Three Hundred Fifteen Channels

[Adonya van Rutherford]

With cheer practice done, Blythe had nothing to do for the rest of the day, until dinner, whenever she decided to eat. She headed up to her room for a brief moment, changing into jeans and a fitted shirt. After hanging up her cheer uniform, Blythe headed back down the stairs and into the common room.

Since it was only an hour or so until dinner, she didn't grab a snack from the kitchenette, instead letting herself fall onto the couch directly in front of the TV. Only once she was down did she realize that the remote was still on the TV stand, and she sighed dramatically as she pushed herself up again. With the remote retrieved, she returned to her perch and then turned on the television.

After flipping through the entirety of the available channels, Blythe frowned and navigated her way back to a documentary that she'd seen. She didn't usually like things that weren't movies, but she had already seen what was on, or it didn't seem interesting, and the documentary dealt with fish. She dropped the remote onto the table, then kicked off her slippers and pulled up her feet, leaning back against the couch.

[Deleted]

After classes were over, Julius had went straight to his room and sat down with homework.  About an hour later, he had done most of his homework, but he was tired of it so he saved the rest for the evening.  He took Willy out and played with him for a little bit, until the gecko had to pee.  Julius then put him back in his tank, went to the bathroom and washed his arm off.

Julius headed downstairs, hoping to find something to do before dinner, preferably something relaxing.  He walked into the common room and saw a girl watching TV.  There were fish on the screen, but he didn't know what species and there was a sea turtle, a creature that he found more interesting then fish.  He strolled over to the coach and sat down beside the girl.  He didn't say anything, hoping that she would speak to him first.  He often did that because he felt that he was worth that, at least he wanted too feel that way.  He reminded himself that he was not some desperate loser, he was the one everybody wanted to talk too and be friends with.  At least he planned to come off that way.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe lost herself in the documentary, which upon further viewing proved itself to be about sea-life in general, not just about fish. In fact, she was watching only that, and tuning out the rest of the common room. That was, until some kid decided to sit next to her. At first, Blythe couldn't believe what had happened. It wasn't like the common room was crowded or anything, there were plenty of seats, and some of them were in-line with the television, so it couldn't have been that.

But no, he was indeed sitting there, not a word of may-I or introduction. How dare he? Giving the boy a withering glare, she spoke, her tone cold, "Excuse me. What do you think you're doing?" It wasn't her fault that this cocky kid thought that he ruled the school... But it was her responsibility to make sure that he realized he was nothing more than fresh-meat here. After all, they'd managed to put that gym-brat in her place, and she would remember it. This boy was no better than her, and didn't even have the benefit of Blythe's grudging respect for confidence. No, this wasn't confidence. Encroaching on her space was arrogant and unnecessary, and she would make sure that he recognized that.

[Deleted]

Julius was a little taken aback by her response, but he tried not to let it show.  He realized that maybe he should have greeted her, when he sat down next to her, because he had done that before, with other people, and that usually went over well, but he told himself that he could fix this.  He had not made a big mistake but only a small one, because even he was not perfect, even if he wished that he was and wanted to be thought of as such.  Still, he may not have sat down in the most polite way, but she was being really rude about it.  Who did she think that she was?  He may not be the boss of her but she certainly was not the boss of him. 

He gracefully turned his head and looked her straight in the eyes and said, "hello."  I am just sitting here, minding my own business.  Why should you care?  It's not like this is your room or anything.  It belongs to everybody in the Blue Ribbon House, including myself."  Julius hoped that that would set her straight because she was no better then him, even if she wanted to be. 

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe snorted at the boy's response to her question, "You came in, sat down on the one occupied couch in the room rather than any other seat without a word like some creep, and then you want to know why I care? Maybe because I would expect you to show some manners, rather than acting like an entitled brat." She turned her attention away from the boy, her mind racing as she considered her choices in retaliation. Of course, moving away wasn't an option, although this boy was almost uncomfortably close for someone whose name she didn't even know.

