Free Sample?

[Tiana Jackson]

”I got my ticket for the long way ‘round. Two bottle whiskey for the way. But I sure don’t need your ‘sweet’ company; I’m leaving tomorrow so back away.” A faint smile was gracing Tiana’s lips as she made her own lyrics to follow the song playing through the speakers. ”When I’m gone, when I’m gone. Not gonna miss you when I’m gone. Not gonna miss you anywhere, but gonna get you outta my hair, oh. Not gonna miss you when I’m gone."

Tiana was content to hum out the rest of the tune instead of devise more lyrics, focusing on the task she had at hand. Her good mood was mainly due to the fact she was in the kitchen in the first place rather than the song playing through the air. She’d been allowed into the kitchen to assist the cooks in preparing the food for dinner. Tiana had all but pounced at the offer and was now cutting away at some beef to make the stroganoff dish meant to be part of the menu. There was already some ready, but they’d charged Tiana with making some more just in case.

”As if they really needed to ask me.”

Scoffing lightly, Tiana moved through the kitchen quickly and was soon just checking to make sure everything was cooking properly. She’d already gotten everything else ready in preparation, although now she sadly had to wait. She took the time to wash her hands and simply take in the smell for a few seconds. it managed to bring a smile to her face, but that didn’t look like it was all it brought. Out of the corner of her eye Tiana noticed someone looking inside. She must’ve forgotten to completely close it when she came in. Drying off her hands, Tiana looked over and raised an eyebrow.

”You don’t have to be a creeper you know. Come on in. I swear I don’t bite.” She smirked a little and shook her head. ”Besides, I could use a taste-tester right about now anyways.”

[Emily Graves]

Emily was having one of those weekends where she did her best not to leave her room. She wasn't depressed or anything, she just wasn't feeling very sociable. So instead she was binge watching shows on netflix, and drinking a gallon of tea. The only problem was, her dorm had run out of milk. That might be an indication to most people that they had been drinking too much tea, but to her it was an indication she should get dressed and go and get more milk.

She rooted around in her closet and found a semi-presentable shirt before slipping on some baggy looking jeans and a zip up hoodie over that, placing in her headphones and exiting her dorm without saying anything to anyone else.

She yawned as she gently plodded down the hallways in the direction of the kitchens. She quietly slid open the door, vaguely aware of the music playing as she entered. She smelt food, but that wasn't unusual, being in a kitchen and all. All she was really here to get was milk, but if someone was trying to speak to her she wasn't just going to straight up ignore them, she wasn't rude.

The brunette blinked as someone spoke, she pulled out her headphones. Her clear Buckinghamshire accent rang through her tone. "I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

[Tiana Jackson]

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?”

Tiana raised an eyebrow at the clear accent on the other girl’s voice. Although she’d been there for a few years now, Tiana still managed to be surprised by the number of kids from other countries. Still she snickered and shook her head after putting the towel down.

”I was saying ‘come on in.’ I don’t bite I promise.” Tiana repeated with a smirk, turning to temporarily check on how the food was doing. ”That and I was asking if you’d want to be a taste tester. You came at a good time and I’m feeling generous.”

Most of the extra batch was close to being done, from what Tiana could see while she hurried around. She spared a glance at her surprise visitor and raised an eyebrow curiously.

”I’ve got to ask, why’re you here? It’s got to be food, considering there’s no other reason to be in the kitchen.”

However at that moment a timer went off and Tiana turned into a blur as she worked. Only a few minutes later and all her hard work was put into a tray to be served up at the counter. A smile touched Tiana’s lips subconsciously, a sliver of pride going through her. She turned her head back to Emily and that smile changed into a smirk.

”So, you want to take that offer on taste testing? It’s always better fresh and hot. Trust me on this one.” Tiana was already moving to get a bowl, if not for the other girl but for herself. ”Doesn’t matter if you say yes or no. I’m getting some anyways. But let’s keep that between us, yeah?”

