Every morning Allegra would set her alarm ungodly early and hit the pavement. She loved running and while she was a regular at the gym, nothing really compared to the feeling of the morning air on your face and the chance to greet the day on your own terms.

This morning, she was joined by her two puppies, a white Shih Tzu with light gray mask and ears and a black shaved Brussels Griffin. Allegra had been away from her babies for almost a week and had been going crazy with dog-sickness. Seeing the two dogs devotion towards their two legged owner, it was obvious they adored her as well.

Allegra ran into the mansion with her two furballs rushing right behind. “Let’s get you two some breakfast,” she said. The dogs yipped enthusiastically.

Allegra got the dogs’ two crystal bowls out of her section of the cupboard and filled them with Doggy Delish Gourmet Dog Food. The two pretty much turned their noses up at anything else.

“Okay, so what for me?” Allegra asked herself. She really missed having a housekeeper. Maybe she could talk the school into getting one for her. They turned down her request for a bigger room to fit all her clothes and shoes, so it was the least they could do.

She tried to remember things that Imelda, her housekeeper, had cooked for her that were relatively easy. Allegra thought she remembered her special recipe for French Toast. There was bread in the fridge. Good. Allegra then dumped some almond milk, a couple bananas, a bit of nutmeg and some cinnamon into the blender. She then located some vanilla extract (which she learned all about in Home Ec class) and added a dash then let the blender spin. She poured the mixture into a pie pan, dunked the toast in it then started to cook it on a skillet.

The sweet,spicy aroma filled the kitchen. Allegra flipped the toast then waited impatiently for the other side to cook. She was starved.

Blegh! Late night gaming and early morning were not a winning combination, but now that she was awake the chances of getting a couple more hours was pointless. The stomping all around her and shouting certainly didn't help her mood. Or the dogs. But that might be her half asleep mind messing with her. It liked to do that, get it's own back for abusing it with too many games.

Crawling out of bed and shambling towards the showers, she spent a good twenty minutes hoping it would help wake her up. It didn't. Clearly, the only thing that would do the job was breakfast, preferably something with plenty of protein and fresh veg. Now that she knew she could raid the kitchen and cook for herself if need be, she'd happily taken to making her own meals.

Quickly changing into a plain white tank top and skinny jeans, putting in her various ear piercings and looping her necklace on, she was ready for food! Forgoing shoes she set of down the hall.

From the smell of it, someone was already making something. Hunger won out over introversion, pushing her to wander in with a sleepy "Morning," before moving over to the fridge, taking a quick glance and settling on a veggie omelette. Pulling out some mushrooms, peppers, onions and of course eggs, she quickly had them chopped, prepared and ready for frying off.

Looking over at the other person present, finally clocking they were a girl, maybe a little younger than her, she couldn't focus on introductions right now. "Excuse, you know where the frying pans are? Still finding my way around the place." 

Allegra stared longingly at her french toast which wasn’t cooking fast enough. High in calories but oh so tasty and she was starved.

“Yip! Yip!” the white dog shouted announcing Alice’s arrival seconds before the gamer introduced herself.

Allegra spun around to look at the newcomer. Her brow furrowed for just an instant. Judging people by their outfits had become a reflex for her and Alice’s outfit fell under the ‘I’d rather eat broken glass than wear that’ column.

Allegra’s involuntary reaction lasted only the briefest of seconds as she smiled to meet the new girl. Alice certainly wasn’t a fashionista, but at least she didn’t look like a mutated bug or a corpse. Alice certainly got points for that. “Hello. I’m Allegra.” the blonde greeted.

The white dog ran right towards Alice and danced and jumped around her, yipping happily. “Sparkle! No!” Allegra shouted. “Sorry, that’s Sparkle. She doesn’t bite. She likes you apparently.”

The black dog wasn’t so sure and hid behind Allegra, glancing nervously though Allegra’s running capris. “And this is Chocolate. She takes a while to warm up to people. Sparkle! Down! I’m so sorry.”

