League of my own.

who: open @luxorstarters​ when: sometime during the day where: library

Things were going relatively well since the Fourth of July party, which seemed suspiciously odd to Marcello for a number of reasons. He wasn’t familiar with the sense of security he was falling into with his daily routine, and it had been quite some time since he got into an altercation. For a moment, peace seemed almost unachievable with the Crusade’s terror and the constant lurking of some nuisance or another lurking over his shoulder. Even now in the confines of a row of bookcases, Marcello felt out of place and almost delirious. His fingers trailed the spine of a random book, a sigh escaping his lips to break the eerie silence. His head tilted to the side, meeting the eyes of someone standing beside him, a small furrow of his brows his only showcase of surprise. He held their gaze, a small frown coming to his lips as he watched the other with stern eyes. Stuck in thoughts too complex for his current time and place, Marcello obliviously stood in the pathway to the other side of the bookshelf. “Something the matter?” he asked brusquely. His gaze fell to the books in front of his view, his hand grabbed one and hastily began to flip through it, as if to evade having to continue further conversation. “If you’re looking for Hemingway, try The Old Man and the Sea. It’s over there,” Marcello added on in a bored tone, lazily lifting his finger toward a shelf of books further away from him. At this point, he really had no interest in associating with anybody except a particular person, and she was apparently preoccupied or some shit. 

Isa was, as of late, extremely invested in her latest research project. Of course classes over summer were the norm for her, not that she minded spending extra time expanding her knowledge, contrary to the fact, she actually enjoyed it more seeing that the library seemed a little extra empty these days. The brunette had been scanning for a collection of books that were aiding her in her assignment, scanning the isles for the particular author when she nearly bumped into Marcello. His discourteous tone making her face naturally reflect shock as she tilted her head, “I just need to...” She managed to squeeze in the small space that he had left for someone passing to get to the other side of him, “get over here.” She finished after successfully doing it without touching the boy, shaking her head no, and letting a giggle fall from her lips, “Oh no. Not looking for Hemingway. Fiction is not my favorite.” Not that Hemingway only wrote fiction, but it was what he was known for. “You know, for someone who is trying to improve my impression of you, you really need to work on your greetings.” 

Teddy had been bummed to say the least. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sulking by himself where his mom could ask him a million questions over text instead of asking to his face because it was a lot harder to pretend to be okay when the one person you can’t lie to is staring right at you. He had been on the search for his father when he felt a man tap him. “Bro.” He responded, caught off guard by the man he didn’t recognize. “Why, did my mom send you to ask? Tell her im fi-” He cut himself off when he heard isabella followed up after Ceci’s name. “Who are you?” He asked abruptly, not answering the guy’s question. 

Matteo couldn’t help but let a scoff fall from his lips as the young boy said ‘bro’ to him, his irritation already present. The ma quickly got lost in the other words, who was this kid? And why would Matteo have been talking to his mom. He was sure his confusion painted his face as he looked at the boy, letting him finish, although he never really did instead just prompting him with a question. Maybe this school wasn’t the best in the country like he’d read up on, not with students witch such weird manners. He held out his hand, “Matteo, I’m their father.” 

Jackson was enjoying the company of his grandparents when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. Peering over his shoulder, he lifted his gaze to a man he didn’t recognize, immediately assuming it was simply a parent needing some sort of direction. The grin Jackson had previously been wearing faded from his lips as he focused in on what the man was going to say to him and at the mention of Cecilia and Isabella, he grew a little confused. “Uh, yeah.” He began before giving the answer much thought, turning his body around to face the main when he did. “I know them. I’m Jackson, I’ve known Ceci since like, early junior year of high school, we’re friends. Isa too, but not as well… Are you… their uncle?”

Matteo let a small sigh of relief, he had unfortunately been trying to find even the slightest hint of where they might be, and he felt like this might just help him get one step closer. Not to mention, he seemed to find someone who was pretty willing to talk seeing how he already explained how he knew Cecilia, but here was one of his daughters friends right there in front of him, he felt like he held the crown jewel to everything Cecilia in that moment. The older man’s brows furrowed together as he asked whether he was the girl’s uncle, clearing his throat lightly, “No...” He swallowed, “I am their father. And who are you?”

Alexis loved coming to Luxor’s events. To see the students who seemed to be pretty similar to her. Those who hated the rich space they grew up in. It was nice to see that kind of thing, and of course to see Maia. Last time, it wasn’t all that fun considering she accidentally hooked up with one of the students dad’s… who turned out to still be married. She figured this time to stay away from such activities and spare Maia the headache of last time. Feeling a tap on her shoulder as she drank from her flute, Alexis looked to the older man as he asked his question. “I actually don’t. But those are very pretty names. Your daughters?” She assumed as she took a sip from her champagne. 

Matteo nodded at the girls question, he didn’t completely strike out, she may had not known the girls but he was now speaking to easily the prettiest woman in the room, so he wouldn’t complain. “Thank you, I picked them out myself.” He offered the stranger a warm smile, “Do you work here.. or maybe attend the university?” He inquired, the woman’s age was harder to gauge, his own daughters seemed to have grown up so fast he barely could grasp that they were adults of their own. 

Sora had been about to offer her assistance in finding Ceci– or Cecilia, as he had referred to her– when his following words registered with her. She was, admittedly, curious as to why he wouldn’t want the girls to know that he was there, given that he had asked if she’d seen them. But she wasn’t going to question anyone else’s family drama when she was busy avoiding her own father. Forcing a polite smile onto her face, she nodded, because it was very likely she would forget this conversation had ever happened so he had nothing to worry about. “I think I recall seeing Ceci with someone who looked like her at game night– she’s new, right?” Not that she truly cared to know the answer. “Anyway, no worries, I won’t mention that you were looking for them, but I’ll keep an eye out for them if you want. Again, won’t mention it, but I suppose I can at least point you in their direction should I spot them somewhere.” 

