now, who would watch clouds at night?

[lorelai]

It was getting darker, but she didn't care.

Her figure trekked across an imaginary bridge, stretched high over a deep abyss. She was searching... but for what? She stopped, and, suddenly, the bridge was gone. An ordinary bench, she stood on, steamy blue eyes obscured in a pensive phase. What was she searching for, anyway? The imagination of an eleven year-old, once invincible and spotless, had a flaw. She didn't plan things, anymore. It was like she'd almost forgotten how to play.

Since her months of illnesses, sickness in bed, she hardly even remembered what it was she used to do. It wasn't an explorer searching for gold, anymore. It was an explorer searching for the cure for the common cold. And that was not child-like at all. For one thing, it was far too advanced (even for a bright child like Dominique) and for another... Who would even think of doing something as boring as that?

A slight sigh emitted chapped lips, which soon turned into a cough. Another cold was coming. She soon resumed a sitting position on the bench, having a slight difficulty getting down, but none whatsoever sitting. She searched the depths of her mind desperately for something to do-- anything to do. Oddly enough, she drew a blank, and ended up lying there watching the clouds race merrily as they darkened slowly. She really should've been getting to bed.

"Well," she croaked, then cleared her throat, "I suppose this will do." Pushing a chestnut lock out of her face, she once more melded into the likes of a silent reverie.

"But who would watch clouds at night?"

[elisabetfleuton]

"Bon nuit Lissie!"
Lissie should've replied to her friend. But what was the point? Her friend knew, like herself, that it was one of those days where the 16 year old could only wander aimlessly round the grounds of her beloved school and let her mind do the same.
Did she know where she was going? Of course not. Her eyes were scanning the view in front of her, but they were glazed, out of focus, not there.
Lissie wasn't dressed for the cold night air. She only had a black zip-up top with a pink skull and crossbones on the back over her uniform, not exactly enough to keep the cold out. But she didn't care.
Her bench was taken. By a first year. Grreat Lissie simply sat down next to the girl, her eyebrows raised in a way that would hopefully convey the fact that she would prefer not to be disturbed.

[lorelai]

She was startled when a form-- much large than her own-- sat right near the top of her head. She was just in the middle of telling herself that the odd shaped cloud to the right looked like a horse she used to have. Julien said it was given away. André said it was given away. But their eyes said it was dead... or, rather, their eyes didn't say it was dead.

She'd noticed they'd refused to make eye contact with her while saying that, and she knew. A lie. Poor Minou was dead.

"Hello," she began, before raising eyes as far as they could go to study her. She was pretty, sort of, but she had this look to her. Maybe she didn't want to be disturbed. Oh, well. Domi didn't want to be disturbed either, and she came along.

[colette]

A loud yawn broke the evening silence as Colette ambled around the gardens. Having just finished her dinner, the sixteen-year-old felt relaxed and almost a little sleepy. Pretty pathetic, considering you've had two naps today, she thought, stretching out her arms.

Dressed in a long denim skirt that made it difficult to walk in and a flowy white top, she didn't exactly look like the other students. She had changed out of her uniform after spilling sauce all over it at dinner when she heard about a most interesting piece of gossip. She wasn't that interested in gossip, but it was fun to know about everyone's lives, just to compare them to her own.

Approaching a nearby bench, Colette realized that there were two figures on it; a younger girl in her own house and an older one who Colette had never seen before. They were an interesting site, the two of them. Could they be related? With such an age gap, she couldn't see why they would be sitting together. Shrugging, she half-walked, half-skipped over to them, a grin plastered on her face, and said brightly, "Bonsoir! Who are you?"

[elisabetfleuton]

Great. It couldn't get much worse. Not only had the girl said something to her which she was now forced to reply to, but another girl had joined them, a girl who she had earlier seen spilling some sort of food down herself.
Lissie sighed, rubbing her sleepy eyes wearily and averting her gaze to her fellow 6th year.
"Salut. Je suis Lissie, et tu?" sh asked, her voice moulding perfectly into a polite tone.
But you musn't get the impression that this young woman was a rude, insociable cow. Of course not, she was one of the most sociable creatures walking round the school. But not now. Now was different. Now the sun was disappearing, along with her enthusiasm for life. Maybe tomorrow would be better. Maybe tomorrow someone who was different to the airheads here would appear.

[lorelai]

She looked up at the sound of another, unfamiliar voice. Hadn't she seen that girl in her commonroom? Probably.

"I'm Dominique! Dominique Chaubert," she replied, quite cheerfully, which served as an odd mood change to that of the sluggish 11 year-old portrayed only moments ago. "You can call me Dom, though. Or Domi. Or whatever else you can think of... Like..." She attempted a smile, but that was ruined by a hoarse cough.

She sat straight, making some room for the new girl. "Oh! D. Père calls me that." Cough. "But you can too, if you want."