"Ugh, that stuff is vile, I hope you know that," Glory whispered as the teacher walked in. "At least tea and coffee are more natural... I had three sips of a Joker once and I was wired all night. That's just not normal."

Viktor snorted, taking a seat once Selena and her friends had retreated to the back of the room again. "Ah, well. I've gotta die sometime. And I'd rather die with an addiction to Monster than without one...I love it."

"Suit yourself," Glory replied. She couldn't stand energy drinks. They tasted disgusting, and they made her shaky and jumpy. She much preferred the taste and feel of tea, even if coffee give a bigger kick sometimes. Thinking about tea made her really want some, so she made a mental note to make sweet tea when she got home.

"Likewise." Viktor didn't particularly enjoy the taste of coffee. Iced tea was the only sort of tea he liked, and he didn't even drink it that often. No, he was a complete sugar junkie. His fridge at home was loaded with Monster and highly-caffeinated soda.

"Remind me to make you some good sweet tea one of these days," Glory murmured. "Obviously, you've just never had good tea before."

"Maybe not," Viktor mused, thinking it might be true. He sipped his can of Monster, finding the antifreeze-like smell intoxicating.

Glory grimaced and shook her head. Vile stuff. She didn't see how he could drink it. Pushing the thought from her mind, she settled in for the rest of the class. She stole a few glances at Selena and had to hold back a few snickers at the look on her face.

Selena looked like a mix of a homicidal maniac and a kicked puppy. It was an amusing expression.

Viktor barely paid attention to the teacher as she taught. He'd taught this particular concept to himself already.

Making Selena angry was oddly satisfying, but Glory figured it was time to stop provoking her for now. She'd gotten her revenge for her car getting keyed, and she had no doubt that Selena would try to get back at her anyways. Best to let it be for the time being. Glory sat back and waited for the bell to ring.

When the bell did ring, Viktor stayed in his seat, looking really bored. "I wonder if I should cut class sometime today..." With that thought in mind, he stood up.

Selena, quite infuriated, just stormed out of the room with her friends in tow, leaving Viktor behind.

"Just don't skip shop," Glory said. "I figure you need someone with more than half a brain to talk to."

Viktor snickered, then nodded. "I won't skip shop," he amended as he slipped out into the hall, heading for the shop room. "I might skip my cooking class. I can't cook to save my life..."

Glory shrugged.

"I'm a decent cook, if I have explicit instructions and everything I need," she said. "I can't improvise to save my skin, though."

Viktor grinned as he stepped into the shop room.

"Anything involving kitchen utensils or appliances is beyond me," he admitted, rather sheepishly. "I set the fire alarm off last year when I fried an oven."

((I'll be back--I have to eat.))

((Alright))

"I messed up instant mashed potatoes once," Glory countered. "Though Nana told me that my mother messed up boiling water. That takes still, or a spectacular lack thereof."

"I can't even make a damn sandwich right," Viktor laughed, setting up their project. He was content to do the main project by himself--he liked woodshop.

"Alright, I've never messed up a sandwich," Glory acquiesced. ((because i can totally spell that...)) She went back to working on the jewelry box for Nana. Carefully, she started to work on some of the finer details, trying to do some halfway-decent filigree work on the top.

Viktor grinned, then punched the air sarcastically. "Yes! I get to keep my title of 'School's Worst Chef!'" he cheered. The teacher and a few other students stared at him as he got back to work. "You going to work again tonight?"

"Of course," Glory replied. "Do people just randomly not show up or something?" It seemed kind of strange that he would keep asking her if she would show up... "I'm not exactly going to skip out on a reliable source of income."

"Okay, good. We don't really have a strict policy on showing up for most of the employees that my parents didn't personally hire," Viktor shrugged. "If you show up one day out of the week, you get one day's worth of pay on paycheck day, plus tips if you're waiting. If you show up no days that week, then you get two days' worth of pay, and so on..."

"You don't have to worry about me," Glory said. "I may ask for a Saturday off once in a while, but otherwise I like to think I'm a reliable worker."

Viktor breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good. Usually, we have people who take advantage of that schedule. We have around twenty employees that my parents personally hired, both in and out of the kitchen. The rest take their good old time sometimes..."

"Well, I don't know about them, but I actually like having a job," Glory said as she kept working on her project. "You know, being able to afford things like gas and clothes and movies and such."

Viktor hummed quietly in agreement, working on the sides of the canoe, now. He seemed less talkative and cheerful than usual, for some reason.

Glory worked next to him, carefully carving her grandmother's name into the jewelry box. It would probably take a few more days' work before it was good enough to stain and finish, so she held off on the details for the sides. She wanted to look up some pictures of Nana's favorite flowers and paint them on the sides.

"You're quiet," Glory said as she worked. "Well, quieter than usual."