Allegra walked over and picked up Alice’s new canine BFF so Alice would have a chance to cook her breakfast without interruption. “Sorry about that. There’s no stopping her when she decides she likes someone.” Allegra sat Sparkle down on the floor. “Stay! I mean it.”

Allegra then turned to Alice. “Here, let me wash my pan and you can use it.” Allegra filled the sink with sudsy water and washed and dried the pan before handing it to Alice. She glanced over again at the sign over the sink that said ‘PLEASE WASH AND PUT AWAY ALL DISHES BEFORE LEAVING THE KITCHEN.’ Allegra sighed. “This place really needs a housekeeper. I just had my hands done and that’s all going to be ruined if I have to keep doing dishes.”

Allegra got some strawberries and poured them over her french toast which was now cool enough to eat. “So, did you just get here?” Allegra asked. Judging from the girl's accent, Allegra wondered if she was new to America as well as Xavier's. “I’ve been here about a week, so if you have any questions at all, please ask. This place can be really overwhelming at first.”

Ah, that explained the barking earlier, whoever this girl was, and she looked like some stereotypical'valley girl'. Well, at least the kind she saw on TV growing up, all obsessed with the latest clothes and boys. Ugh, boys. "Lo'. I'm Alice." Her mind was still pretty fuzzy from sleep.

Of course they were little yappy dogs, and one of them was way to interested in her for her comfort. Gently trying to nudge it away, and pretending to care what they were called, she idly ate some pepper to keep her hunger bar from dipping too low.

"Nice dogs," she began with a half smile, "you had them long?" Maybe if she got the girl fawning over them she could finish cooking in peace. Maybe.

"It's fine, I guess they're just excited to see new faces. Dogs can be like that." Which was exactly why she was firmly a cat person. The few they'd had back home were adorable and about as disinterested in you as they were in a chair or table. Probably more, tables were fun to climb.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Spinning the pan in her hand and lightly placing it down on the hob, she very quickly started assembling a pretty good smelling omelette. Talking over her shoulder, "I guess, but I have a feeling its them wanting people to learn responsibility and stuff, you know, fend for themselves." She didn't mind cleaning or cooking for herself, it was pretty therapeutic.

New? "Pretty much, been her two or three days, can't quite remember." Days blended when you sat playing games for too long. "As for questions, first thing is where are the spices, second what'd you make? Smells pretty good."

Of course the spices were more important, making friendly was all well and good, but food was the main thing. "Oh and where's the plates and cutlery?"

“Hey Alice. Good morning,” Allegra smiled. “I just love getting up early and going for it, don’t you?”

“They’re my babies,” Allegra answered when Alice asked about the dogs. “Sparkle’s three and Chocolate is two. I got them both at a shelter. My mom said I should get some from the puppy farms but why when there are so many dogs out there that need homes. Besides, these two are the best dogs in the entire world. Aren’t you?” she asked the pair. Sparkle barked in full agreement.

“They both just arrived last night so there’s a lot of new faces for them,” Allegra said. “So many new people to meet and smells for them to sniff. Do you have any pets?”

“Learning responsibility? What’s the point,” Allegra said. “I already know that everything should be cleaned and put back in its place. So now that I know this, why can’t someone else do it for me? Imelda, my housekeeper, is way better and cooking and cleaning so I’m gonna ask if she can come over here. They’ll probably turn my suggestion down. They wouldn’t let me have a bigger room even after I showed them how many clothes and shoes I owned. It’s really been rough. I hope you’ve had an easier time adjusting than I have.”

Allegra watched Alice cook her omelette. “Wow, you’re pretty good at that. Oh, spices are over there. It’s a whole rack. Alphabetized and everything. Plates are up in that cabinet and silverware and stuff is in that drawer over there.”

Chocolate jumped on Allegra’s lap and sniffed at her food. Sparkled yipped when she saw Alice walk over to the spices. She was thinking maybe she would get some more dog food.

“I’ve made some french toast. Do you want some,” Allegra offered. “My eyes were bigger than my stomach like my sister used to say and I really shouldn’t eat them both. Even though I was the one that cooked them, they’re still edible. I promise,” Allegra smiled.

