Outside (And Then Inside) Room 318, Sunday Morning

[dollpocalypse]

The hallway was pretty quiet this early in the morning, but not deserted. There were two teenagers in their pajamas standing outside a friend's door, bearing gifts.

They were givers like that. Just exemplary human beings.

No, really.

"Do you think he even does Christmas?" Topher wondered, moving to the side to let Kenzi knock.

Kenzi	The fact that they might be waking him up had nothing to do with anything. Nope. Kenzi considered. "In a Grinchy, Scrooge-y, it's-all-commercialized-anyway way, sure. Which is why it's a good thing we're here." And that would be an authoritative rapping. "Elves are here! Get up!"
Peter	Peter was in bed. No, scratch that: Peter was in bed after a six-hour meeting with some fine people in Thailand. He had had all of forty-three minutes of sleep, and he was looking forward to enjoying a few more hours of it. Which he would have, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids. So he did what any sane person would do and yanked the pillow over his head.
Topher	But Peter! How would you experience the wonders of Christmas if not right this second? At... 8:22 in the morning? "Maybe he's asleep," Topher hypothesized loudly. Leaning in close to the door, he called, "Peter? Are you asleep?" Topher knew how to deal with this stuff, yo.
Kenzi	"Are you naked?" Kenzi asked, very cheerful. "Better say so fast."
Peter	"Yes," Peter growled at the door, "I'm terribly naked. Go away." He figured that was more effective than pretending to be asleep.
Topher	Topher shrugged. "Well, we tried," he said. "More presents for us?" Ahahaha.
Kenzi	"Pffttt," Kenzi puffed. "As if." Then took out one earring and went to work on the lock of the door. "Better find pants, Wiggin!"
Peter	"This is no time to wake someone up on a holiday!" Peter yelled back. Why hadn't he taken today's portal? Why.
Topher	"That's what I said!" Topher whined. "She woke me up first! Suck it up!" A beat. "...that was uncalled for. We have gifts!" And Peter cared. So much.
Kenzi	Kenzi managed to get the lock open, and turned the doorknob, calling, "I haven't been to bed yet! C'mon! It's Christmas morning and the sun is up, so get dressed so you can have cool stuff!" Just in case he really was naked.
Peter	No, Peter was very much not naked - pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt, even - but he had so hoped the threat of nudity would've kept them out. Live and learn. "Then come back at a reasonable time!" he yelled back. "Like in--" Six, "two hours!"
Topher	Topher glanced at Kenzi, leaving it up to her whether or not to deem those terms acceptable.
Kenzi	That would be the door opening. "You had your chance," Kenzi said, extra-cheerful. "MERRY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION!"
Peter	Peter yanked the blanket over his head. It was not the most dignified move, he accepted this. But still. He briefly contemplated getting out of bed and pulling his pants down to make sure that at least Topher would have a panic attack and leave.
Topher	But Topher was the good one here! He was totally willing to leave for two hours! Or at least until he completed two more meta for Skyrim quests! ...and yet. He was still here. "How late were you up, dude?" he asked, snickering a little at the blanket-over-the-head thing.
Kenzi	Kenzi grinned too, putting presents down on the desk. "We have donuts. C'mon. Wake up to have presents. We'll leave after that!" Eventually.
Peter	Oh, like they could give him anything useful, like the safety of all those Battle School brats the IF released as some kind of twisted Christmas present to their families. ...Yes, it was eight in the morning, and Peter was thinking about this. "I went to bed an hour ago," he whined stated. "I think you can leave me the dignity of a decent's night rest as my first present."
Topher	And that would be Topher flopping down on the extra bed. "We could just hang out here until he wakes up," he suggested to Kenzi.
Kenzi	"That works," Kenzi decided, flopping down next to him. "So, let's open our presents first."
Peter	Peter pulled the pillow from his head, and stared at them balefully. "Is this really necessary?" he said. "Can't you do this in Topher's room?"
Topher	Topher shifted. "My room's sort of disastery," he said. Dave was gone and Topher had conquered the floor to build a motorized snowboard. So. He he stuck out a present in Kenzi's direction. "Gotcha this," he sing-songed.