But she might be able to make him uncomfortable. Taking the remote from the table, she entered a channel number from memory, pulling up a channel that played movies, one after the other. Of course, the movie that was playing was one that any self-respecting cheerleader had seen, probably four or five times over the course of their life, but it certainly was a chick-flick, and that all that she needed it for. It didn't matter if she could repeat most of the lines verbatim already, Bring It On was always worth a rewatch. Once she had settled on the channel, she placed the remote on the empty seat next to her, away from the boy, should he try to reach for it.

[Deleted]

Julian realized that this was going to be harder to fix then he thought, because this girl kept acting like a brat.  "It may have been a little rude," he admitted, "but your reaction is even ruder, so I'm not moving." 

Julian did not know why she switched the channel, and he was a little disappointed by that, but he did not complain.  It took him a few seconds, but he recognized the movie.  He had seen it when he was eleven, with a girl who used to be his friend, who was a ballerina and a junior cheerleader.  He had not seen it since then, but he recalled it being kind of stupid but kind of enjoyable at the same time. He had told his friend at the time that he had kind of liked it, but he did not want to admit that to a stranger because it was kind of embarrassing.  He tried to tell himself that he was too cool to be embarrassed by something like that, but that didn't always work.  He glanced at the screen, but tried not to pay attention too much attention, not wanting to get caught doing so.  He didn't know why he suddenly cared at all what this rude girl thought of him, but he did.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe almost, only almost, couldn't contain her disbelief. This kid thought that questioning why he'd chosen to sit right next to her was ruder than the act of sitting next to a person that one didn't know without as much as a by-your-leave? He honestly had some issues, it appeared, “I guess I should be lucky that thinking like a three-year-old isn't contagious, otherwise I surely would have caught it by now. Logic like that.” Shaking her head, she ignored him in favor of the TV.

As she settled back to watch the movie, she couldn't help but notice the slight motion from the boy out of the corner of her eye. Unsure of what it had been, she turned her head the slightest bit and chuckled to herself as she saw his eyes most definitely glancing at the screen. Well, it appeared that the wannabe king of the world couldn't help but watch silly 'girly' movies... Something to remember in the future. Not that it was really of any use, smear-campaign-wise, but it was always good to know more about her housemates... Especially those who forced themselves into her company. She expected to find that this was not an isolated occurrence from whatever-his-name-is. “If I'm going to share to feel your body heat, you might as well introduce yourself, anyway.”

[Deleted]

"Well if I'm acting like a three-year-old then you're acting like a two-year-old," he argued.  He was not sure if that was even a good come back, but he could not come up with anything better.  He knew very little about two and three-year-olds so he was not sure if it even made any sense, but she had started it.  Although, after he said it, he wished that he had ignored her dumb and mean comment instead of saying another dumb and mean comment because now he was just as bad as she was and he was worried that this stupid fight would never end.

He sat there, half paying attention to the movie, until the girl spoke again.  She had a point that he should have introduced himself, although he could not help but think that maybe she should have too, and he felt kind of bad that he didn't. He turned to her and politely said, "Hello, My name is Julius Treven."  He smiled a charming smile and held his hand out for a shake. Maybe they could make up for their silly fight now, or at least he hoped so. It seemed to him like they had both been in the wrong.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe contained a snort at his little comeback. Did he really think that that was an insult? Shaking her head, she retorted, "In light of your apparent mental capabilities, I will ignore your feeble attempt at insulting me." Honestly, his attempt at making an insult was just amusing. He might like to think himself king of the world, but he certainly didn't deserve the title.

It surprised her that he decided to play nice and introduce himself after she'd admonished him for it, but he had. "I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I don't know if that's going to prove true yet. You may call me Blythe." Julius. Well, with a name like that, maybe he'd learned from his homonymous predecessor. After all, he'd had quite the reputation for terrible enemies, and even worse friends. She considered the proffered hand for a moment before she shrugged and shook the boy's hand, "So, Julius. Whereabouts in the world are you from?" She really didn't care about the movie playing, one of the other benefits to it. She could probably recite most of the lines in her sleep, and learning more about her housemates, even if it was only a thing to use against them in the future, was more important.

