2/22 Instance: Miss Manners with Monet St. Croix

[Slarti]

timelined a few hours after 'the prodigal congenials'

Noriko finished moving her schoolbooks up onto the shelf above her bed, her pack and all her clothes--some new, some not--already laid out on it as she'd wanted to arrange where to put them first. She nodded along to the music in her earphones as she moved them.

Monet tied the sash of her robe tighter as she felt someone in her room as she made her way down the hall. The breakfast hadn't been unbearable. in fact, it had been quite delicious. Now for that to be ruined by an unwanted presence was not a pleasant thought. She opened the door and arched an eyebrow, "Bonjour."

"Yo." She could understand the French, and could manage to make herself understood, but she wasn't interested in doing so with Monet. "Looks like we're gonna be roomin' together."

"Lovely." She moved in and shut the door, stepping over to her vanity and sitting down to brush out her hair from the nap on the couch. "Who decided it would be wise to put three females in the same room?"

"Dunno. Wasn' me," Noriko shrugged, putting her clothes away in the bureau beside her desk, neat about arranging them.

"Well at least Jubilee isn't a hermit like creature." She set her brush down and moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Noriko looked over at Monet and merely shrugged, not much caring what the girl said. "Ya ain' gotta like it. Here's where they put me."

Monet finished and came back out to sit at her vanity, appyling her make-up. "i could really care less so long as you stay out of my way. I have no tolerance for people if you'd not noticed."

"I'm gonna do what I want, be where I wanna be. Ya gotta problem with that, take it up someplace else. I ain' gonna be walkin' on eggshells 'round ya, don't care how much money ya got or how much of a princess your daddy thinks you are."

"i could care less where you go or what you do. Just stay out of my things and don't speak to me unless there's a life or death emergency." She blot her lipstick and tossed the tissue in the bin.

"Oughta be easy, I hate talkin' to you already."

"Then we agree on something." Monet stood and moved to her closet, leafing through the clothes before she picked out an outfit. She stripped and began to pull the new clothes on.

Nori watched her change, noting the efficiency of movement as she pulled down thick, battered book her brother had given her; she'd read it through she didn't know how many times, and carried it with her everywhere. It was one of the only things she had left of Keitaro.

Monet hung her robe up and put the negligee away before going back to her vanity and brushing her hair out once more. "Oh good. You're more literate than you make yourself out to be. Unless you can't read that."

"I can." She flicked pages to get to the story she wanted; there were a lot in the Sherlock Holmes series, all contained in one four-inch-thick hardbound copy. She sighed and cleared her throat, working on speaking without the jive slant to her voice. "My brother gave me the book the night before I left home."

Monet arched an eyebrow, "How nice of him. What is it?"

"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."

"Good choice. I adore the classics." She nodded her approval and put her brush down, watching Noriko in the reflection.

"I like them too. Better than some of the modern crap," she said. "Give me Bram Stoker over this sparkling vampire fairy clan kinda shit any day."

"Mmm. I don't quite understand the phenomena revolving around that. Beyond teenage girls liking anything that's shiny."

"It's supposed to be a less...sexist view on young adult relationships, where the characteristic of 'sexy' isn't just an act the girl has to put on," she said. "But it fell a bit flat with the main young man having the personality of a sociopath."

"And of course the pedophile werewolf."

"That too. But he irritates me less than the sparkly bunch does."

"They all irritate me. It's a mockery of true literature."

"Well, yeah," Nori said. "But taken out of context there are levels of abomination in it." She cocked her head at the girl. "What's your favorite? In classic literature."

"Book or author?"

"Both. But book right now."

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." She frowned and stared at her reflection, making sure her mental block was still solid. "But it reminds me of someone I would rather not think of for the moment."

Nori made a tiny, derisive sound in her throat. "You too?" There were reasons she couldn't read that book and stya in anything resembling a happy mood. "I used to like it. Can hardly read it now."

"It's really a fascinating point of view on the good and evil sides of a person warring against each other."

She nodded. "It is." Noriko hesitated to say more, but she might as well... It wasn't like she'd never let it slip. "Hits a little close to home, though." She could so easily imagine her father as Hyde, and she never wanted to think about that.

"Agreed. My now ex and I had our first civil conversation about our favorite books. Less than a year later, he has a split personality disorder that reminds me very much of Jekyll and Hyde."

"Wow." Nori had never met Mayhem, or any of his other personalities, so she couldn't much comment on it. "Was that was caused the split?"

"Non. He was sectioned while I was in a coma and was 'fixed'. He went home to help his father recuperate after a seizure and a bad fall." She licked her lips. "For reasons I would rather not discuss, I cannot go to Europe. He's in England. And he called me to tell me that he would not be returning, not even for a visit. That angered me."

"Are you from Europe?" She really hadn't asked...most people could assume she was from Japan simply by her name, if not her appearance. "Were you in a coma for the same reason as Jay?"

"Oui and oui. I am a citizen of Algeria, Bosnia, and France. And I currently have the Legacy Virus."

