Alicia accepted the cup that was offered to her and stirred it a bit, letting it cool just enough to sip. She liked her tea hot, but still fresh from a steeping pot was a bit too hot.
Her eyes glanced back and forth between her cup and Professor Hallowfen. She took a little relief when she began speaking.
The way she began, she assumed she was in trouble for something, despite her saying the contrary on the school network. Still, it was nothing she was a stranger to. She took a sip of her tea and almost choked on it, when she brought up kissing Chey. She composed herself when Cress continued and said that was not her concern. The calm was very short lived though, as what she said was far worse. She wanted to know about her behavior since....Alicia closed her eyes, not wanting those feelings to rise to the surface. She did her best to keep them buried where they belonged.
She winced her eyes shut to try to calm herself, but all that it accomplished was a few tears escaping her eyes. She opened them to focus on Cress again. "Y-yes...I am alright." she replied. Her cracked words, her tone, her eyes, everything about her betrayed the actual context of what she was claiming.
Why was she bringing this up now? When Boo first contacted her, letting her know she wasn't returning to school and she skipped all her classes for about a week, the only staff who seemed to give a fuck or even notice her missing was Mr. Heartley. Not that she expected anything. The staff were her teachers, not her parents.
"Real-ly, every....everything i-is fine." She lied, fully realizing her claim was less and less believable. She let out gasps as she did her best and failed to hold back sobs. The gasps for air and sobs breaking up her words as she spoke.
Her hand holding the tea cup began to tremble and she spilled a bit of tea before setting the saucer down and took her hand to massage her temple.