[Emily Graves]

Emily felt the other girl pause, her mind and wits prepared the response that would inevitably come. She was getting so used to the dumbasses at the school, half of the dudes thought she'd just spread her legs if they chatted to her enough because she was from another country, half the girls tried to make fun of her because she was from somewhere else, she really didn't care much, she'd just chew them out in response and walk away with a smile on her face, but surprisingly enough the comment she was expecting never came.

Emily shrugged "Well, I guess I've only had a bagel today, so unless your cooking is bad enough to poison me, I can give it a shot." She smirked. She shook her head from side to side, people always seemed to forget the beverages. She supposed American's just didn't value quality drinks as much as people from the isles. She couldn't really blame them, after all their culture wasn't entirely surrounded with people drinking tea.

"No, actually I'm here to get more milk, my dorm has run out." She replied with a wide smirk.

She shrugged again. How bad could it really be. "Yeah, alright then. I'll give it a go." She strolled over rather callously, glancing over at the fridge which surely housed the spare milk. She gave the other girl a mischevious smile. "So what 'food' have you created? Smells interesting."

[Tiana Jackson]

”Guess you’ll never know until you try it, huh?” A half smirk of her own formed on Tiana’s lips to somewhat mirror the girl’s. ”But seriously? Just a bagel? Please tell me you’re not one of those girls."

If Tiana was going to have to stand there and hear about some “diet” the girl had found on the ever truthful internet, she would probably make good use of one of the frying pans. Tiana did notice the girl shaking her head silently for some reason, and couldn’t help but stare with an inquisitive expression.

"No, actually I'm here to get more milk, my dorm has run out.”

Tiana simply nodded her head and gestured to the fridge while retrieving a bowl.

”Knock yourself out. I think we actually just got some more recently, if I can remember right.” Tiana spared the girl a glance as she gathered some stroganoff. ”Although I’ve got to ask; how are you out of it? Someone really enthusiastic about morning cereal?”

Only half her attention was with Emily; the rest was focused on filling her bowl carefully so she didn’t drop any. Once it was full, Tiana turned slightly to look at the other girl.

"Yeah, alright then. I'll give it a go.”

Tiana eyed that mischievous smile on Emily’s face for a split second before moving her gaze up to meet her eyes.

"So what 'food' have you created? Smells interesting.”

A matching mischievous smile curled Tiana’s lips as she held out the bowl to Emily and snatched her a fork to eat with. Offering it handle first, she tilted her head very slightly to one side.

”Beef stroganoff. If you’re a vegetarian then this probably isn’t your thing. Although if you were,” Her smirk widened a bit, ”I’d have probably heard all about that by now.”

[Emily Graves]

The other girl was fairly competent at playing along with the banter, which Emily appreciated, most girls her age would either treat her like a freak (ironically) or would just be complete bitches at her, but this one seemed a little different. She liked it, it was getting tiresome only dealing with stereotypical, fashion obsessed privileged teenage mutants at the school.

"Oi! Don't look at me like that. If I want to wake up at 2pm and eat a bagel for lunch, I'll do so without your prissy judgement, thank you very much." She retorted in a tone absolutely dripping with sarcasm. Brushing some of her brunette locks that had strayed from their normal position out of her eyes.

Emily didn't really care for the girl's permission as far as grabbing extra milk was concerned, by now the kitchen staff were familiar that she was one of the students who used an over abundance of the stuff on drinks in the flat, the academy's funding felt like it must be freaking bottomless to her, to not just go bankrupt on her tea based whims.

"Nope. I'm sure you can take a fucking guess why I'm out of milk by my voice." She replied sarcastically, but not aggressively.

She smiled at the sound of the food, she couldn't remember if she'd ever had that. Her mother's cooking was stereotypical among English people, and her father tended to be a little more eccentric, cooking Italian style dishes a lot, or ordering the two of them yummy take away, her home cooking experience was limited to say the least.

The brunette threw her head back in a little laugh. "You're joking, right? What jammy fool gives up BACON?" she chuckled.

