Give. Me. A. Break. -_-

There were many advantages of having a voice inside your head.

One, you never got bored.

Two, you never got lonely.

Three, you had someone to laugh at your jokes all the time. Even if they weren't funny.

Considering the fact that Rika had metaphorically exchanged her social standing and reputation (if she ever had one in the first place) for a voice inside her head, she thought it rather unfair that she enjoyed none of these privileges. If Bren didn't want to talk, she wouldn't talk; Rika's boredom be damned. The loneliness was a rather persistent feeling.

I do laugh at you. Brenda protested, at this turn of thought.

"Precisely. Not at my jokes. At me."

Silence.

Then, in a rather petulant tone. You can't just malign my post like that you know. I can't help it if you don't crack jokes. All you do is brood about your writing or magic or Henri Finch or the unfairness of the world or Reid o-

Rika thought the testiness in her voice was rather justified. "Keep my brother out of this."

Silence.

You still consider him your brother then? I thought you were too busy being scared of him.

Rika groaned, letting her head fall against the wall on which she was leaning with a smack. God did not exist. He could not. And in the minute, minuscule chance that he did, she was going to file an appeal with him at the earliest opportunity for a new voice-in-head. There had to be some rules and regulations about these sorts of things.

Hey!..... ,came the protesting aforementioned voice immediately.

Rika couldn't be bothered dignifying that with a response. She was too busy getting startled by the sound of the classroom door slamming. Someone had just entered. Her shoulders jerked, her head craning up, trying in vain to see above the chairs and desks from her yogic posture on the floor, at the back of the room, propped against the wall. To which deity did one have to sacrifice goats and lambs to get some peace 'round here?

If Brina was even slightly aware of someone else already in the room, she made no sign that she was and didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked in with her usual bored demeanor and started to digging around as if she was supposed to, though to be perfectly honest it was probable that the short wonder had no reason at all to be there and was just being antisocial and nosy as per usual. For a minute or two it seemed that might be the only strange thing about her for once, but after a quick inspection slight bags could be seen under her eyes and her feet, which had shoes on them when she walked in, were bare since she had slipped them off about halfway across the floor and left them sitting one on top of the other for whatever her reasons were. Apparently she planned on getting comfortable after she finished pawing through things

It was unclear what she was looking for and it was likely caring would be a wasted effort for even Brina wasn’t putting all too much thought into what she was doing. At one point her gaze rested on the girl for a moment, her eyebrows raising questionly, but for now she held in whatever she wanted to say and instead finished looking at an object that had caught her interest. Toying with it for a few minutes, it wasn’t until she had set it back where it belonged did she turn to the girl again.

Her usual frown spread out as she looked at her, looking slightly confused by her presence. If Brina had seen her before, she didn’t remember it which was highly likely. She usually forgot people within a day or two of being left alone by them and would only really bother attempting to remember at least the first syllable of their name, sometimes using that when forced to respond to them. For the longest time she called someone Nay and another just Ah, not that she really talked to whom she could only remember as Ah now. She had not bothered to learn the rest of Ah’s name since soon enough she stopped bothering Brina, so it wouldn’t be shocking if Brina met the girl.. though it really was likely she would remember the first syllable still. Maybe she’d call the girl Log, because from what Brina judged she looked uninteresting like a log or romance novels. She could also call her Juliet, figuring that she might be as dumb as a Juliet should be. Of course, she had no reason to be making these judgements and was merely guessing about it since she found her guesses at least slightly interesting, much better than pretending to understand the in and outs of pleasant conversation to keep someone from getting their feelings hurt.

“When did you come in here?” So much for hello, but apparently Brina really didn’t notice the girl when she walked in. If she didn’t get a response as quickly as she liked she would just walk off, which would happen no matter what part of the conversation they happened to be in when whoever she was talking to over thought what they were saying. Being blunt was easier and less pointless. Like telling someone that dress doesn’t make them look fat. What if it does though? Wouldn’t it be better to just tell them they look like a bloated cow than just let them walk around in tights that made their legs look like stuffed sausages?  People never realized it, but usually when she said stuff like that she was actually trying to be helpful and couldn’t fully understand what the big deal was. But for now, she actually gave the girl a bit of time to think, still toying with something and seeming to be more interested in it than the conversation, which she was.

“When did you come in here?”

Rika stared at the other girl, point-blank, and blankly, for a few seconds. Yes, yes, she knew she was oblivious and not the most aware of her surroundings, that it was rather hypocritical to be accusing someone else of a fault when it so clearly belonged to her as well, and hypocrisy could very well lead her to ending up in hell. But for a minute, she allowed herself the privilege. She wasn't the one who had just stomped into a room, spent five minutes hunting around for an invisible object and then accosted her, the one who had been sitting here for the past half-hour of coming in suddenly.

Besides, hell didn't seem all that scary anyway. Atleast it was predictable, what with all the being burned in fire eternally and all that shit. Life was the one that tended to bite you on your ass anyway.

Maybe she's blind.

"Highly unlikely." Rika mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. The girl's casual, disinterested gaze still had a strange piercing quality.

Maybe she's stupid.

Rika snickered, if only softly and for a second.

Or maybe she's just plain weird.