“So you’ve been here two or three days? Not much less than me,” Allegra said. She was curious when Alice said she couldn’t remember. “So, some major partying or just overwhelming?” she asked. “What brought you here? What’s back home like for you?”

Early mornings were definitely not her time, "I'm a bit more of a night person, just can't sleep at the moment, had some kid shouting in the room next to mine."

Alice kept nodding along half paying attention while Allegra gushed over her 'babies'. She never understood that term of endearment for pets but at least she cared, which was good. Hard to say someone caring to much about their pets was worse than the alternative after all. "My grandmother had some hunting dogs but they weren't really pets," those brutes had scared her, "but we did have some cats, rescues like yours."

The younger girl struck Alice as frankly a bit spoilt never minding the massive hypocrisy in that thought and she'd never really minded cleaning up after herself. rather than say anything rude, she just shrugged at the barrage of words and continued tending to her food.

"I'd certainly hope I am by now, been cooking since I was like 8? It was kind of me and my mums thing." Throwing some salt, pepper and a little bit of paprika in for some smokiness, it was coming along pretty nicely. "Thanks, wouldn't mind trying it. Doesn't smell like eggs though, it almond milk or something?" Taking a bite, the kid wasn't too bad. Yeah it wasn't perfect but it was balanced enough to be pleasant without losing flavour. "Hmmm, not bad you been cooking long?"

"God no, just to much gaming. Days kind of blurred together with them." The moving in de-stressing had gotten a bit out of hand. "As for why I'm here, I ran away from home, things got tense and some threats were made so I left."

Shutting the door on any further questions she quickly responded with "What about you, why are you here and whats home for you?"

“I’m sorry you had some loud kid next to you,” Allegra said. “What was he shouting about? Don’t worry. Me and the girls are very quiet. Aren’t we?” The two dogs yipped loudly in agreement.

Alice didn’t seem so thrilled about the hunting dogs. Allegra could understand. Any creature that enjoyed disemboweling a rabbit or taking down a deer didn’t seem terribly cuddly. “I’m more of a dog person, but cats are cool too.”

“I never got into cooking,” Allegra said. “No need to. really. We have an awesome housekeeper and when she had the day off, there’s carry out and restaurants. I had Imelda teach me some easy stuff to cook like this French Toast. No eggs. Almond milk and bananas instead. I’ve vegan plus I think it tastes better. It’s sweeter. If you want some more, I’d be happy to make you some.”

Alice seemed to really dive into her food. The girl was so thin so Allegra didn’t know how she got away with that. Maybe this was her only meal of the week or something.

“Gaming?” Allegra asked. She tried to smile but it was obvious that wasn’t her thing. “If you don’t mind me asking, how can you spend days sitting in front of a screen shooting at stuff. Doesn’t it get boring after a while?” Allegra figured it would get deadly dull after two minutes, but she genuinely wanted to learn about Alice’s interests.

Alice mentioned she ran away from home and it sounded like a very bad situation. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry,” she said. Allegra didn’t get along with her own mother but it never got to the point where she felt she had to run away. “Is there anything I can do? Anything at all please let me know. I’ve got credit cards if you need anything. Oh, and because my room is so small, I’m gonna have to get rid of some of my clothes. You can have them if you’d like. I’ll warn you, it’s all last season’s fashions, but it’s still top designer clothing to die for. You'll certainly be the second most fashionable girl around here.”

“I’m from California,” Allegra said. She didn’t mention she was from Beverly Hills. This poor girl was already wearing what Allegra considered ghetto clothing. She didn’t want to rub it in that she was from one of the fashion meccas of the U.S. “I found out I was a mutant, so here I am. I’ve met some nice people here but I really miss home. I’m totally looking forward to exploring NYC, though. I want to turn this into an exciting new experience. So, what else do you like to do besides gaming?”

She was so enthusiastic that Alice didn't have the heart to tell her that one of the things that got her up was dogs. Probably these dogs to be honest.

"Don't worry, I'm good with the the omelette and what you've already offered. Should tide me over for long enough before I need to start getting into the energy bars." While the increased hunger might be bad, it did mean she basically got to eat whatever she wanted without having to worry about side effects. As long as she got enough calories, she was fine.

