"You can blame that on Selena," Viktor replied airily, her name rolling off his tongue like it was some toxic poison. "I've already told her I don't want a serious relationship with her. And yet she keeps pushing it. Honestly...good looks can't make up for a rotten personality."

"Seems there are quite a few things that might be blamed on Selena," Glory murmured, thinking about what the other girl had done to Léan. Obviously, Selena only cared about good looks. Glory blushed slightly when she realized that she'd called Léan good-looking. Then again, it WAS true...

"Probably more than you know," Viktor quipped, getting one side of the canoe shaped correctly--nice and smooth. "Selena has been at it for years. She didn't start acting like this until she started secondary school."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Glory said. "Like I told her... Her karma is already going to bite her, now it's just a question of when and how hard. She may not have done anything to me personally until she keyed my car, but I never did anything to her at all. I don't know if she sees me as a rival or what, but..." Not that she was going to tell him about Léan. That was a secret best kept that way.

Viktor nodded, half-amused. He was just waiting for the day when she would get caught breaking the rules.

"I already didn't like her when I met her," Glory continued, just for the sake of not having silence, "but now I just really don't like her. And yes, I know I'm rambling, but it's better than awkward silence."

Viktor chuckled again, nodding. "Quite true...I wonder what made her change. She wasn't annoying until she hit secondary school..."

"I wouldn't know," Glory replied. "Being new in town kind of makes you start out in the dark about everything."

"...Yeah, that's true," Viktor amended, remembering what it was like when he first moved here, from Russia. He finished sanding off the sides of the soon-to-be canoe and then idly decided he'd done enough for the day. He sank down into his seat, brow furrowed. "It really does bother me. I'd like to find out. But if I ask her, she'll accuse me of flat-out calling her a bitch," he added, grinning. "Which I would be doing, in a sense..."

Glory shrugged.

"I have no such issues calling her that," she said. "She keyed my car, and I'm fond of my car." Selena also broke Léan's heart, but she left that part out. Let her sound a bit petty. It was no worse than how Selena was acting.

Viktor grinned more, fiddling with his hair and tying it into a loose ponytail using an old black rubber band he had around his wrist--it had been getting in his face.

"...It sounds like there's something else, there," he pointed out...well, pointedly. "She must have really ticked you off somehow. I'm curious."

"...It wasn't me she did anything to," Glory said. "Not before the thing with my car, anyways." She left it at that. She wasn't about to give away any more information than she had to. That way, she didn't say anything that she wasn't supposed to.

Viktor arched an eyebrow, quite curious, but he kept his mouth shut, seeing that she most likely wasn't going to tell him anything.

He wasn't going to push the subject. Glory wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Deciding not to say anything, she started to put her things away just as the bell rang. Her next class was close, she could afford to be a bit slow leaving the shop.

Viktor stood by their table, stretching. "Hm...I think I'd rather be surfing right now...I'll skip the rest of the day."

His quick decision on so blatantly breaking the rules was a little astounding, seeing as he was in the running to be his class valedictorian.

"You're going to... leave?" Glory asked, surprised. "Just like that?"

"I only ever skip once or twice a year," Viktor admitted, sheepishly. "I don't feel like dealing with Selena's attitude today. After all, here in this school, you're allowed two unlawful absences before you get in trouble. Why not take them, when you need or want them?"

"I'd rather save my absences for when I need them," Glory replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Like if I have to take Nana to the hospital or something like that."

"That's an excused absence, though," Viktor clarified. "Those are fine with the school at any time. Unexcused absences are a different story. Two per year. I only use them when I don't want to deal with Selena's being a bitch. And she's definitely in that mood today. I'm already tired of it. They're supposed to be used for your pleasure only, these free days. Not for sickness, or emergency, or anything else..."

"Then I'll just save them for when summer rolls around again," Glory pointed out. "No sense in wasting them as the weather gets cooler. I'd rather use them for when it's nice out." That way, she could have a few extra days to spend with Léan...

"Eh. Yeah, I guess so. The waves are real nice right now, though, no matter how cold the water is," Viktor reasoned, yawning. "I'm going to get going. See you later."

With that, he strolled out of class...and out of the school. He really was just skipping.

Glory watched as he left, amazed. He really left. Shaking her head, she hoped that he didn't get near her little stretch of the beach. She didn't think he would, because of all the rocks, but it was still possible.

The only part of her day that she wasn't looking forward to was lunch, because that was the only other thing where she had to share breathing space with Selena. Hopefully, the other girl would just leave her alone... It was probably a futile hope.

Selena and one of her friends had class directly next to the cafeteria, so they were two of the first people there. As expected, she sneered at Glory, a mix of annoyance and pure anger in her expression.

Obviously, for some reason, she was blaming Glory for Viktor's absence today.

"That look doesn't suit you, you know," Glory commented lightly as she passed Selena. "It's a pity, since that seems to be how your face is stuck."

Selena rolled her eyes and took a bite out of the apple on her tray. Her friend, sitting next to her, didn't take it so lightly, and, after checking that there weren't any authority figures watching, the girl chucked one of the apple wedges she'd bought in Glory's direction.