[Tiana Jackson]

"Oi! Don't look at me like that. If I want to wake up at 2pm and eat a bagel for lunch, I'll do so without your prissy judgement, thank you very much.”

Tiana turned her head towards the girl and gave her a look, a hint of a smile tugging up the corners of her mouth.

”Well sorry to say, but the moment you stepped into the kitchen you put yourself up for me to judge. So frankly I’ll do what I want too, thank you very much.”

She’d seen an opportunity and couldn’t help herself against taking it. Besides from what Tiana was picking up, she figured she was dealing with one incredibly sassy young girl who’d wandered into the kitchen. She wasn’t complaining however; it was a nice change of pace to have a bit of banter.

"Nope. I'm sure you can take a fucking guess why I'm out of milk by my voice.”

Tiana smirked as Emily all but proved what Tiana had figured out for herself. She chuckled and shook her head.

”My mom always taught me that to assume was to ‘make an ass out of u and me.’ Obviously you didn’t get the same lesson.”

It was definitely said with a teasing tone, and Tiana couldn’t help herself but smile. She figured the girl could easily take the tease, considering the sheer amount of witty sarcasm coming out of her mouth.

"You're joking, right? What jammy fool gives up BACON?”

Tiana joined in the chuckling, nodding her head in agreement. Food was food in her own opinion, and besides the fact she knew she’d miss meat far too much to give it up.

”Not sure. However,” Her eyes glinted a little with mischief again, ”I do know a ‘jammy fool’ who’s just standing there running her mouth instead of accepting free food.” She actually poked Emily in the arm, in a tad playful mood. ”Go on and try it! I swear it’s not poisoned. This time.”

[Emily Graves]

Emily HATED sterotypes, especially the girly girl ones, like those around people's bodies. She'd put what she damn welled pleased into hers, and she'd play video games all she wanted, or join sports teams. Emily was absolutely far from typical when it came to Bellefonte academy, she was British for a start, which people tended to focus on quite hard. People expected her to be quiet, or proper too. She wasn't.

She narrowed her eyes at the other girl, locking gazes for a minute. The other girl didn't seem to be too judgmental, or rude either for that manor, so she supposed she could be relatively civil with her. The brunette cracked a smile at the other girl's returned attitude, it was pretty refreshing to experiance.

She raised an eyebrow. "My my, aren't you a rare type of student." She actually smirked, she was gradually beginning to like this other girl quickly.

She shrugged with a chuckle at the other girl's response, strolling over to the food. "I was accepting it, dumbass, you were the one who asked the question." She replied, in a relatively upbeat tone as she moved over to the kitchen counter. "I came in for more milk, because I've gone through all of the milk we had by drinking tea." She replied finally.

[Tiana Jackson]

”You know I could say the exact same thing about you.”

Tiana didn’t flinch when Emily sudden met her eyes in a sort of glare. Instead she simply raised an eyebrow questioning and held the gaze. She’d experienced far worse than this, but either way it was soon over and Tiana was smirking once more.

"I was accepting it, dumbass, you were the one who asked the question.”

Tiana only rolled her eyes and handed off the food, yet the smirk remained on her face.

”Maybe, but you’re sure taking your sweet time accepting it.”

It was more of a tease than anything; Tiana hadn’t put any real bite into the words. Since Emily had accepted the bowl, Tiana went ahead and got a new one for herself. She was quick to fill it and find a fork for herself to dig in. A smile instantly washed over her face and she shut her eyes appreciatively with a happy hum. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was after making all that food.

"I came in for more milk, because I've gone through all of the milk we had by drinking tea.”

Tiana opened one eye and raised a curious brow at the girl. She had to giggle slightly and shake her head, swallowing.

”I see.” She was smirking again. ”Although tea is good so it’s understandable. Better than coffee, but that might be because I’m determined not to become a coffee addict like the others.”

She shook her head as she thought about it. No she certainly did not want to join the caffeinated herd. After another bite or two, Tiana realized something.

