Dinner at Harriman (open)

Evalee tugged slightly on the pale blue turtle neck sweater she was wearing. Where the butler had found such a thing, she'd never know. Probably a designer store of some kind...Not that she approved, but she wasn't the one handling the money, now was she? Luckily, he knew that she wouldn't want anything ridiculous...Unluckily, he seemed to adore putting her in expensive, intricate clothing. She'd managed to dig out the turtleneck was was wearing and a pair of regular flare jeans...But barely. Sometimes, it royally sucked that she was still so small she fit in children's clothing rather than pre-teen's. Maybe...Maybe it was a good thing the butler usually went shopping for, or with, her. He had a good eye for clothing that would not only look good on her, but wouldn't make her feel like a child.

Her golden curls had been pulled back with a blue bow, the top layer up and the rest of it down, just to keep her hair out of her eyes. Nervously, though, she reached up to tuck an imagined lock behind her ear and found only air. Embarrassed, she lowered her hand again. She was standing near one wall in the Dining Hall, trying to remember where her feet were. This whole lunch line idea was rather alien to her, so she was trying to work up the courage to join the end of the line. It took her another moment and then she was moving. She headed straight for the very short lunch line. She got there and mentally patted herself on the back, although her calm expression never wavered. Within moments, she was through the line and had a tray of food in her hands. Now she didn't know what to do. She'd never had lunch at a school before, and she wasn't sure how the table society worked.

Blue eyes carefully scanned the room and located an empty table. Quietly, she made a beeline for that table and sank into her seat with much relief. "I hope this gets easier..."

Ozzie smiled warily as he followed the delicious scent of Harriman's cafeteria into the room itself. He was smiling because the smell of the food was so good and wholesome and so completely different from the smells he normally associated with mealtime. It was real food, not some strange chicken-in-a-box or hamburger helper or spam, and it was a smell he was far from accustomed to. Apart from the few meals he'd had at Aunt Emily's house on the couple of days before starting school, Harriman's cafeteria was the only place he'd had more than one non-disgusting meal in a row. He was wary, however, because the noise and bustle of the cafeteria meant that the room was always full of potential bullies and scary older kids. So far he'd only enjoyed meals in silence, perhaps with the company of one of the books he'd picked out of the Harriman library (wonderful place, that was), so he hadn't had to interact as of yet. However, instead of making him feel safer, this fact only served to make him feel sad and a bit homesick.

He joined up in the lunch line, standing still and anxious when the line wasn't moving, and piled up his tray with fries, chips, apples, and a huge tuna sandwich. He stepped away from the counter once he was at the end of the line, not wanting to be in anybody's way, and looked around for an empty table he could go and mope at. He was so lonely at this particular moment of time that he probably would have even enjoyed the company of one of his brothers, yet he still found himself hoping that he wouldn't have to sit at a table with a stranger. This afternoon, however, it seemed that he would have no such luck. He would, for the first time, have to share a lunch table with somebody he didn't know. His stomach turned in on itself at this prospect, and he quickly began looking around for tables with the fewest number of people. His eyes fell on a table with only one current occupant.

This occupant looked like she was another sixth grader, maybe a seventh grader but that was unlikely, and something about the way she looked, sitting alone at her table, made Oz think suddenly and painfully of the little sister he had left back in Mississippi. Oz commanded his feet, which currently seemed to be at least partially glued to the cafeteria floor, to move his body to the table. He had to eat somewhere, and she was probably just as new as him.

But what if she had siblings here? What if she already had a place? He didn't want to put himself where he wasn't wanted, but...something about her. Maybe it was because she reminded him so much of Annie, maybe it was because she looked almost as utterly lonely as he felt, or maybe it was because he had never seen hair quite like hers. Hair that looked like it had been stolen from the sun. Whatever the reason was, Oz suddenly found himself walking carefully towards her table, stopping behind the chair across from hers. "Is this seat taken, miss?" he asked, his Mississippi breeding twanging in his words. He was sort of afraid that she would say no, not wanting to spend lunch with a boy who's only items of clothing under five years old were his socks and his bright white sneakers. "I'm Osmond. Sixth grade. Theater tech. You?" Each word was a struggle with his solitary nature, and once his 'introduction' was over with, he put a handful of fries in his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk again until he finished chewing.

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Okay, so she'd been going to the school for a while. And some might think she was sick of the food and the way she was required to retrieve it for herself. She'd never been required to do that in Colorado and she'd had her own personal chef. So Harriman's food might not be made by some chef that everyone wanted, but she still found it to be really tasty. Although terrifying, Evalee also found the idea of waiting patiently for her chance to get her meal really neat. Besides, every time she got out of line and went to an empty table, she felt a thrill of exhilaration for doing something new to her.