Rika remained silent at that. There was a limit to hypocrisy.

"Doesn't matter. I'm leaving now anyway." She voiced out loud. She got up, dusted off her skirt, smoothened the wrinkles in her shirt, ran a hand through the tangles of her hair and moved towards the door. She put out a hand, clasped the doorknob, and pulled.

It didn't budge.

She pulled again. Nothing. She removed her hand, held it up to the light to check it for sweat, deduced there was none, but still decided to wipe it against her skirt anyway. She gripped the doorknob tightly again, then pulled with all her might.

Not even an inch.

Her heart had started running now, pounding like a hammer against an anvil. Her breaths were coming faster, more laboured. Panic had started stirring, like a stupid monster asleep for a long time that had no business awaking, and that she tried to shut away by closing her eyes for a brief second. She exhaled heavily, took a breath that shook slightly, held on to the door by both her hands and literally tried to wrench the handle off. It didn't give way.

"Oh bloody hell no."

Brina watched the girl with disinterest, waiting for her to at least say something of interest. Well, she didn’t know that whatever she had muttered wasn’t important, but Brina would really prefer an answer to her question.  It didn’t take very long for her to let her gaze fall towards a window without paying all too much attention to the girl. Barely seconds of waiting were enough for boredom to take over, making her consider just walking off and drawing or reading or something instead. Or a nap, naps were always the best. As were hot chocolate with whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top with a danish on the side, so she figured she might just leave and get some of that instead of dealing with people today. Except she might have to talk to people in order to get that hot chocolate and danish. Damn.

She had been about to turn away when she finally got a response, which really wasn’t an answer at all and she admittedly found it quite irritating. Her nose wrinkled slightly, but she gave a small shrug instead of bothering to whine about it and began picking at her nails instead. She wondered if they’d look interesting sharpened to a point. She wouldn’t do anything of the sort, but it was an interesting idea she eventually decided against. After a moment, she spoke up nonchalantly “Fine, though I suggest offering better answers in the future.” With that, she had turned away and made her way over to sit on top of a desk and once sitting, she waited and watched as the other girl made her way out.

However, when the other girl couldn’t even open a simple door, Brina sighed and wondered if she had no idea how to open the door. Brina decided that she couldn’t be Log now, she had to be something stupid and uninteresting. Were Turkey’s stupid? They were definitely uninteresting, but after a moments consideration she decided on clams, since she was pretty sure they didn’t even have brains. “Are you remembering to turn the knob? It’s an important step in the very intricate art of opening doors.” She spoke dryly and more slowly than she had spoken before assuming the girl was an idiot.

“Fine, though I suggest offering better answers in the future.”

Rika did hope the distinct sound of her teeth grinding against her jaws wasn't all that audible.The build up of panic was slow and inevitable, a low, uneasy churning in her gut that left her skin cold, clammy and prickling. If she wasn't careful, and if that stupid door didn't open right now, she could just regurgitate her entire breakfast. She really didn't need sass from a random girl right now.

"Of course, I do live to entertain you." The mutter was low, and hopefully went unheard. Rika curled, then uncurled her fingers, and exhaled hard enough to make her stomach suck in painfully. Her mouth felt dry. Slowly, she felt out the outline of her wand in her robes with the pads of her fingers, then drew it out, fumbling slightly.

It thrummed, vibrating unpleasantly. Rika felt a shiver crawl up her spine, clawing its path up the back of her neck. Then her phalanges wrapped around it suddenly, tight, and ruthlessly squashing the overpowering impulse to hurl the weapon away, her wrist flicked and performed the perfect wand motion, her voice impassively intoning, "Alohomora."

Nothing.

"Alohomora. Alohomora. Alohomora"

Her restraint snapped, as clear as the severing of a wire, and her leg shot out, savagely kicking the door. Even as it bounced back from the recoil, big toe throbbing, she felt a threatening creak resound from beneath her tightening fingers. Her wand. Feverishly, her mind began to rewind words heard long ago, the result of an eavesdropped conversation, the bored, yet mildly concerned drone of Dr. Faust's voice: Oh yes Mrs Dixon.....very sorry indeed.....she seems to be haphephobic,yes..... a degree of claustrophobia too, I would hazard......closed spaces are fine, as long as she can get out of them...

Bren's voice was composed, quiet. Its alright. Just breathe. Its alright.

“Are you remembering to turn the knob? It’s an important step in the very intricate art of opening doors.”

Rika breathed. And lashed.

"You know what's another very important lesson in the intricate art of opening doors?" Her hair whipped through the air as she turned around, words slipping out viciously. "To know when a door" Her hands moved in a rectangular shape, enunciating words even slower like a mockery of the other girl's tone, "is closed." She mimed locking the door, and tossing away the imaginary key.

Barred most likely, the part of her mind that wasn't angry or panicked replied inside her head, trying in vain to grasp on to logic in order to stave away the fear/frustration. Alohomora would work if the door was literally locked, but someone had probably propped something really heavy outside it, hence not allowing it to move outwards. Stupid, friggin' third year pranks.

Almost absently, mind wrapped in a fog, Rika walked over to the side and felt her shoulders sag, slumping against her wall. She could hear her voice, almost as if from a distance, "If you're such a genius, open it for yourself."