Kenzi	"Thank you!" Kenzi beamed and ripped into the present like a toddler, paper flying everywhere, then squeaked. "A pro set! They're perfect! Aww, Topher, you rule!" She bounced and handed him a newspaper-wrapped present with a huge bow. "I got you this, and a couple other little things." If Peter didn't want to participate, well, he could always watch!
Peter	"Whether or not your room is 'disastry' is not my problem," Peter said, sitting up and shooting them both an annoyed look. "Git off my land." Not asleep enough not to make a (serious) joke about it, apparently.
Topher	"My next gift," Topher said loudly, "is a pair of headphones." He presented them to Kenzi in as dramatic a fashion as possible. While humming dramatic music.
Kenzi	"Oh my God those are awesome. Thank you!" Kenzi put them on as soon as they were revealed. "Where the hell did you get these? Or did you make them? Oh, here. This one's just for fun. A little variety." To Peter, she said, "Of course, if you didn't get us anything, this is much more understandable. Be we won't hold it against you."
Peter	Honestly? Getting them presents had been about the farthest thing from his life, considering everything else that had been, and still was, going on. "I don't, so maybe you want to move the gift-giving elsewhere, since I don't have anything to contribute," he said, giving her a foul look.
Topher	"Except your winning personality!" Topher sing-songed, accepting the soda. "And isn't that gift enough?" It was not gift enough.
Kenzi	It really wasn't. So Kenzi tossed one of the softer packages at Peter. "Here. Open something. Remember, the more we open, the sooner we'll be out of your face."
Peter	Peter rolled his eyes at her. Truth be told, Christmas had never been his favorite time of the year anyway - for the Wiggin household, it had been a time of mother stuffing Ender's stocking with all kinds of things as if he was coming back somehow. It became more about mourning the kid who wasn't there than paying attention to the ones who were there, and wasn't that a kick in the butt. Christmas made him feel depressed, that's what it did. He unwrapped Kenzi's present quickly and efficiently. "Ah, a shirt," he said. Not something he would've left lying around here - he'd have gotten rid of it pretty quickly at home, because what if Valentine found it and turned it into an advantage somehow? Except even at home, Val wasn't there. Talk about depressing. Damn, he was glad he'd 'accidentally' booked the late portal.
Topher	Topher blinked at the shirt a couple of times before deciding he didn't get it. Moving on. "So I got you some stuff," he told Peter, shifting a little. Giving Kenzi gifts hadn't been easy, exactly, but it wasn't hard to predict what she'd get all happy about. Figuring out what to get Peter had been more of a challenge. Not that Peter's approval meant more, or anything. "Um, here." He leaned over and stuck out an envelope to Peter, containing a ticket to a political debate back home. In early twenty-first century California. Yeah, sometimes Topher failed a little.
Kenzi	Kenzi just looked at him deadpan, then held out another present to Topher. "Open this, okay?" Turning back to Peter, she asked idly, "Are you going home today or later?"
Peter	Peter took the ticket and stared at it, nonplussed. "...Yeah, thanks, kid," he said. He looked back up at Kenzi. "I have a portal late tonight," he said, "But I probably won't be staying for more than a few days." He'd have to kill himself, otherwise.
Topher	Don't mind Topher looking like a kicked puppy. He'd get over it in a second. Okay, maybe another second. Or two. Okay, ten or so. "Cool shirt," he said as he looked down at Kenzi's gift, shrugging a little. "Thanks." Well. That had been a fail.
Kenzi	"You're welcome." Kenzi decided they could all do with something easier now. "Here. You have to share the wealth, Peter. So cool. You can be there for the totally awesome stuff Topher's going to design. Which will probably be a surprise." Ha!
Peter	Well, at least food was easily disposed of. "Aaaand thanks, Kenz," Peter said, opening up the box. "Death by artery-clogging? You're such a peach." This did not keep him from opening up the box in their general direction. He could share! ... stuff he didn't particularly want!
Topher	And Topher managed to up the awkward still more by reaching to hand Peter a disc at the same time Peter reached for a doughnut. "Take a look at this later?" he tried, looking hopeful. Maybe one of his gifts could be good? Possibly? It was the upgrades to the spybots, so Peter was pretty much guaranteed to use it, at least...
Kenzi	Awwww. Peter, be nice! Accept it! Kenzi had no clue what it was, but it did remind her of her last gift for Topher. "Oh hey, your last gift. And here's yours, Peter."
