[ March 22nd ] Too Cold For Swimming?

[Professor Pangaea]

The swimming area to the pond is closed off. After all, it's still early in the spring and far too cold to be swimming. Who in their right mind would be swimming right now? There is also NO LIFEGUARD.

[Elizabeta Héderváry]

Hungary knew the swimming area to the pond was closed off, as indicated by the rope blocking the way. It was too cold for swimming anyway, and there wasn't even a lifeguard...

Good thing she didn't plan on swimming.

Reasoning that most people wouldn't come by here because it was too cold, she thought it would be a good and quiet place to do homework. Besides, the weather was nice enough, and she needed to spend more time outside.

Hungary lifted the rope and slipped under. She strode over to a large tree by the pond and set her bag down by the trunk before sitting down beside it. Opening her bag, she pulled out a textbook and a battered notebook when she spotted a box of cigarettes. Elizabeta looked around, and, not seeing anyone, slid one out and fished around in another pocket in her bag for a lighter. After setting her textbook on her lap, she lit the cigarette and took a long drag. She exhaled and leaned her back against the tree, avoiding hitting her head against the bark.

[Belle Rousseau]

Having only been back for a few days, Belle had decided that a stroll to reacquaint herself with the campus was in order. If there was one thing she could truly appreciate about this school ( aside from the GORGEOUS kitchens ) it was the well kept school grounds. The grass always seemed a healthy shade of green all year round, the leaves on the trees were sprouting nicely and some even had a few blossoms here or there for a splash of color. The flower beds had started to sprout and she knew in due time and with good ol' Groundskeeper Willy's care they would be blooming in no time.

Letting her feet wander, she found herself rounding one of the long baths towards the pond, a place she had fond memories of from her first year and, though she knew was much too cold to go swimming in at the moment, was a nice sight to behold none the less. It wasn't long before she noticed that someone was sitting beside a tree on the other side. A woman with long brown hair and a flower that she recognized as her own roommates sitting just above her right ear. With a smile she made her way over, calling out cheerfully.

"Elizabeta!"

[Elizabeta Héderváry]

Whipping her head around at the sound of her name, Elizabeta quickly noticed that her roommate was approaching and cursed quietly under her breath, trying to find a way to hide her cigarette. She should have known it was a bad idea to smoke on school grounds. Looking around for a place to stub it out, she settled for one of the roots of the tree and shoved the rest of it in the box before throwing the box into her bag. Though she felt guilty for stubbing the cigarette out on a tree and slightly worried what Groundskeeper Willy would do if he found out, she would rather not have Belle find out.

Looking back up, Hungary waved over at Belle as she used her other hand to brush off the ashes from the cigarette. "Hey!" she called out with a grin before it dawned on her that she still smelled like cigarette smoke.

[Belle Rousseau]

With a grin, Belle had made her way towards her roommate, noticing that she looked as though she had interrupted her in the middle of something but she wasn't able to tell exactly what it was. She didn't seem to mind her being there anyway, that was always a good sign.

"Hi," she said brightly as she stepped in front of her her. "What's up?"

Of course, she only noticed the book and notebook in her lap after she had asked and tilted her head in slight curiosity. "Homework?"

[Elizabeta Héderváry]

"Yup, just some stuff for Economics," Elizabeta replied, mentioning over to Best Cures for Bad Economies and the Sniffles. Looking up at Belle, she asked, "How about you? Just wandering around campus?"

She was relieved that her roommate did not notice the smell or at least wasn't mentioning it, so she wouldn't have to explain herself just yet. Hungary relaxed slightly and leaned back against the tree again.

[Belle Rousseau]

She noticed the book right away, remembering the page she was turned to from class before responding.

"Ah, I haven't even started that assignment," she said cheerfully as she walked over, taking a seat beside her and looking at her book. "I couldn't concentrate earlier so I decided to take a walk. Glad I ran into you though. I was thinking of going to get some ice cream later and wouldn't mind some sane company."