[Deleted]

"Yeah, well your attempt at insulting me didn't work either," he told her, "which makes my comment just as stupid as yours.  Actually, this whole argument is incredibly stupid.  Maybe we should call it off."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Blythe," he told her, firmly shaking her hand.  Blythe seemed like a weird name.  He figured that she must have weird parents, or maybe it was a nick name.  He almost asked if it was a nick name, but he didn't because he had a feeling that she would not appreciate being asked that.  Julius did not like nick names, as they had always seemed kind of dumb to him.  He felt like a persons name was important and it represented who they were so it was weird that some people wanted to change their name or go by a name other then their own.

 "I was born and raised in California," he answered, "where are you from?"  He was not just asking because she had asked him, he actually wanted to know.  He knew that where someone was from didn't always say that much about them, but it was still where their roots were, and that was important. 

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe chuckled at his reply, "It didn't work, yet you felt the need to defend yourself, both times. Yes, I'm pretty sure that's the definition of working. Honestly, just drop it, you're not doing yourself any favors." As he commented on the conversation that they'd been having, Blythe smirked, "Oh, the widdle baby can't handle playing in the big leagues? Stay in your crib." Sure, it would have been nice to drop it, but if he was that uncomfortable about it, then... He did deserve it.

As she shook his hand, she inclined her head, “See? This is how one introduces themselves and starts a conversation. It's not that hard after all!” She smiled, saccharine-sweet, and then listened to his response as to his place of origin, “Santa Monica, California. SoCal, to be exact, if you're wondering.” It rarely surprised people, when she told them where she was from. But then, why wouldn't they? She was the epitome of SoCal style, and she worked hard for that. Who really cared about stereotypes if they were true? It didn't bother Blythe in the slightest, “So, Julian from California. Tell me one interesting fact about yourself.” Perhaps he might actually come up with something interesting, that would make this conversation worthwhile.

[Deleted]

Julius glared at her, after her stupid comment that was annoying but too dumb for him to be insulted by.  He did not say anything about it because not want to sink to her level anymore.  

He was a little surprised that she was from the same state as he was, although not the same area.  He did not think of a certain type of person as being from California because, having grown up there, he knew that there were really lot of different people who lived in California.

"Okay than," he replied, when she asked him to tell her one interesting fact about himself.  He thought for a few seconds before answering, "I am a Danseur."  A lot of people, in the past, had teased him about that fact that he was a ballet dancer but he had decided that that people who were so stupid that they thought that that was something to tease him about were not worth his time.  There were also a lot of people did not know what a danseur was but the people who didn't know could learn, although he always tested to see if they knew first because some people actually did.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe raised an eyebrow at the boy's answer. Well, that was certainly interesting, if it was true, and not just blowing smoke, "Good for you." There was a point in his favor for the timing, though. He, for once, hadn't acted too cocky, and had had to think about it for a couple of seconds, but he hadn't taken so long to where she would suspect that he was just making up some lie. "Classical, contemporary, or other?" Or more than one, since most kids here weren't far enough into the game to just specialize in one thing, but then, some hadn't given up that hope yet.

As the credits to the film that had been playing, Blythe stretched, careful not to touch the boy, although she would gladly have 'accidentally' hit him, if she could have convinced anyone to it's unintentional nature. She stood, leaving the remote where she'd placed it, "then turned to Julian, "As enjoyable as this conversation has been, I really have better things to be doing." She still had to feed her own fish, and that would take up the time before she headed to the cafeteria for dinner. Yes, that would work, "I trust you won't hurt yourself or soil the furniture, left unsupervised." With that parting sally, she headed up the stairs to her room, her mind already turning to what she would do next.

[Deleted]

Julius tried to hide his appreciation for the fact that she not only seemed to know what a danseur was but that she also had some knowledge of ballet styles.  "Classical," he answered, with arrogance in his voice because he knew that classical ballet was the best form of ballet, at least he thought that it was.  He had also tried neoclassical and he had liked it but, it was kind of un-orderly so, he did not like it as much as the classical form.  He had never tried contemporary but he had seen it performed and he did not like it.

Julius was about to ask her to tell him something about herself, when she excused herself.  He glared at her last comment to him, which was just disgracing, but he didn't say anything about it or say anything at all.  After she left, he flipped threw channels for a little bit but he could not find anything that was of any interest too him so he turned the television off.  He decided that it was time to go upstairs and do some more homework. He didn't really want too, but he knew that if he kept on putting it off then it would never get done and that would be embarrassing.