#ruby:t

Ruby’s not sure if everyone has as much anticipation and apprehension when it comes to the first day of school as she does, but she tries to pretend that they do so she doesn’t feel quite so out of place about it. In past years, her anxieties about starting a new school year at Gallagher had been linked to all her worry for being at a school made for spies, but this year she’s accepted that, and instead feels anxious only to hit the ground running and dive into the education she finally knows she wants to pursue. So a lot of her nerves today revolve mostly around getting started and proving herself capable. Just as she makes sure her set of pens are arranged perfectly on her desk again, she recognizes a familiar face walk into the classroom. “Ohmygosh, Martina, hi!” she calls on instinct, guided purely by her genuine excitement at getting to see her again this year. Ruby doesn’t remember until after they’ve made eye contact that the last person she’d spoken to about Martina is someone the other girl also probably very much wants to talk to.

She’d gotten used to these sort of things; gearing herself up to be in the public eye in D.C., putting on the appropriately modest and glamorous dress chosen for her, acting and smiling as a perfect first daughter all night. And while there were far worse things in the world to complain about, it did get tiring towards the end of the night. Which was why when she sensed a familiar presence walk up next to her, she relaxed a bit, smiling in the company of her friend. “Almost makes you wish this was a Gallagher party, huh?” Ruby joked, blurting the thought out loud before thinking twice about it, then once she fully registered who was talking to, quickly turned to P.J. with an apologetic expression. “Ohmygod, I’m sorry, that just came out, I— I didn’t mean it like that— I just meant because we can’t really do whatever we want, I mean we have to be on the whole night, and barely any of our friends are here and—” she rambled, cutting herself off as she placed a reassuring hand on his suit jacket sleeve, a pained wince on her face. “Sorry...” Ruby muttered, now wishing even more that they were at Gallagher and she could down a flute of champagne to help ease her anxiety. But for her and P.J., they were on display at events like these, and she was thankful for the solidarity he could offer her. “What I should have said was... It’s nice to see you at one of these again,” she tried again, smiling through her embarrassment.

“Check it out!” Ruby beams when she happens upon one of her favorites in the common room, recognizing his mop of hair and beard from a mile away and beelining to the couch. She scoots in next to Caden before even waiting for a response, instead holding up the assignment in her hand at his eye level. “Guess who scored a perfect grade on this essay?” she grins smugly, clearly proud of the red 100 at the top of a multiple-page single-spaced paper, clearly and neatly labeled for the Threat Elimination class she’d picked up this semester as an elective— because clearly only someone like Ruby Meriwether would be eager for a written extra credit essay in Self-Defense And The Upper Hand.