"Not really, theres more to games than just shooters. I like the challenging aspect, how you're rewarded for learning more about the game and how it works. Its a skill based hobby and you get a pretty rewarding feeling from progressing and seeing your own improvements." This was a genuine passion for Alice and it probably came across. "I also love how they can tell some really beautiful and engaging stories that you have an impact on, you feel part of a bigger world."

Maybe she'd prejudged Allegra because anyone who instantly offered help was a good person deep down no matter how they looked. "Calm down, I'm fine Allegra, honestly, My sister lives in New York and is helping me get settled and sorted and she's offered to help me financially until I'm on my feet. I also have an emergency card so don't worry about me. I do appreciate the offer though really. Just ask if you want a hand cooking anything or want to learn new recipes, I'll be more than happy to help."

She was a Califorian then? She wasn't quite sure what that really meant about her, Alice hadn't grown up here with all the stereotypes so she just tried to take Allegra as she was. A kind, if a bit over enthusiastic girl.

Frowning at the question, she didn't really have a long list of hobbies outside gaming. "Other than cooking, I dabble in sewing and costume making a little. I also do yoga pretty regularly, to keep flexible you know?"

"What about you? What do you like to do with your free time?" She was pretty curious about this interesting girl opposite her and her deeper layers. 

Alice seemed like she had enough to eat, but the dogs sure didn’t. Sparkle ran over to Alice and looked up at her pleading for table scraps. Every once in a while she would get up on her hind legs and yip.

Chocolate stayed on Allegra’s lap licking her owner’s plate. Allegra made no attempt to stop the dog. Instead she passed Chocolate some crust which the puppy wolfed down.

Alice started to talk about why she enjoyed video games so much. She certainly had a passion for them. “Wait, let me understand this. You’re rewarded for learning more about the game and how it works?” Allegra asked. “Like how to program it or something? That sounds awful.”

Alice went on to talk about how she loved the stories and the idea of having an impact on what would happen in them. This intrigued Allegra a bit more. “So, like if a character is about to date someone that you know is an incredible jerk then you can talk them out of it?” Allegra asked. “Or are all the stories just about killing zombies and robots and that kind of stuff?”

“Hey, maybe you can show me a game you like and we can play it together,” Allegra suggested. Alice seemed so enthusiastic about the hobby that Allegra wanted to show some interest. She figured she should give it a try for her potential new friend. “Just please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want people to think I’m a big nerd or anything.”

Allegra was relieved to hear that Alice had a sister that was helping her. “That’s great. Are you two close? Is she gonna visit you here?” Allegra thought about her own sister. "My sister, Angelique is gone. I really miss her. She was kind of my idol. I think about her all the time."

“Well, if you need any help, please let me know. And my offer still stands. I have plenty of outfits you can try on and if you like them, they're yours. Oooh! Maybe we can go shopping together!”

Alice offered to teach new recipes. “Well, if they’re really easy, that would be cool,” Allegra said. “I’m not much of a chef. I’m more into eating food than cooking it.”

Allegra listened to the things Alice was interested in. “I love yoga!” she said. “It’s so relaxing and really gets me into shape. I need to find a studio here in New York. You make your own clothes? I want to be a fashion designer so what kind of clothes do you make?” Alice mentioned costumes so hopefully she didn’t dress up like a Klingon or something nerdy like that.

“Well, I love running as you can see,” Allegra said. “I get up bright and early with my babies and we run at least two miles every morning. You’re more than welcome to join us. Fashion is my life and, of course, so is shopping. I used to go out to the beach every day back home. The beach is my happy place. I’m into other typical stuff like music, dancing and hanging out with my friends. So I hope we get a chance to hang out soon.”

"It's more that you either get rewarded in game with items or unlocks, or you get better at playing against other people, kind of like someone getting good at a sport.You can challenge others and see how far you've come." She was used to having to explain her hobby to people, even nowadays a lot of people didn't understand it.

