The Cake is a Lie

Mercutio was early to the "party". As if any get-together among teachers was ever a party. More like bitching session. Even teachers who actually liked their students usually couldn't resist the temptation to gossip about their least favourites.

That wasn't why Mercutio was early, though. He just wanted to get his fill of the good stuff before anyone else arrived.

Style

She somehow imagined that she would leave here with a headache. That or she would have to smile a little more than she liked. She liked teaching but associating that was a whole different level.

There was Trent but even when she associated with him that was out of the school and only for around three hours at a time because that was all that she could take. Yet as she walked in she felt like nothing more than a mere student at the school again.

Still she walked in and looked around. Then she got the creeps so she just stood, staring. She would move eventually but right now she simply stood.

[ outfit. ]

There were two ways to get Trent to show up to a get together. The first being, call it a "party", and he'll be there even if he wasn't invited-- that little Ohme girl's Christmas thing was a good example of that. The second being, offer free food, and that was incidentally the type of get together they were having today. Of course, Trent had his suspicions. The invitation smelled vaguely of... Something or another... Something familiar that he didn't like. It was hard to say. Plus, the anonymity of it all was strange to say the least.

But. Trent wasn't about to pass up free food, even if it were poisoned. Death's embrace may kiss his lips, but he would die full of cake and that was a pretty good way to go out. Or maybe it was spiked like the punch at the Christmas party, and Trent would start comparing the Herbology professor to his ex-girlfriend and cry.

But... Cake.

So, Trent found himself in the staff room, hands stuffed in his coat pockets, eyeing what professors were already there. Trent didn't really talk to many of his coworkers, because they all hated him or he hated them, it was a bit of a mess. A lot of people questioned why he had his job, but he had this job so long that he taught a few of them in their youth, so they could settle the fuck down.

More importantly, cake.

He immediately loomed over the refreshment table, watching the old sorcerer beside him in the corner of his eye and waiting his turn quietly. While Trent was a bit of a bastard, could probably literally reach over the man and get what he wanted effortlessly, he wasn't about to test a wizard who looked like he was about to turn to dust at any second. Those were always the most powerful, rupturing kind.

For now, he held a paper plate in hand and tapped it against his mouth, green eyes staring down the other professors who entered. He considered harassing Olivia, but he wasn't about to leave his spot for the good shit. Definitely not.

To know Parker Kori Black is to love or hate her. There is no in between where you sort of like her or you may have some dislike. You either like her or you hate her. Those had and would always be her experiences and she was fine with that. When she had signed on to teach at the school she was a bit weary of it all but now that she was actually given the chance, well assuming she made it out of this, 'party' alive, she was excited for that.

She was not going to bullshit and pretend she knew any of these teachers. How could she with it being her first year and all, but she knew some of the students. No, that was a lie. She had vaguely tried to familiarize herself with them but there were so many names and faces and it all had became a jumbled blur that she figured that she would eventually get there when it came to knowing which student was which.

None the less when she received the invitation she thought over simply not attending at all because she was that low on the teacher pole as far as years here and more than likely experience in her area as well. Yet here she was and there was cake. She could not and surely would not deny the fact that she wanted a piece but for now she held her reserve. She carefully spliced her hair in between her fingers as she waited to see exactly what happened.

Staff... party? Selwyn entered the room feeling anxious. He half expected people to be standing around in paper hats with noise makers, but looking incredibly depressed, because there was no way this situation could actually be any fun.

He was not far wrong. There were no party hats (yet) but everyone was standing around looking lost. Except Cambiare and Travis, who'd already launched their attack on the nibbles table.

"Staff parties aren't a regular occurrence, then?" he asked the room.

Even though anyone had yet to actually take his class and pass, his class in it's own right was amazing. Sure it was hidden behind a few walls or something so you actually had to work to get to the classroom but what was the harm in a little work. None the less it got him an invite to this thing where they were to gather.

He took a seat and looked at no one. It was not that he was not interested in being here because he was but he was more interested in the why. Why attempt to gather all the teachers here at once.

With that thought alone he shook his head indirectly. With everything going on around here there was absolutely no telling.

Kamara was pretty sure the woman who entered before her was the Astrology professor. Probably? She really hadn’t been spending much time with the other staff. Maybe that was how to make the dullness of this place bearable. As Trent walked in with way too many stains on his outfit, she rolled her eyes. She’d heard about him, enough to keep her distance. However, the next teacher to walk in was the new arithmancy one, or relatively new. She’d started around the same time that Kamara had. She debated introducing herself before Selwyn walked in and started talking. Really, everyone had a nice ignoring each other thing going on here. Deciding to ignore him, she stayed where she was until the Ghoul’s studies professor entered. Really, not even acknowledging anyone else. She couldn’t deny he was good looking. But he seemed to carry himself like he both owned the world and didn’t care for anyone in it. At least he seemed interesting.