Nori grimaced. "That sucks. I got tested for it, but I don't have it." She hadn't been registered, or tested or anything else before she'd gotten dropped here. "Which one's your primary residence? Other than here, I'm assuming."

"Bosnia. My father is a European Ambassador and my grandfather was royalty in Algeria. So when you said I was a princess, you were correct in a manner of speaking."

She let out a soft snort. "I don't think anyone in my family's been royalty of anything." There was a little hesitation before she could spit out the word family; she liked to think she didn't have one. It made her less homesick that way and took her mind off Japan.

"I could teach you how to behave like royalty even though you do not have the blood of royals."

Noriko looked up, startled. "Why would you?"

"Why would I not? You obviously need it."

Mastery of the underhanded insult. Okay then. Nori conidered, looking askance at Monet for a quiet minute. "Alright."

Monet's eyebrows shot up and she smirked, "Oui? I'm surprised."

"I'm the surprising sort." She mimicked the smirk. "If you couldn't tell."

"Non. Very few things actually surprise me."

"So you were playing coy." Noriko...despite herself, was actually starting to be interested by the girl she'd previously and firmly labeled a royal bitch. Well. She was royal, maybe not a total bitch. Maybe.

"Of course I was." She turned in her chair to look at Noriko properly. "What were the fundamental elements of your raising? We'll start with that."

"Traditional Japanese education." It was pretty simple. "Straight A's, no makeup, no dating, no sleepovers, nothing." That had lasted 'til she manifested.

"Good. At least you know the importance of school work and learning." She arched an eyebrow, "The rest is all familial based that you mentioned. Proper etiquette cannot stem from those but they can help create a person's moral being."

"My father disowned me at thirteen. I left Japan and haven't been back. The rest of it's..." she shrugged. "You could say familial. And you'd be mostly right."

"Well you cannot let that dictate how you behave. You have to become the better person than them. Your father would be appalled with himself if he ever saw the young woman you will be when we're done."

That in itself was enough to get her a little more comfortable with the idea; Noriko didn't really depend on her father's affection, or even approval, but it would be nice to rub the old bastard's nose in it. "Teach away."

Monet smirked, "Bien." And now she was having Miss Congeniality flashbacks. Oh how Jason would mock and chide her if he found out. "First, the basic rules. Posture must always be perfect. Beyond looking nice, it's healthier for you and helps with self-confidence. You must always use manners everywhere you are. Everyone is as much below you as they are your equal."

"Sounds contradictory." She...didn't actually have any other clothes, but the ones she'd brought with her, which was maybe three or four sets. That would have to be fixed, somehow. "Anything other than just standing straight?" She had fairly good posture, when Nori thought about it; it was just easier to slouch and make herself unnoticeable.

"Hygiene is incredibly important. As is clean living. You must always put yourself first. There is no possible way you can help those beneath you unless you are healthy yourself."

She hesitated. "Workin' on it." She was mostly healthy, and she was trying to quit. It was tougher than people gave it credit for. "I'm not dirty...I do shower daily, that sort of thing. don't wear makeup much." Yet.

"Makeup is a personal preference, however, I would always recommend a touch of foundation, mascara, and at least a lip gloss. Those things give your face a presence that it lacks without them."

She arched an eyebrow, "You shower, oui, but do you clean the dirt from your nails? Do you exfoliate your face?"

"Generally, yes, and as far as exfoliation goes, as much as I can with what I have." Which would be not very much.

Monet arched an eyebrow, "Then I shall take you shopping and get you properly started. New wardrobe, new toilettries. How does that sound?"

"Um. I guess..." She was a little apprehensive about the wardrobe bit, but maybe she could deal.

"Bien!" Monet stood and grabbed her purse, phone, and keys. "Come. We'll go now before the city becomes crowded."

Nori stood, deciding to stay in the clothes she was in; the usual bondage pnts, but a tee shirt this time, layered with a long sleeved undershirt to cover the gauntlets on her arms. "Alright. I warn you I don't shop much." Like...ever.

"That's fine. You won't be doing the shopping. That's my job. You may pick out things of interest to you, but i have final veto power. Also, how you are dressed now is... fine. At least for around the house. People are more confident wearing things they are comfortable in. However, you will need other items as well to complete your wardrobe."

"If you say so," Nori acquiesced. At least she'd keep her style...mostly. But getting newer clothes and actually not stealing them would probably be useful. "Other items like what?"

"At least one formal gown, just in case. An essential little black dress. A good pair or three of regular jeans. A variety of shoes. A jacket that actually fits. That sort of thing."

Monet headed out of the room and down to the garage. "Are you coming?"

"I'm not even breathing hard yet," Nori called back, picking up the wallet she kept money in. "Right behind you, princess."

Monet rolled her eyes, "Then you should go find Cessily. She likes a challenge, i've heard."

"Okay, I walked into that one."

"Oui, you did."

[Starfish]

Heehee, fun instance, you two! Looks like Monet found a new project in her roomie.