Most people wouldn't be excited by something so simple. But whatever, it made her happy. Since she was still so very lonely, even though she'd been at the school for a while now, it was nice to be able to feel any happiness at all. Just a few minutes of the emotion was enough to help her get through the day. Still, she often found herself wishing for someone to talk to, a friend to connect with. Yet, there was no one. She felt even more isolated now, surrounded by other students, than she had been when she'd been exiled.

She was just musing on the possible whereabouts of her brother when a boy walked up to her table. He had dark locks on his head cut in a neat style. He asked a question and she almost missed it, because she was too busy staring at him. It wasn't that she was trying to be rude, but he was the first person to have approached her thus far. Was he a sixth grader or a seventh grader? She couldn't decide.

As he introduced himself, she returned to herself, and glanced down apologetically. Meeting his eyes boldly, Evalee smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Osmond. I'm Evalee. Sixth grade. Theater." Should she have said aspiring actress instead? No matter. Now she knew his name and age and what his specialty was. Oh, wait, an answer for his first question. "Please, sit down. I'd love some company. Meals are always best when you have someone to eat them with."

Oz was a little unnerved by the small blonde girl staring at him as if he were an endangered species. Of course, he couldn't let it bother him that much, since he had stared at her for almost a minute before finally deciding to join her for lunch. Oz chewed his french fries, terrified that the girl's staring would merely end in her telling him that he was not up to her lunch buddy standards and he should remove himself from the premises immediately. Oz made himself stop thinking this way. It wasn't fair for him to automatically assume that she was a bully, especially since she was probably feeling as lost and lonely at Harriman as he was. He had to at least give her the benefit of the doubt! A pleased smile spread on his lips as she traded her introduction for his.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Evalee." he said, picking up a chip and smiling a bit wider at his new friend. Erm. Aquaintance. "If you're in theater, then I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I'll try not drop any lights on you or anything." The hand bringing the chip to his mouth stopped cold. "Not that I do that!" he said quickly, waving both of his hands in front of him, wishing he could take back his words. "I don't go around dropping lights on people, really." He shoved the chip in his mouth and chewed quickly, feeling his cheeks going red. "Can we start over?" he asked, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand to make sure there was no lasting chip residue. "You're in theater, then. What made you want to act?"

Evalee knew she shouldn't stare. She knew it was impolite. But he was so interesting, just his appearance. He didn't even have to do anything except stand there and she was absolutely fascinated. Suddenly, she wanted to know more about him. Where did he hail from? What was his favorite color? Food? He was probably just an ordinary boy...But he was the first child to ever express any interest in her. She'd never spent much time around other children and they'd never found her particularly interesting. Probably because they had mommies and daddies to bother and she was just a simple little girl. In any case, she could have hugged this brave soul for asking permission to sit with him. She probably would have given him her food if he'd asked. However, there was no such need for him to do such a thing, he already had his own tray, after all.

Evalee beamed. Two theater kids..Well, theater and theater tech, but still. His comment about dropping lights on her made her pause for a moment in the midst of spooning some corn. And then his quickly added rebuttal. She couldn't help herself, she giggled at him. "Well, I'll understand. Just call me the Wicket Witch of the East and you can drop a house on me." Amusement tinged her voice. Noticing his embarrassment, she nodded in reply to his plea for starting over. His next question startled her. What had...? Well, now, that was a new question. "Well...I was always making up stories when I was little and then acting them out...One day, when I was exploring my house, I found a manuscript. I decided I would get Mallory and Hunter to help me perform it in front of the staff. It just kind of spun out from there. I've always had a passion for pretending to be someone else, to live a different life. As an actress, I get to step into other sets of shoes and see how that person lives, even if just for two hours on stage. It's beautiful." Evalee stopped herself and blushed. "Ah...anyway, enough about me. What about you? Why do you like theater tech so much?"

When he was quite sure that the first person his age he'd met at Harriman wasn't going to roll her eyes at the strange boy who'd sat with her, Oz relaxed enough to finally take a bit of the epic tuna sandwich on his tray. He bristled a little at her giggles until he realized that she wasn't making fun of him or anything. He'd made her smile! And not only that but apparently his accidental allusion that he would drop lights on people he didn't like (or perhaps it had been his haste to take back his words) had actually made her laugh! Oz definitely wasn't used to such a light and heartfelt laugh, he was more accustomed to derisive sniggers and the sort, but he immediately liked it. Especially coming from Evalee.

