer the stormier Ayla’s face became. It was such as contrast from her normal disposition that even Georgina and Aminah turned to stare. Their eyes were wide as they flickered between Ayla and the girls, looking lost. For a very short moment, Eileen pitied them.

“Ayla…” She once again tried. She was relieved when Ayla turned her head and held her stare, but the emotions swirling in her hazel eyes were anything but calm. Eileen was about to ask her to leave it be when someone else interrupted her.

“What’s wrong with their questions? It’s surprising enough that you have had a friend that long, but for it to be a country bumpkin?” The woman tsked, “But then again, it’s only natural considering your special…Interests.” Her gaze flickered over Ayla in a way Eileen definitely did not like. “To think-”

“With all due respect, kindly shut up.” Eileen told her with a grin, “Is everyone in your academy except Ayla born with piss poor personalities, or is it from something in the food?” Eileen blinked at them dumbly, “Is that what the academy is for? To manufacture stupid food?”

“How dare you say something like that!” The woman next to her seemed to be indignant at the prospect. Pity.

“What did I say wrong?” Eileen stared at her innocently, making it clear she was genuinely confused. “Isn’t it the food? Or are you telling me you’re just born this bitter and stupid?”

“Bitter?” The first woman who Eileen now hated spoke.

“Well of course.” She nodded sagely, “You’re jealous because Ayla is so much smarter than you.” That statement seemed to stun them silent. Eileen was amused to note that some of them were looking at her like they thought she was insane.

“But it’s okay,” she continued, “If you work hard, you can some day become that smart too.” She gave them a big grin as she went to stand up, and turned to the women at her table again.

“You shouldn’t have made Ayla mad,” Eileen told them as the grin slipped of her face, “And I don’t know what it was, but apparently it was about me.” She stared them down until they were squirming in their seats before giving them a saccharine smile, “next time just ask me directly, alright?”

They nodded tightly and Eileen couldn’t help but note that this morning had gone to hell in a second. Taking a glance to the side, she saw Ayla was very silent, looking lost in her own thoughts. Sighing internally, she turned to face their gracious hosts.

“This party wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be,” She shrugged, “Your guests aren’t nice.” When she spoke next it was for all of the guests in attendance to hear, “My mama said people who don’t know how to apologise are worst than cow dung.”

Grabbing both her bag and Ayla’s, she made her way to the gate, Ayla trailing close. When she got to the entrance and Ayla was stepping through she turned her head to give them a blank stare. “You’re not going to be cow dung people are you? You would smell absolutely horrible.”

Then she turned and walked out before any of them could give a reply. Gods she’d only met these people once and she already hated them. Her eyes wandered to Ayla before travelling to the sky as she let out the sigh she’d been holding in the entire time. For Ayla’s sake and theirs, she hoped they would fix their attitudes.

“I’m sorry those girls didn’t live up to your expectations.” Eileen broke the silence after they had been walking for tens of steps.

“I’m not.” Ayla’s face held more anger, but the sorrow was still there. “I don’t want anything to do with them. Not after what those girls implied about you and not after seeing their attitudes. If I ever see them again, I’m going to smack them in the face.”

Eileen was stunned. Ayla had always been somewhat protective of her in the past, but it had never been geared towards violence. Maybe this had shaken her more than she had thought.

“Ayla, darling,” Eileen started, “You know that was sort of the point of this disguise yes?” When that made her pout grow and eased none of the anger, Eileen sighed, “Honey, I don’t care what they think.”

“You might not, but I do!” Ayla narrowed her eyes on her, “I don’t like hearing them talk about you that way. What right do they have? I’m going to smack them!”

“Darling,” Eileen started, a little amused despite herself, “You would need to learn how to punch then, otherwise you’d just hurt yourself.”

The statement finally made the anger slip from her face, indignation taking its place. She had to smother her laugh at the sight.

“I would not,” Ayla gasped.

“Sure. Sure.”

“Stop laughing!”

It had the opposite effect and Eileen was now laughing even more, a hand going up to cover her mouth. Her face was priceless. Ayla huffed in annoyance but Eileen could see her lips twitch. Then her eyes stopped on Eileen’s and a flicker of mirth entered them.

“Cow dung?”

“Of course, shitty actions make shitty people.” She told her in mock seriousness.

And suddenly Ayla was laughing along with her. No sign of the anger in those hazel eyes as she doubled over with the force of it. Thank the gods.