Peter	The disc was the first thing Peter took with any amount of visible interest. "I'll have a poke at it as soon as you guys clear out," he promised Topher, putting it gingerly aside. "Don't want to get in the way of your celebrations--" Which was when he got the last present, opened it, and eyed it. "Well, look at that. Modern currency."
Topher	"Thanks," Topher said, his posture going visibly more comfortable after Peter's positive response. He was easy to appease like that. "What's that?" he asked, leaning over to see the coin.
Kenzi	"It's a Marcus Aurelius emperor of Rome coin," Kenzi said patiently. Philistines. "He was one of the cool emperors. It's a reproduction. Some day I'll get the real one..." She paused. "And fence it for a lot more money."
Peter	"So it's more of a show-off present," Peter said, holding it up. "'Look, Peter, I'm going to steal all the things!'"
Topher	Well. Topher's present had been a little show-offy too. But. "...she does a way better you than you do of her," Topher critiqued. "Needs more hand gestures."
Kenzi	Kenzi's look was a cross between "busted" and "innocent" with a side of "what!?" "Okay! Open yours, Topher!" Then she sighed. "I *was* going to save my news as a last, last prezzie... maybe for one of you guys' birthdays... but... welllll...."
Peter	Peter eyed her. "This better be good, or I want to see this 'Peter impression' of yours."
Topher	"Yeah, what news?" Topher asked, tearing open the wrapping. And then he was distracted. Because, you know. Video game. "Oh, cool!" he gushed. "Awesome, thanks!" A beat. "What news?"
Kenzi	"Welcome!" See, Peter? That's how you appreciated a gift. Maybe he'd like the news, though. "Sooo, after the D&D game that went on forever in the Library, and Karla being totally unreasonable about her imaginary horse..." And Kenzi stealing her earrings. Ha. "I kind of wanted to thank her for being so distracting." She smirked. "Plus she hit Topher. So. I gave her a present." Mua. Ha. Ha.
Peter	Peter sat forward, now utterly rapt. "What did you do, Kenz?" he implored.
Topher	Topher's eyes bulged. Nooot so much with amusement, no. He swallowed. "Um. What he said."
Kenzi	Smiiirk. "I left her a statue of a horse's head. With the neck painted in fake blood." She waited a beat. "You could hear the shrieking all the way down the hallway."
Peter	Peter clapped loudly, and cackled. "Oh, that is a merry Christmas present," he said, laughing. "A mafia-style reckoning! Encore, Kenzi. Encore!"
Topher	Topher... was not so much with the cackling and the cheering, no. "She could, like. Find out it's you, you know."
Kenzi	Kenzi continued to look serenely satisfied. "So? She hasn't yet. We talked at the Christmas party. She has no idea." She grinned at Peter and offered him a fist-bump. "It was a really ugly horse head too. With veins. And these blank staring eyes."
Peter	For this once, Peter deigned to let her touch him as he... fist-bumped back. "I have to say, you've outdone yourself," he said, "And if she tries anything, we have the right to call school security on her ass."
Topher	"She can, um, read minds," Topher interjected, looking from one of them to the other like he was missing out on a joke. "Like, full-on meta for Vader mind probing." Just putting that out there.
Kenzi	Kenzi considered that, then remembered Toby could do the same thing, and she kept stuff away from him just fine. Possibly overconfidently, she said, "I'm not worried. Besides! It was a present! How can she be upset that I gave her an anonymous gift of art?"
Peter	"If she had, I think Kenzi would have known by now," Peter pointed out, sitting back against the wall. "I mean. She's not exactly miss 'Self-Restraint'." He knew that by experience.
Topher	"...you think so?" Watch Topher squiiiiirm.
Kenzi	Kenzi raised an eyebrow at him, head cocked. "Something you want to share with the class, Topher?"
Peter	"She came by my room during the first crisis to be a snotty little bitch just because she didn't like my input," Peter possibly-twisted-the-truth-but-only-a-little-bit. "Yeah, if she dislikes something you did, you'll know."
Topher	Topher just shook his head in response to Kenzi. He'd already told Tony; he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to keep talking about this, what with Karla's mind-probey powers and all. "Um. She didn't say anything weird, though?" he checked. "Like. You know. Disturbing?"
Kenzi	Kenzi blinked at him. "No. We talked about Hannukah, and eight days of presents. And food." She smirked. She didn't dislike Karla, but payback for D&D and Topher had been needed. And hey, it amused Peter on a day where he was cranky. A plus. "Think I'm in the clear here."