It was cute how confused Allegra was about the whole thing. "They can tell any of the kinds of stories you'd read in a book. High fantasy with elves and dwarves and magic to steampunk worlds and more. It's all possible and yes, there are plenty of romance ones." Although a lot of them were....meh. "But I'd be happy to show you some, I'm sure I can find one you'd enjoy."

She did have to grin at the nerd comment. Alice was proud of it, Christ she had game tattoos and was planning to get more in the future.

"Erm, kind of, we've not really known each other that long so it's hard to say but she should visit here. This is her Alma Mater after all." Still weird that they'd know each other for less than a week. "Oh, I'm sorry for your loss, that must have been awful. if you ever want to talk or just chill out just give me a shout, I should be around." Losing someone that close to you was just horrible, especially a big sister you looked up too.

OK so Allegra was a sweet and kind girl, but the idea of shopping with her sounded like Alice's personal hell. Instead of answering she just nodded along. Getting out of it would be easy enough, she could lie like the best of them.

"Not yet, but I'm hoping to make costumes for conventions and stuff. It's pretty fun and the community for it's really friendly. Well, that and it's always a great excuse to get up close and personal with some very beautiful girls." God the girls, they were just so.....gorgeous. "But that's really cool you know what you want to do for a living. Not many do at your age."

Giving her a grin, she might not be her usual kind of friend but the girl had a god heart. That was cool, and Alice did have to admit she felt a little sorry for her, losing her big sister like that. "Of course we can, how else will I bring you to the nerd side," she laughed, keeping her voice jokey, "join us on the dark side, we have cookies. Homemade ones at that." 

"You get rewarded with items? Like prizes?" Allegra asked. "What kind of prizes? How do they send them to you? Is it cool stuff?" She didn’t understand the bit about unlocking but she figured Alice would explain it all when they started gaming. There seemed to be more to it than just shooting at monsters all day.

Allegra wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of elves or dwarves. “I’m not into punks either no matter how steamy the punks might be,” she admitted. But Alice seemed willing to find a game Allegra liked which was cool. So many people like Alice would just write Allegra off as a dumb blonde and not take the time to get to know her. This girl was being really nice. Even if the games totally sucked, it was an opportunity to make a new friend.

“Your sister graduated from here?” Allegra asked. “So being a mutant runs in your family? I guess that kinda makes sense. It’s genetic right?” Allegra had never really thought much about the subject until she found out she was a mutant herself.

“Thank you,” Allegra said. She still hadn’t gotten over the loss of her sister and it was good to talk to someone who cared. "I just go day to day, you know?"

“Costumes for conventions?” Allegra asked. “Like what kind of conventions? Is it like a fashion show with runway modeling and that kind of thing? That would be cool. There were some nerds...er… kids at my school who went to some Renaissance Fair thing where they dressed up like knights and crazy stuff like that. I bet your conventions are better than that.” At least she hoped they were.

“I’ve always been into art and I’ve always been into fashion so putting the two together for fashion design is almost natural,” Allegra said. “My mom wants me to be a model like my sister was, but that’s not really my thing. How about you? Do you want to be a video game designer?”

“So do you have a girlfriend back home?” Allegra asked. Alice had a great personality. If she’d find better clothes and spend less time playing video games, Allegra was sure she could be a knockout.

“The dark side? Oh, because you play video games in the dark?” Allegra asked. Somehow that term sounded familiar. It was probably some Star Trek reference like ‘Beam Me Up Scottie’ or ‘Use the Force, Mr. Spock.’ Allegra had a feeling that a lot of what Alice was talking about would go over her head.

“But I do like cookies. A lot,” Allegra smiled. “So why don’t we wash up here and you can show me some of the games you like. I’m pretty open minded. Well, sort of. But I’ll give it a shot.”

Oh my god Allegra really was clueless about this stuff and it was so damn adorable. "We'll just find something we both like and go from there. Don't worry, you'll soon learn and best secret nerd ever." Playing games with a cute girl was kind of a dream come true for her as well, so she wasn't going to throw her in the deep end yet.

"I guess, we're only half sisters so I don't know how it all works. Hell most scientists don't really know how our powers work anyways." Would Serena want to meet Allegra? Maybe, her sister was really nice and sunny so they'd probably find something they had in common.