Standing up and taking a seat next to him she sized him up. He seemed to be nearing middle age, despite trying to hide it and she was pretty sure he had a number of kids who attended the school. Or something like that. She wasn’t one to gossip, but she kept an ear to the ground. He did seem like the type who’d have a guess as the why they were here at least. With an expert wave of her hand, she created two mugs the color of light cream, which nicely matched her outfit. Filling them with coffee from the table with a simple displacement spell she offered him one.

“So, what’s your guess as to why we were all invited here?” she said smiling.

[x]

There was no grand entrance. In fact, Mercedes had slipped into the staff room almost entirely undetected, her light footing and diminutive frame slithering in mutely behind the much taller Balthier, long and finely manicured fingernails guiding the door silently back into it's frame where it resolved to rest. Thereafter, she glided along the walls where the shadows fell most dramatically, the bottoms of her heels tapping faintly on the stone floor as chocolate colored eyes perused the staff room with a mild curiosity. Mercedes didn't venture outside her dungeons much and was introverted to a reclusive severity. She had assumed her coworkers would have been much friendlier amongst one another. An assumption that she saw now was entirely wrong. Like herself, the majority gaped at one another with either clueless, skeptical, or prickly expressions. Few spoke, and when they did, it was purely out of speculation and not friendliness. Their discomfort was entertaining to say the least.

After pacing the wall a few times she broke away from its safety decisively, feline-like footfalls guiding the duskily draped Professor towards the center of the room where the spread of refreshments where two of her male colleagues loomed, but rather than stopping she moved past them to the second table, where her hand resolutely gripped the neck of the firewhiskey decanter and poured a four count into a crystalline rocks glass. Staring into the amber liquid she slid her wand out from her sleeve and inquisitively dipped its tip into the brew. 

He turned and took a minute to take the mug before answering.

Strife: I do not really know, but I'm slightly interested to find out.

Everything happened for a reason and then life let you die and that was when everything got interesting. Still he was not here to dwell on that.

Strife: I'm just going to assume we're all in some sort of trouble or a test.

Both things were those which he would fail, but he always made it interesting to say the least.

Strife: Much like myself you do not seem worried, which is always good.

He then turned and acknowledge his mug.

Strife: This has a nice look to it, thank you.

"my my my, what have we here? A party?" the headmaster inquired as he slowly stepped inside, his hand pulled to his chest as if the shock of seeing everyone there had somehow not been planned. He appeared mildly amused at the of the cluster of suckers staff that had already entered the room. One quick look around assured him that his plan was so far so good. The old fool Mercutio was busy demolishing the table of snacks, Abioye and Strife were chumming it up on the couch, even that creepy dark arts teacher had made her presence somehow despite her preference for solitude and Santeria. He counted eight and made a mental note to dock the pays of those who didn't arrive.

"It's funny I was just thinking we needed to be more social, exchange ideas, mingle" he thought to himself loudly and went to the snack table, and began cutting him a piece of ice cream cake, he hummed as he did so in an eerily cheerful manner. Nothing could make the party more awkward than a pleasantly happy Murphy in the midst of the awkward ragtag of professors.

"Travis" he nodded to the professor on his right, grinning as he did so, as if he knew something particularly amusing that he should not. Trent did not necessarily teach an important class, in fact, he'd hired him on the basis that he was completely useless and quite harmless to his future. Still... there were things that he couldn't quite ignore about him. Murphy stepped aside to give Trent space to get his own slice of cake and added as nonchalantly as he could muster "You know.. I've heard a lot about your class, I'd love to hear more about these innovative lesson plans of yours. What with the telly visions and disks. What exactly was your last lesson on by the way?" as if he didn't know.

Mirai was late to this, as he was to nearly everything. You’d thinking seeing the future would allow you some modicum of time in order to get ready but all he’d ever see if he tried to look would be him arriving later and later. Eventually he just stopped looking. This time he was late because Mr. Paws had refused to let him leave. She grabbed everything he needed, like the sock he was just about to put on or his nice shirt in her mouth and run under the bed with them. Not only did he have to climb under the bed to get them but he was also covered in dust bunnies once he emerged. He’d almost decided to not go before he saw a significant dock on his next and all upcoming paychecks, that got him out the door.

Stepping inside he noticed Murphy before he noticed the rest of the staff. Obviously something was going on, and he wasn’t quite sure what that was. But there was cake so that was good. Heading over to the opposite side of the table he grabbed himself a plate. Smiling at down at it as Murphy tried to make small talk with Trent. This would be interesting at least.