Peter	Peter waved his hand around. "She spat all kinds of psycho-analytical bullshit and I'm sure some of it was intended to be threatening or whatever," he said, because clearly, none of it had gotten to him. "Of course, I think her face is disturbing..." SOMETIMES HE WAS SIXTEEN. WHAT OF IT.
Topher	Wait, Peter seriously wasn't intimidated by her threats? ...well, okay then. "It kinda is," Topher agreed. "The teachers should really do something about that. Since it's so gross and everything." Huh. That felt better.
Kenzi	Kenzi gave Topher a tolerantly amused look at that, and then said, "I wouldn't go that far. But it was a relief to get that horse thing dealt with." She smirked, pleased with herself. "Happy Holidays!"
Peter	"Nah, I agree with Topher," Peter said, nodding Very Seriously. "Something should be done about that. It's making my view in class much more unpleasant."
Topher	"I don't think even Warren likes it," Topher pointed out, continuing the trend of Extreme Maturity from the male portion of the room. "'Cause seriously, he was really into that movie we watched." He nodded wisely, hypothesizing, "It's probably because his girlfriend's gross." Look, if Peter had been threatened by Karla and he wasn't worried about it, then Topher didn't have to be either. This was more fun, anyway.
Kenzi	"What movie you guys watched?" Kenzi asked, rolling her eyes and reaching for a donut. Boys. Sheesh.
Peter	"Do I want to know?" Peter asked, grabbing another donut himself. "Because I'm perfectly happy not getting the answer to that question."
Topher	Topher distracted himself by peeling off the label of his Mountain Dew, keeping his eyes off of either of them as he answered, "An adult film?" MOCK AWAY.
Kenzi	Kenzi inhaled powdered sugar, coughed, then started laughing. "You watched porn with Karla's boyfriend? Topher! I'm so proud!"
Peter	"Kinky," Peter commented.
Topher	"It wasn't on purpose!" Topher insisted. "It was supposed to be meta for TRON!"
Kenzi	"So, what, you downloaded the wrong file?" Kenzi asked, highly amused. "Or you flipped to the wrong channel? How long before you guys figured it out?"
Peter	"I think the more important question is, was it meta for TRON porn or not?" Peter asked, looking amused as he snacked away on a donut.
Topher	Topher shook his head. "Ratman," he said, looking disturbed. "There were... girls." SO MANY GIRLS.
Kenzi	Kenzi's giggling bubbled out of her without stopping, but when she caught a breath, she said, "Give me the name of it. I may want to pass it along to a few people." Like Bo! The leather! It would make her so happy! The girls! It would make her so happy!
Peter	"Don't worry, Topher, I'm sure there's a few fine folks who'll want to take that cinematic gem off your hands," Peter said, slapping him on the back.
Topher	Topher scowled. "Ask Tony yourself," he told Kenzi. "Maybe he'll give you his copy. To borrow." Or keep. Forever. Along with all the other copies of that genre of cinema that he might have. He yawned, rolling onto his back on poor Jim's abandoned bed. "So... we good? Gifts exchanged and all that?" he asked. "What do you think, should we let Peter sleep?"
Kenzi	"Hmmmm." Kenzi surveyed Peter, then decided she was satisfied. "I suppose. We can always call when the rocket sled thing is done."
Peter	"Rocket sled?" Peter reconsidered his words the moment he said them, and held up a hand. "No, don't tell me. Just shoo. It's been a Very Merry Christmas Interruption, it really has, but it's time to goooo." Helpfully, he pointed two fingers at the door.
Topher	"This bed is really comf--" Topher started to say, then decided it was best not to. "Okay, okay," he said, with both hands up to deflect any comments from Peter. "Out we go." He gathered up his gifts and headed for the door, flicking the lights back off as he headed out. "Night, grouchy." See? Exemplary human being.
Kenzi	"Sleep well, Nicolo," Kenzi snickered, bouncing out, and grabbing one last donut on her way. "Happy holidays!"
Peter	"Soak a noaky and go stuff the holidays up your asses!" Peter called after them, merrily. And then once they were gone, promptly yanked the blankets over his head and tried to go back to sleep. He hated the imasen holidays. They could go die in a fire.

[[Preplayed with regretiz4suckas and lockestheway, because timezones suck and we wanted A Very Black Hat Trio Christmas, dammit. NFI, OOC welcome, and all good for broadcast except for the talk of Karla, which is NFB.]]