"Don't shy away from calling me a nerd, I am totally one if you haven't guessed by now. But I want to make outfits for things like Comic-con. There's just so many characters from games, movies and comic you can dress up as. It's really freeing to be honest, you can be yourself surrounded by a bunch of other nerds just enjoying it." That and body suit clad women because hot damn!

"That's awesome, you'll have to show me some of your drawings some time, I'd love to see them. And don't worry about parents, from what my sister tells me the mansions pretty good at helping you get to where you want to be. Can't imagine they wouldn't encourage you to follow your heart." Sure their alcohol rules were bogus but she could live with them.

"Erm, well I'm actually working towards getting into Uni to do an electrical engineering degree. I want to work on high spec computers and behind the scenes for video production companies." She was leaving out that it was preferably for internet games and streamers but hey, she couldn't throw all her nerd cred in the kids face. Yet.

She would learn the references, oh yes she would. Alice had an evil plan to corrupt this little fashionista to the geekdoms.

"Sounds good, shouldn't take too long with us both here, then we can get set up in the living room and have some fun." Taking their plates and dropping them in the sink, "You mind drying if I do all the washing?" Her mum had always drilled good kitchen practice into her from a young age, cleaning was nothing to her.

Allegra smiled at Alice’s enthusiasm. She was as much into geek culture as Allegra was into clothes. Granted Alice’s interest was totally lame, but it was great to see someone so excited about something.

“Okay, I’ll give being a secret nerd a shot,” Allegra said. “Emphasis on ‘secret.’”

“Half sisters, huh? What’s her name? I’d like to meet her,” Allegra said. Allegra had been really outgoing at her old school but that was largely because she had her friends around her. She was having considerably more difficulty meeting people here now that she had to go it on her own.

“Oh, Comic-con. That’s where they announce all the new movies,” Allegra said. Alice mentioned dressing up like comic book characters. “What do comic books have to do with Comic-con?” she asked. “Oh. Comic books. Comic-con. I thought it was because there’s comedians acting in the movies?”

“So what kind of characters do you dress up as?” Allegra asked. “Hold on. I need to show you something. Promise me you won’t laugh.”

Allegra flipped through the photos on her phone until she came up with a picture of herself at five years old dressed in a red cape and a blue dress with an ‘S’ on it. “My first design. A Supergirl costume. Pretty awful, huh? But I was only five and that’s what started my interest in fashion. I’m not gonna go into the details about how I thought I could fly and busted up my leg.”

“Oh, my creative arts teacher here is awesome,” Allegra said. “He’s kind of a big nerd. You’d like him. Has us call him ‘Arnie.’ But he’s really cool and supportive. He says he’s got some contacts in the fashion world who can mentor me when I’m ready. I’m really excited about the idea. And nervous too. What if I’m not good enough.”

“Electrical engineering degree? Wow,” Allegra said. “You must be really smart. If I ever get my own fashion line going, maybe you could help me with the website or something.”

Alice asked if Allegra wouldn’t mind doing the drying while she did the washing. It was certainly the lesser of two evils, though she really didn’t want to do either.

“Sure,” Allegra relented. She set her plate on the ground so her dogs could lick it clean. “If this place can’t afford a housekeeper, that’s the next best thing,” Allegra said. Some people got a little grossed out about dogs licking off things that people ate off of, but Allegra couldn’t figure out why. They were very clean little puppies.

Allegra took a towel and started drying off the silverware as it was handed to her. “You know, I’m kinda looking forward to playing your video games,” she said. “It’s something new and different. Best of all, it’s something. I used to go out all the time back home, but I’ve been a big hermit since I got here.”

"Your secrets safe with me. For now," there was no way she'd out Allegra as a little nerdy if she really didn't want to, but it was a little sad that she cared more about what other people though than just doing what she liked.

"She's called Serena Rivers, so we have the same last name and I'm sure she'd like to meet you when she's free. Whenever that is." Her sister was a busy woman, being a syndicated author, finishing a university degree and from Alice understood, she was also some kind of badass crime fighting ninja person. So yeah, not a lot of free time.