”Oh by the way my name’s Tiana. I don’t think I ever gave it.”

[Emily Graves]

Emily let out a sigh, her breath coming out as a slight mist, as if the temperature in the room was a lot lower. "Yes, I suppose you could say that." She hated to admit it, but she probably jumped to conclusions about the other students far sooner than she actually should. In her defense though, a massive majority of people her age tended to be little shits, who made assumptions about her based on her accent, or tastes.

Emily rolled her eyes as the other girl responded, taking some of the food and giving it a small taste. She wasn't particularly hungry, but the food tasted damn good. She took a few more tastes before smiling up at the other girl. Emily wasn't a particularly fantastic cook. She could do basic things, and she could bake. And make pancakes. That was about it.

"It's pretty good. You're definitely a better cook than me." She admitted, without embarassment, she could occasionally accept when she was at fault.

"I've pretty much drank it since I was little, it's one of the few things from home that's easily accessable here. So I drink it all the time, and it warms me up a bit too for when I'm around others, which is a plus." She moved over to make herself a cup of said tea, flicking the switch to a kettle as she retrieved a mug and a peppermint tea bag.

The Brit turned her head with a grin. "Charmed. I'm Emily."

[Tiana Jackson]

”Good because I just did.”

Tiana was only teasing, but she figured the girl would realize that at this point. Tiana had to admit she was surprised at the ease she had with talking to Emily. Although in her own opinion it was a nice change of pace. Emily didn’t seem like the usual type Tiana could get easily annoyed with. That was a rare treat and Tiana was not going to waste it.

"It's pretty good. You're definitely a better cook than me.”

The compliment brought a pleased smile to Tiana’s lips as she ate her own sample. Regardless of how humble she tried to be sometimes, compliments to her cooking would always managed to bypass all the humbleness her mother tried to teach her.

”Thanks. I’d hope it’d be good since I want to be a cook.”

Tiana knew that wasn’t exactly the most sought after job, but she didn’t care. Besides, she figured people could hardly complain since she’d be making them food. it was her passion and that’s all she cared about.

"I've pretty much drank it since I was little, it's one of the few things from home that's easily accessable here. So I drink it all the time, and it warms me up a bit too for when I'm around others, which is a plus.”

Tiana smirked and eyed Emily as she finished eating her own share of the food.

”So does that mean I should be thanking the tea for how ‘sweet’ you’re being right now?”

Tiana was certainly being sassy today, but she made no move to change that. Instead she headed over to wash out her bowl. She didn’t mind in the slightest that Emily was using the kitchen equipment. She figured the girl knew what she was doing.

"Charmed. I'm Emily.”

Tiana threw the girl a grin in return before returning to her business.

”Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Emily. Believe me, I can’t say that to everyone.”

[Emily Graves]

The teasing was actually causing Emily to smile now, it was so rare to find American people who were good at bantering. Either they descended into actual spite and fighting, or they got really upset and overly emotional. Tiana seemed to actually enjoy the conversation they were having, and it was actually making the often cynical British girl grin fairly widely.

Emily tilted her head at heading the next few words, looking over Tiana again. Appearances really could be deceiving, she made a mental note to try and judge people less based on their appearance, she never would have pegged Tiana for the type of girl to be interested in becoming a cook. Then again, she didn't really give off the stereotypical teenage girl vibe to Emily either, so she shouldn't be too surprised. "Well, I can say you're well on your way already."

After the tea had brewed, and cooled a little she took a gentle sip, washing up her own bowl before moving to the fridge freezer to grab a spare bottle of milk for her own place. The cooks were used to this by now.

She gave a grin in response to the sarcastic comment. "Funny." The girl twisted her hair gently around one finger absent minded and took another sip, observing the other girl with definite interest. "I can definitely believe you."

[Tiana Jackson]

"Well, I can say you're well on your way already.”

Tiana’s smile grew even wider at the added compliment, the pleased expression on her face becoming more apparent. She knew she shouldn’t let it go to her head, but surely she could take a few to hold as support for her decision. She shot Emily a smirk.

