Subject: Dubiously Canonical Alexandra Interlude Time Yay!
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Posted on: 2022-02-11 11:04:56 UTC

"Now," murmured Alexandra ffinch, "would be a great time for me to own a hip flask."

The moon hung high and silver over the Colombian mountains. The air was thick with the scent of flowers. The Casa Madrigal was asleep, as evidenced by a gently snoring wardrobe in Alexandra's nursery-room-dorm-thing, which might well have been a hint. If it was, her irritating roommate had taken it long ago. At least they didn't snore. Not that Alexandra could complain; her own snoring sounded like a chain-smoking tractor with a bassoon in the exhaust. Mater had recorded it once. She'd laughed at the time, because everyone else was.

Alexandra padded over to the door and opened it slowly, trying to avoid any squeaks. She couldn't remember if Dolores Madrigal's super-hearing turned off at night, but she wasn't about to take any chances. "Heh," she mumbled aloud, without really realizing she was doing so. "The woman lives in a house with other people's kids. I'm amazed she didn't go completely nuts." There was no response. Of course there wasn't. Alexandra moved on.

Down the stairs, steps light, through the courtyard under the moon. Every breath was sweet and fragrant. Alexandra scrunched up her face in disgust. "God, it's so sickly." There was no reply. The flowers didn't seem to want her opinion either. She kept walking.

At last, the kitchen. It was the heart of Casa Madrigal, or at least one of the more important internal organs. "Come on, come on, donde esta el boozo, this is a place with Camilo Madrigal in it, there's bound to be something to drink somewhere..." She looked through the shelves and racks, trying not to wake anyone up. "Or anything." Nothing responded, of course. "But then why would it?"

She sat down at the table. By chance, it was at her assigned seat, with her assigned crockery in front of her. A pattern of hummingbirds and tropical flowers ran around the edge, with the name Alexandra in a jaunty font at the bottom. She rested her head on the table. "Urgl," she said. Eloquent as always. "Argh." Such a way with words. She lifted her head up just far enough to fold her arms underneath it. The fabric was soft and brightly coloured and wasn't the same hoodie she'd worn for two weeks straight because laundry meant dealing with people. It wasn't hers, was the point. Everything was so... it was all just...

"Nice." She said it aloud, made it sound like an insult, didn't realise she was doing either. "It's all so bloody, bloody nice. It's bright colours and upbeat songs and forgiving all thy trespasses. It's ghastly. And I'm stuck. The others might not have caught it in what that manipulative old bat said at dinner but she can't pull one over on me. We get out when we write something that's to their satisfaction. Which means writing something jolly and positive and oh so very nice. And until then? I'm stuck here. I'm stuck being condescended to by the Latinx-Men because I don't think abusers deserve forgiveness. I'm stuck living in We Have Hogwarts At Home with a bunch of stupid kids, and that's just the ones who aren't teachers. I'm stuck here until I learn to toe the line and bite my tongue and be a good little uncritical simpering Disney Adult. I'm stuck!"

She hadn't meant to shout that last word, and in the silence that followed she pressed her face deeper into her folded arms. That was when she heard the footsteps, and looked up into Camilo's eyes.

"Uh, hey, you're one of the students, right? Alejandra? Look, I know it's new here, but it's not gonna be so bad-"

Alexandra's face twisted into a snarl. "Don't you have someone more interesting to pretend to be?"

The words were out of her mouth before she could cover it up. Her eyes went wide. "Oh Christ, I, I didn't mean-"

"Wow. Rude much? Last time I try and help." And Camilo walked away.

Alexandra walked back up the stairs, feet light to hide her passing. She turned the doorknob and went to bed. The wardrobe was still snoring, still a hint that she should sleep.

She couldn't take it.

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