It wasn't until a soft breeze blew past them did she get a whiff of something different, something that certainly wasn't the flowers or the trees. "Do you smell that?"

[Elizabeta Héderváry]

"Ice cream would be nice," Hungary nodded, shifting over a little to make more room for Belle to sit. "I can't really concentrate on my work, either. I'm reading the words, but they're just all blending together..."

A soft breeze blew by, and Elizabeta placed a hand on her head to make sure the flower in her hair didn't fly out. Hearing her roommate's words, she sniffed and could clearly distinguish the lingering smell from cigarette smoke. "I don't really smell anything other than grass," she lied, hoping that she seemed convincing.

[Belle Rousseau]

Furrowing her brow, Belle shook her head. It certainly wasn't the grass or the flowers or the trees, nothing fresh or woody. In fact, it smelt a lot like something else. Something very familiar.

"No no, it's not that. It almost smells like cigarette smoke, actually..." she said, looking around to see if anyone were smoking nearby but there was no one around them.

[Elizabeta Héderváry]

"Hmm," Hungary hummed as she took another whiff of the air. After a moment, she replied, "Yeah, I think I smell it, too. But who would have been smoking here?"

Elizabeta kept the hand that had brushed away the ashes from the tree in a tight fist in case any of it had rubbed off on her hand. Mentally, she scolded herself for being careless. Forgetting that the only reason she had decided to smoke was because there was no one else around, she tried to see if there was anyone close enough who could be seen as the offender.

[Belle Rousseau]

"I don't see anyone else," she replied, her head tilted in a slightly confused manner. The smell of cigarette smoke outdoors was a faint one, one you could only really catch if close to the one smoking but the only people around were Elizabeta and herself. With an inquisitorial she glanced over at her roommate.

"Were you smoking?"

[Elizabeta Héderváry]

Oh kurva'k fasza't.

...Well, what did Hungary expect? Belle wasn't dumb; she was bound to piece it all together quickly.

"Of course not," Elizabeta lied once more, laughing sheepishly. "I mean, smoking is a very bad and inherently stupid habit to take up. It takes years off your life, and it's the single leading cause of death in Hungary and..." She trialed off and looked over at Belle. Sighing, she realized that she shouldn't be lying to her roommate.

"Yeah, I was," she finally admitted softly, looking down at her shoes. Then, speaking a bit louder, she added, "But I've been trying to quit! Honestly. Just..." Elizabeta sighed once more and started fiddling with some grass.

[Belle Rousseau]

Belle couldn't help but blink when she began to list off reasons why no one should smoke and then suddenly trailed off. Meeting her eyes she tilted her head curiously at her before...finally telling her the truth.

"Oh," she started, finding it a little unnecessary to lie about something silly like that. Everyone has their vices, after all. "You could have just told me that, you know. I wouldn't have thought any less of you for smoking."

[Elizabeta Héderváry]

"Heh," Hungary laughed sheepishly. "I guess I'm just a little paranoid or something. I mean, with all the anti-smoking ads and stuff..." She sighed. "Like, I saw a shirt saying 'There are cooler ways to die' with a cigarette on it and just..." Elizabeta stopped rambling, still fiddling with the grass.

"But, anyway, good to know," she said, awkwardly. Continuing, she said, "I must have seemed pretty stupid for worrying so much, then." Ugh, she really needed to something about her anxiety problems.

[Belle Rousseau]

"I don't blame you. The Public Service Ads are enough to freak anyone out," she admitted quietly. She still didn't understand why it was such a big to do. Was she trying to keep it a secret from someone? She already admitted to wanting to keep it a secret from her and they had only known each other a few days. And if she was keeping something like this a secret, how could she be sure she wouldn't keep bigger things from her?

Belle shook her head, immediately pushing the thought from her mind. It wasn't fair of her to judge something like that over something like this. And she did say she was trying to quit so she was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"But at least you're trying to quit, right? How long have you been trying?"