Playing House

Who: Rupert, Camber, Chris and Daphne
When: Ten minutes past eight
Where: The ball room!

Rupert had taken one Valium before getting dressed, and one after. And he was still a bit shaky. These social gatherings made him nervous; in fact, if the whole affair didn't sound a little bit mandatory, Rupert wouldn't even go. He had thought about not going, but then thought better of that, seeing as the whole reason he was here was to socialize and learn to survive events like this with his dignity intact.

He had dressed in a formal black suit and white button-down shirt, and then he had tried a tie, a bowtie, and nothing at the collar. Thinking anything else might be a bit much, Rupert had gone without anything at the collar, and even unbuttoned it. He felt slightly naked, but at least he looked relaxed...Right?

Arriving at the ballroom precisely at 8pm, Rupert heard the bells chime and then the doors open, and then he decided to hang around and not actually walk into the ballroom before anyone else was there. In fact, he stood a good ten minutes nearby before he made his way inside, and even then there were very few people already there, none of which he knew. As he looked around, Rupert found a table-assignment sheet, which meant he wasn't going to be able to just sit alone in a corner and pretend he didn't exist. As he looked at where his name was, he swallowed hard. He had been assigned to sit with Daphne, the gorgeous and freckled avid reader; Chris, the confident mocker and Camber, who seemed to have been causing a fuss in the journals. Rupert made his way over to his table, and sat there alone for a little while. "Brilliant. I-I am l-l-like the o-ov-o-overeager b-b-ball date." He rolled his eyes. Forgetting he had taken two already, he took another Valium, chasing it down with a glass of water.