“Yes. She is.” Matteo confirmed, although he wasn’t exactly sure about the specifics, but if this girl had known Cecilia and not Isabela it made sense to him enough to confirm it as if he had known. As the small girl went on Matteo nodded in approval, “Right. Perfect. I just want to surprise them.. they didn’t know I was coming.” He realized just asking her to be hush without a reason was more questionable than providing a somewhat true one. “Could you? I’d appreciate that so much.” He didn’t have any other leads as to where they would be and he didn’t want to just be lurking around asking every single person because then they’d definitely find out he was doing just that.

“Hands off the merchandise, thanks,” Sora was quick to snap as she felt someone touch her shoulder, but she relaxed when she turned and realized that it was merely one of the parents. She probably should have apologized for snapping, but it wasn’t like she felt bad about it so of course she wasn’t going to. She wrinkled her nose when he asked about Cecilia, which she figured was Ceci’s full name because obviously. Sora was still kind of annoyed at the girl for acting like such a brat at game night– hilarious, given that Sora was always a brat. “You mean Ceci? I don’t know Isabella, but I guess I kind of know Ceci. I know of her, at least. I don’t know where she is, though, if that’s why you’re asking.” 

Matteo couldn’t help but be taken back at first by the petite girl’s harshness, although he didn’t mull over it for much time, instead directing his focus to the point of touching her in the first place, finding his daughters. He had gotten hopeful as she said she had known Cecilia, even if it was by some shortened nickname of the girl’s beautiful full name, only to be let down when she went on to say she didn’t know where she was. “Aaah.. I see.” He began nodding, suddenly worried about how well she knew Cecilia and whether she’d tell the girl he’d been looking for her and alert her of his presence before he had the opportunity to. “Well, do me a favor, and if you do see her don’t mention that I was looking for her. And Isabella, she’s Cecilia’s older sister. The same goes for her, please.”

“He is. It’s better just to avoid him all together,” Marcello advised stoically, his eyes narrowed as he gazed sternly at Isa’s face. Jack was undoubtedly the person he couldn’t stand most, and even the thought of the British mood soured his mood entirely. He nodded his head when Isa mentioned her younger sister, his mind drifting to Ceci and her liveliness. “Ceci, right? You two are like night and day,” he mused with a charming smile, his attention focusing back on the Antez sister in front of him. A small smile lingered as Isa explained he wasn’t alone in ruining his first impression. “What a friendly welcome, huh,” he commented, his face slightly grimacing at the collective poor behavior. Her assertion interested him, specifically because it seemed like an invitation for him to pursue her. “I could,” he agreed softly, a small chuckle falling from his lips as he found her gaze. “Bad impression or not, I’m glad to have apparently caught your attention,” Marcello dared coyly, looking at Isa with an intrigued half-smirk. 

“Ceci, yeah.” Isa nodded, stifling a small laugh as he mentioned their polarity, “Yeah, we’ve been getting that our entire lives. We’re alike in a lot of ways too.” Her smile lifting at the end of her words, she loved both their differences and similarities, she was confident they were the reasons the two had maintained a bond for so long. Her shoulder’s lifting as she thought about her welcome, “I love the school, and I’m lucky enough to have been slightly prepared based on what my sister had warned me about, but yeah... I can definitely say that was not the welcome I expected.” She admitted, a smirk twisting the corners of her lips as he went on, his ploy being obvious with each word, her head lightly shaking no, “I don’t know if we can say you’ve caught my attention so much as you demanded it, but sure, let’s go with that.” 

@luxorstarters​

"I don't really have any least favorite people."

who: @isaantez​ when: few days after gallery fire. where: luxor courtyard.

Marcello was desperate for an escape from campus, he was feeling cramped by its high walls and bustling people. He was too restless to stay cooped up in his dorm for any longer, so he had decided to grab his board and ride as far away from the campus as possible. Yet, he was quickly distracted when he noticed one of the girls from his riddle group during game night. Isa, he believed. Ceci’s sister, who had proven herself to not be completely idiotic. If Marcello remembered correctly, she had just transferred to Luxor. What shitty luck. His strides mindlessly began to head in her direction, admittedly intrigued to see who she was without the tension of the Circle’s games. “Nice to see you’re adjusting well, Isa,” Marcello mused with a curt nod of his head. “Marcello De Rosa. I’m not sure we’ve had a chance to officially meet each other,” he said coolly, his eyes attentively watching her face. 

“i’m sure it’s a lot easier with having to run around the school playing a game.” the girl said, though she was trying to get adjusted to things going back to normal. “anytime, there’s always a seat for you over here. i’m good, each day that goes by without a riddle makes it better. how are you?”

“I’d have to agree. I’m happy I haven’t heard one in some time.” Isa loved a good riddle, but they took some different meaning altogether now, the memory causing her to fall silent for a moment as she let her mind wander to what happened and how she’d been coping. “I am looking forward to prom though.”

morgan looked up from her lunch, immediately recognizing the girl from game night and offering her a smile. “hey isa! how are you?” she asked, nodding her head at the girl’s question. “i don’t mind at all, make yourself comfortable.” 

Isa set her salad down in front of her as she took a seat across from the girl, “I’m good, a little overwhelmed with getting adjusted into classes but that’s expected.” Her eyes found the girls, “Thank you, I appreciate it. How are you?”