"It's fine, a lot of people don't fully understand it. Now it's kind of just a big celebration of all things nerdy. Games, movies comics and more." She really wanted to go soon and now that was in america, it was much more a possiblity."

Before she could answer the peppy girl was showing off a costume she made as a kid. "Oh my god Allegra, that is adorable and you really made it yourself?" Damn girl had some skills at an early age.

"I haven't actually finished a costume yet, I'm still practicing the skills and getting a bit better before I make a full one." Pulling up an image on her phone, "My goal right now is to make something like this." It was a character from her favourite game and boy was she pretty.

It was nice to see the creative, enthusiastic side of this strange girl, see what really made her happy. "Not trying would be the worst idea though. Its an awesome opportunity and I'm sure you'd do awesome at it. As long as you do your best they can't help but love you." Hey, Alice could be supportive every now and then. Sometimes.

Once everything was cleaned up and put away she was starting to consider what game to introduce to her new, friend? Something mechanically simple but engaging. Hmmm, maybe a dating sim, she did seem the type to like the pretty boys and want to chose exactly which man suited her.

"We can get set up in the living room, just let me grab my laptop and some things and we'll be good to go." Oh this was going to be fun, she had a padawan to teach the was of the nerd.

Allegra trusted Alice not to disclose her potential forays into nerd-dom with anyone. Allegra would just die if anyone found out she was wasting time playing a video game when she could be doing much worthwhile pursuits like talking about shopping, planning a shopping trip or actually going shopping.

Allegra would also be mortified if her friends back home found out she was hanging out with someone like Alice. Allegra thought the girl was a lot of fun, but she practically had the word ‘geek’ displayed on her hideous just thrown together outfit. Allegra never would have bullied Alice like some of her friends would have, but there was no way she’d be caught dead hanging out with her in public.

“Serena Rivers. I don’t think I’ve met her yet,”  Allegra could always use more friends. “I’d really like to meet Serena sometime. Is she a gamer too?”

“I guess I don’t know much about Comic-Con other than all the news stories live from Comic Con,” Allegra admitted. Allegra hoped Alice didn’t think she was the type that watched the news. She only paid attention to the entertainment news. You know, the important stuff.

Allegra smiled when Alice admired her early attempts at costume making. “Thanks. Supergirl and Disney Princesses were the height of fashion for a five year old and at that age, I pretty much knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I’ve got a picture of me in an Ariel costume which is only slightly better.” She clicked the forward arrow until it showed a picture of Allegra dressed in her homemade Little Mermaid costume.

“Don’t tell anyone, but back then I was even more into superheroes than Disney princesses. My dad had a huge comic book collection and I wanted to be Supergirl or Wonder Woman. I outgrew it of course, but I had a li’l bit of nerd in me back in the day.”

Allegra looked at the picture of the girl Alice wanted to dress up as. “She looks kinda like you,” Allegra said. “And I love the necklace. But the rest of her outfit is kinda drab, don’t you think? Besides, no one is gonna know who you’re dressed as. Why not Wonder Woman? The movie just came out. so everyone’s going to know who she is and her costume is plenty sexy.”

“Thanks for the support,” Allegra said. She never thought she was ever good enough but the support of her friends helped to motivate her when she couldn’t motivate herself. “Hey, maybe we can work together on an outfit together. One rule of fashion design is to try to push yourself to do things that you wouldn’t normally do to stretch your creativity. And it’d be fun to work together.”

Allegra was looking forward to checking out these games, but Alice suggested they play in the living room. People might see her there! What if word got out that Allegra was hanging out with the school nerd (no matter how awesome she was) and playing video games? That could be social suicide.

“The living room gets, um, too crowded and other people might want to watch TV or something,” Allegra pointed out. “Why don’t we just chill out in your room. You’ve got your whole game collection there anyway.”

Oh my god! Allegra was now afraid that Alice might think she was hitting on her. Allegra wasn’t into girls and certainly not into girl gamers. She hoped Alice would realize this was purely platonic.

Allegra was so popular back at her old school. Why was navigating the social scene so difficult for her here?