He took a bite of his tuna sandwich as he listened to Evalee talk about her motives for pursuing a career in acting, several questions forming in his head. She was the first kid his age he'd met yet at Harriman, and he found himself wanting to know everything about her. It would probably ruin his reputation as a shy guy, but he was pretty sure that he was going to do what he could to get to know Evalee.

He swallowed the delicious mouthful of tuna, onions, and sourdough bread, then set about asking Evalee the first few questions that came to mind. "Are Mallory and Hunter your siblings? What staff did you put it on for? Were you staying at a hotel or something?" A hotel was the only kind of place Oz could think of at the moment that would have a staff to perform for. "Sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions. Um, me? Well, I didn't...don't like spending time at home, so when I was in...," he scratched his head, trying to remember exactly when he'd discovered the wonder of teching, "I think it was third grade. I helped out at a talent show at my school and found a soundboard. Ever since then I couldn't imagine doing anything else than helping people like you spend the best possible two hours on stage. I guess the drawing and designing part fell in after that, though I think I'm starting to like it better."

He picked up another chip, then remembered what Evalee had said earlier. "Oh, and if you're the Wicked Witch, you can just call me the Wonderful Wizard of Oz." He smiled childishly, sharing a secret favored joke with a girl he had barely met. Yet somehow he felt that they could only end up being great friends.

Evalee had thought she'd offended him by laughing. She was sensitive enough to notice the slight tensing of the shoulders on his part, even if he didn't. She was about to apologize and explain herself, immediately feeling bad, when his frame relaxed fully once more. Oh good, he'd understood she wasn't poking fun at him. At least, not intentionally. Concern gnawed at her innards for a moment more before she forced herself to shake them off. No, it didn't matter, unless he exhibited signs of discomfort or upset or he brought it up himself, she'd let it go. No use apologizing just yet. She scooped up some more corn, closing her eyes as the heavenly taste attacked her taste buds. How could something so simple be so good? It was positively sinful! Was it even possible for vegetables to be sinful?

Osmond's questions filled her mind, snagging her attention and pulling her back to the real world. She focused completely on him, taking a bite of her roast beef sandwich as she listened to the tones of his voice. She wondered why he didn't like it at home, but she didn't press him. Now, as for his questions. "Well, you see...Mallory is my butler and Hunter's my bodyguard..." She hesitated, almost afraid to go on. What if he shunned her due to her supposed wealth? There was no point hiding it, best to rip the bandaid off fast, Hunter'd always said. "No, not a hotel. I live in a mansion in Colorado. It's just me and the staff." Forcing cheer into her voice, she smiled warmly at her new friend. No need to bring down this positive conversation with her own silly little problems. He probably had enough on his plate with school as it was.

A real smile filled her face with joy as he played along with her Witch theme. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It suits you!" She nodded to herself. "Be wary though, oh great Oz, I'm a very nasty wicked witch! Ignore the fact that I'm currently missing my warts, I lost them in the washer last week."

Oz took another great bite of his sandwich, it seemed as if he almost always hungry now that good food was so easily obtained, letting Evalee take her turn in their conversation. It was much easier to talk to her than he'd first thought it would be, and he felt unnaturally at ease around the pretty blond girl. He was now far more than glad for pulling together enough courage to come sit with her, and he felt guilty that he almost hadn't been able to do so. No matter now, it seemed as if he'd made his first friend at Harriman. And he was somehow sure that she would make a great one.

His chewing slowed a bit as he considered what she was saying. Okay. She had a bodyguard, a butler, and a mansion in Colorado. His little head began to spin a bit at the thought. He had never met a rich person before, but the sweet and bright Evalee, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy cafeteria corn, was not anything like the kind of person he had expected a 'rich person' to be. And what was more was that she didn't seem to happy about being rich. He didn't understand this at all, but he recognized it anyway.

He returned her warm smile with an equally friendly one of his own once he'd swallowed his bite of food. "Wow, a butler and a bodyguard! You're very lucky Evalee. But why a bodyguard?" He leaned forward confidentially, worry clouding over his face, "Are you in danger?" He didn't like the idea of anybody giving Evalee a reason to need a bodyguard. He let it go for now though, in favor of a topic Evalee seemed much happier with.

"Oh no! A witch must never go too long without her warts, it just isn't natural! Now the Wonderful Wizard," he smiled childishly and bowed a little at his waist, "Couldn't possibly be frightened enough by you. We must get those warts back, Wicked Witch Evalee!"