”Flatterer.”

Even if it was playfully accusing, Tiana was definitely not complaining. She could smell the tea brewing even with all the other scents in the room, smiling faintly while making room for Emily to wash her own bowl. She was glad the girl actually was washing her own bowl instead of simply handing it to Tiana to do.

"Funny.”

Tiana had gone over to add the bowl to the dish washer to be properly cleaned. She turned her head towards Emily and only smirked before going back to putting the dish away.

"I can definitely believe you.”

Once again Tiana looked over and caught Emily’s eye. There was something about her look that made Tiana raise an eyebrow and stand back up with a faint smirk. She approached Emily and took the bowl from her to add to the dish washer.

”You better. Most other girls I meet my age are the stereotypical ‘plastic bitches’ you’d see in some high school movie.” Tiana commented as she bent over to add the bowl to the others and shut the door to the machine. "I’d rather have nothing to do with them.”

[Emily Graves]

Emily felt herself softening to Tiana. If her usual friend methods followed, she'd become friendly, and then becoming extremely teasing if they became close at all. That was assuming that they were actually in the process of making friends, and not that Tiana would just walk off and never speak to Emily again. Especially if she was a year or a couple of years older.

She smirked at the flattering comment and took a large gulp of her tea, her lips spreading into a very smug grin. She looked around the kitchen and the utter lack of activity safe for the two of them. It was funny how some of the kitchens could be this quiet at certain times of day, Emily actively went the ones least likely to have staff or students in them when she could, she was glad that Tiana was in this one though.

Emily shook her head with a grim smile, the other girl was on exactly the same wavelength as her, which was quite an awesome thing to discover when you were interacting with another. She played with her own hair a little more while taking sips of her hot beverage, hoping that the area that her and Tiana was in wasn't cooling down too much from her presence, it wouldn't do to make a potential friend uncomfortable.

"I know right?! It's so bloody annoying. It's like, I don't care if I don't look like a fucking stick figure and they all snicker and turn up their noses? I don't get what some people find appealing about this whole shame culture thing, where if somebody isn't wearing what's fashionable, or a certain dress size, they flip out." She stopped herself short, realising she was ranting a little.

Emily was far from overweight, she was relatively thin actually, but not intentionally she just didn't eat TOO much food whenever she had it. But she was definitely partial to take away, or McDonald on occasion.

[Tiana Jackson]

She smirked at the flattering comment and took a large gulp of her tea, her lips spreading into a very smug grin.

”Now isn't that a smug little look.”

Yes, Tiana was definitely warming up to this stranger who’d simply come in to get some milk. She had no idea what the odds were of the two of them meeting like this, but Tiana was suddenly glad Emily seemed to like tea enough to run out of milk so easily.

"I know right?! It's so bloody annoying. It's like, I don't care if I don't look like a fucking stick figure and they all snicker and turn up their noses”

Tiana found herself nodding even though she could fit under that sort of description. However she kept her figure mainly due to her power and because she liked it. She wasn’t exactly looking to fit into the typical “skinny fit” group in order to avoid judgement. People could judge her all they wanted for how much Tiana would care.

"I don't get what some people find appealing about this whole shame culture thing, where if somebody isn't wearing what's fashionable, or a certain dress size, they flip out.”

She threw Emily a smirk at the little mini-rant the girl had gone off on. She must’ve realized she was on one, because Tiana noted she stopped short suddenly. Tiana shook her head and chuckled, leaning back against one of the counters.

”Honestly? I’ve got no fucking clue. It’s probably because every depiction of a female you see in media is long, blonde, and skinny. Fashion I’ve got no clue on, so don’t even ask me about that.” Tiana waved her hand dismissively. ”That’s a can of worms I’ll gladly leave shut even if I get judged for it. Although,” There was a twinkle of amusement in her eyes, ”We kind of look like hypocrites talking about the body type when we’re both pretty thin anyways.”