Room 120 - Colette and Amy

[Amy Myers]

After her semi-succesful outing in the Danger Room Amy comes back to her room, her hand finding Basil's note in her pocket. She knocks on the door as she steps inside.

"Hey, I'm back. You around, Colette?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Euh... yes. Yes! Come in. I am decent."

When Amy opened the door Colette would be found sitting on the edge of her bare mattress, her hair a bit askew as though she'd been laying down. Though from the look of the clothing laid out over the bed and sides of the little pool she'd bee sorting through her things again.

[Amy Myers]

"How's it going? I got a letter for you here."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I am just putting zings into order. Ze forecast has changed for ze coming week so I had to make some changes to my wardrobe schedule. I hope zat you are well."

The girl looked up at Amy. "A letter? I have not given anyone but my parents zis address, and zey would normally contact me via courriel. Zis is rather strange."

[Amy Myers]

"It's not... Basil dropped this off for you. He... said he wanted me to vouch for how sincere he was or something. I think he just didn't want to push it under the door." she says, walking over to hand the envelope to the strange girl.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette took the letter with a little huff, her fingers smooth and devoid of any prints. "Ze British and zeir formalities." She grumbled before adjusting her tone and posture. "Zank you Amy."

With some difficulty she got the envelope open and began to read the contents.

[Basil Benson]

The sealed envelope contained a hand written note entirely in French. The first draft of the letter, the one written in English, was extremely detailed explaining the regret he had felt at the outcome of his behavior. This one however--

To the Madame Rosenhoff,

I am very very very sorry. I would like to explain myself but I do not know what is wrong with me. I cannot be around you without acting dumb.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make up for it. Until then, I will make sure to avoid you so I do not annoy you unless you tell me it's okay. If you never say It's okay, I will understand.

Best regards,

Basil Oliver Benson

This one read like it was written by a well read and very contrite eight year old. Though nothing was technically wrong with the spelling or syntax, his lacking grasp of the greater nuances of the French language showed through painfully in written text. Also his handwriting was terrible, seemingly in both English and French by the way he signed his name.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette rubbed her forehead after reading the note, her head a bit more responsive to her fingers than normal for a person.

"Oh Baseel." She sighed. "I fear I may have been a little too hard on him."

[Amy Myers]

"He's kind of super British, isn't he?" she says, definitely not staring at Colette denting her own head. That'd be rude.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Painfully so. But perhaps zose of us who live in glass houses should not cast stones. Perhaps I have underestimated how badly he is taking his situation.""

[Amy Myers]

"He was pretty stuck up when he apologized to me."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"He is British and comes from money. I do not zink it is possible for him to not be stuck up, zough whezer it is intentional or not I cannot say."

Colette looked at the letter again for a moment.

"Did he appear sincere to you? When he apologized?"

[Amy Myers]

"Yeah, he may be stuck up, but he was honest.. I'm not even sure he knows how to lie. Maybe by coating it in thick enough sarcasm."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Honesty is one of ze traits zat trumps ze rest." Colette thought for a moment and let out a sigh. "I suppose I should forgive him. Peasants cannot be finicky... I believe zat is ze phrase."

[Amy Myers]

"Peasants? Not sure I'm following..."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Zose who are lacking cannot turn away what little zey are able to receive, regardless of ze quality?"

[Amy Myers]

"Beggars can't be choosers? Whose the beggar supposed to be in this? You?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette raised an eyebrow - well the part of her that was shaped like an eyebrow, since she didn't actually have any hair.

"Zis surprises you? I will admit, a case could be made for monsieur Benson. All of his friends in his former life have abandoned him, but zis is ze case for many students here. If he acts wiz truz and humility, in time he will make better friends zan ze ones he lost."

[Amy Myers]

"I still don't know what you're getting at. You don't have many friends so you have to accept his apology?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Well, I do not have to. But zat is ze general idea, yes."

[Amy Myers]

"That's kinda sad..."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette shrugged her shoulders. "La vie ce n'est pas d'attendre que les orages passent, c'est d'appendre à danser sous la pluie."

The silence that occurred spurred her to speak again. "Sorry, my mozer often quoted proverbs to me when I was a child. It means 'life is not waiting for ze storm to stop, life is learning how to dance in ze rain'. We can sit and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can find joy in ozer zings and live our lives."

[Amy Myers]

"Do what you think is best." she shrugs.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"You disapprove?" Colette asked. "Did you not forgive him?"

[Amy Myers]

"I guess. But he was annoying about it and you shouldn't just forgive him because you feel obligated to. It's the principle of the thing."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I do not feel obligated." Colette pouted. "He may have acted like an ass but so does every other man his age. I may have been offended, even insulted, but I was not harmed in any way.

"Basil has lost every friend he has ever known, and even his family to an extent. His mutation is completely out of his control and makes him feel like an outcast even among students who feel like outcasts zemselves. Whezer it was out of desperation on his part or genuine, he is one of ze few people on zis campus who not only attempts to hide zeir disgust for me, but has gone out of his way to speak with and interact wiz me as a proper friend. And even if he had not, I would not wish such ostracization on anyone who is suffering. He did a stupid zing, but I believe him to be a genuinely good person."

[Amy Myers]

"I'm not ostracizing him because he's invisible but because he's an ass. I'm trying really hard to put up with all this weird shit and what do I get in return? People jumping out at me, making me blow up the cafe and wrecking what little dams I'd put up to keep this under control. And he knew about that. I don't care if he didn't do it on purpose!"

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I am not asking you to forgive him or anyzing of zat sort. " Colette stood up and adjusted her shirt. "Of ze two of us, what he did was far more hurtful to you zan to me. You have every right to be upset. I am not preaching a sermon in ze hopes of guilting you into doing somezing, I am simply trying to explain my actions."

[Amy Myers]

"Fine, whatever. It's not like he's less of an ass when he apologizes in person, so I guess a card isn't much worse."