Once Evalee had answered him, having taken her turn, she bit into her sandwich. The way they made these things put her in heaven with every bite. She could no longer remember if the sandwiches Cook had made had been any good at all. Harriman truly knew how to feed its students. Although, being Evalee, she probably would have thought PB&J was the best thing to have ever been invented if the school was handing out only that. It was probably mostly due to her exhilaration at getting through the line each day without a problem. She always thought something might happen, what she didn't know.

While she ate, she considered her friend. His clothing had told her he probably didn't come from the same background she did. In fact, his background was most likely completely different. Which was part of the reason she'd hesitated before basically telling him she was incredibly rich. She didn't want him to go away. Something about Oz put her at ease. As though she didn't have to pretend to be someone else around him, he'd accept her as she was, whether she succeeded in becoming a lady or not. Evalee liked that, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew they would probably be very close for a very long time.

His exclamation over her revelations caused her smile to fade. Uncertainty replaced her confidence. Was it too much? Should she have said less? Or, she shuddered at this thought, should she have lied to him? Yet, he didn't seem any different, his mannerisms hadn't suddenly become awkward and out of place. When he questioned the need for a bodyguard, for Hunter's presence, she shivered. "I've been kidnapped once or twice. That's all." She shrugged it off, as though she'd never been frightened.

Once they were back on the topic of the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch, Evalee perked up again. "I know, I've been banned from the Wicked Witch meetings because of my missing warts!" She grinned, unable to really pull a good wicked look onto her features due to her amusement. "At least I still frighten you, I still have my dignity." Evalee set her sandwich down, slender fingers trailing over the contours of her face almost mournfully. "I really miss my warts, they were so ugly and perfect."

Oz was still a kid, even if he'd been made to grow up a bit earlier than was really fair, and he didn't lie to himself that he had some sort of above-normal ability to read people. He was no different from the next kid, nothing too special (not unless it came to theater tech, maybe), and he was usually just as in the dark about other people's feelings as the next guy. That was why he was a little surprised that he seemed to be picking up a little bit of the emotion behind Evalee's words. It felt almost as if she were closing up, like she was hiding from him or something. It was really weird, at least to Oz, to get even this tiny glimpse into the thoughts of the girl across from him. Maybe it was just that she was more open than the other people in his life. Or maybe he was jumping at shadows. Something inside him, something deep down, insisted that it was because they were somehow in tune. They were somehow meant to be friends. He wondered if she felt the same thing. Or if he was just being a major creeper.

Either way, it seemed obvious that she was happier in the world of Witches and Wizards and warts, so he decided that was where he would stay. At least for now. His mind asked furiously worried questions about her being kidnapped, but he shut those questions away fiercely. "Banned from the Wicked Witch meetings! Oh, the horror!" he put a hand over his forehead, as if this news was too much to bear, "In the interests of you keeping your dignity," he cleared his throat, surprised at his own (albeit clumsy) theatricality, "Oh, woe is me! The most fearsome, frightful, and, um, fugitive Wicked Witch has brought me to tears!" He tried to bring himself to tears, but he had no idea how to do so. "Um...well. She would if I wasn't such a great and powerful Wizard! Really!" For some reason, maybe it was having a friend close by to laugh with him, the roomful of questioning looks didn't even phase Oz a bit. Okay, maybe just a little. He settled deeper into his chair and lowered his voice, "Well, maybe that'll keep your dignity at full while we figure how to get your warts back. Any ideas on where to find them?"

It was as though he'd sensed her pulling away. As though he understood that she wasn't up to going down memory lane today. It wasn't that she didn't like his curiousity, she found that to be an admirable trait. Kidnapping was just a dark place for her at the moment. Evalee found her respect and like for Oz deepening when he, instead of pursuing the topic she'd brushed off, pursued the other one. Some part of her felt that fate had surely brought them together to be the best of friends. Wait, stop. She shouldn't be thinking such things. Who knew? Maybe Oz was really just looking for someone to eat with and then he might never see her again. What if he got tired of her or something? Maybe she was the only one who felt such a deep connection. Which kind of made her feel like a freak since she'd only known him all of ten minutes.

That didn't matter currently. It was best to continue playing along the Witches and Wizards line and see what happened. "It is truly a horror. I cry into my pillow every night." She dragged some tears from some reservoir somewhere and they fell down her cheeks. She blinked at him when he said she was so terrifying he made her cry. Then she couldn't help but laugh as he failed to cry, although he came up with a very good excuse. They were getting several very disapproving glances from the older kids. If it weren't for Oz, she'd have shriveled up and wished she could disappear. "That'll do the trick, oh great Wizard." She paused, tapping her chin and wipping absentmindedly at her tears. "Ummm...we could try the laundry room. That might be best." With that Evalee popped the last of her sandwich into her mouth.