Valkyrie had to fight not to look surprised when Gabriel used her real name. Really, it shouldn't have been all that unexpected, and with the elaborate lie they were attempting, Valkyrie couldn't afford to slip up even once. "Yeah, everything's fine." She didn't need to fake the smile crossing her face. Just thinking about the disguised Archangel in the room using a midwestern American accent on her mother was enough to make her giggle. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you about this. Mum, this is..." She hesitated with her hand vaguely in the air, and then decided to start with Fletcher. "This is Fletcher Renn. He's a student at the local college, and he does a lot of driving around for our school too."
The Teleporter shot Valkyrie a short glare at the word 'driving,' but didn't try to correct her, thankfully. "Hello," he said with a wave.
"And this is..." Oh, god. Valkyrie had completely forgotten about the name 'Skulduggery.' Like that would go unnoticed. "Mr. Pleasant," she recovered smoothly, right before freezing all over again. Would they recognize the name from Mr. Fedgewick's office three years ago? Oh well. Too late to go back now. "You know how I've been working out lately? Mr. Pleasant's been teaching me a little bit of martial arts. And kind of tutoring me in history on the side."
Skulduggery tipped his hat to Melissa, in a manner not unlike Gabe just a few moments earlier. All charm and smiles. Valkyrie wished she could see that disarming smile more often. It went so well with his velvet-smooth voice. "Pleased to finally meet you. Stephanie's been a delight. A little bit of a handful occasionally, but very focused overall."
Valkyrie gave him a tight smile and hoped, despite the velvet-smooth voice, that he wouldn't keep on talking. She was slightly worried he wouldn't know when to stop.
"And this is Gabriel," Valkyrie finished, letting her hand drop to her side, and trying her level best not to think too hard about this. "Gabriel... Prescott." Dear God, she hoped that was a common Southern name. "Gabe for short. He's been tutoring Fletcher. We've all been meeting up for a while after school sometimes, but a carpool thing kind of worked out today, so I missed the bus." Sheepish grins were practically second nature to Valkyrie by this point, and she had no trouble using one this time. Without giving her mum time to think too much, Valkyrie stepped over and hugged her, overjoyed that she could finally do this without a heavy heart or a closed-off expression. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"
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The Teleporter shot Valkyrie a short glare at the word 'driving,' but didn't try to correct her, thankfully. "Hello," he said with a wave.
"And this is..." Oh, god. Valkyrie had completely forgotten about the name 'Skulduggery.' Like that would go unnoticed. "Mr. Pleasant," she recovered smoothly, right before freezing all over again. Would they recognize the name from Mr. Fedgewick's office three years ago? Oh well. Too late to go back now. "You know how I've been working out lately? Mr. Pleasant's been teaching me a little bit of martial arts. And kind of tutoring me in history on the side."
Skulduggery tipped his hat to Melissa, in a manner not unlike Gabe just a few moments earlier. All charm and smiles. Valkyrie wished she could see that disarming smile more often. It went so well with his velvet-smooth voice. "Pleased to finally meet you. Stephanie's been a delight. A little bit of a handful occasionally, but very focused overall."
Valkyrie gave him a tight smile and hoped, despite the velvet-smooth voice, that he wouldn't keep on talking. She was slightly worried he wouldn't know when to stop.
"And this is Gabriel," Valkyrie finished, letting her hand drop to her side, and trying her level best not to think too hard about this. "Gabriel... Prescott." Dear God, she hoped that was a common Southern name. "Gabe for short. He's been tutoring Fletcher. We've all been meeting up for a while after school sometimes, but a carpool thing kind of worked out today, so I missed the bus." Sheepish grins were practically second nature to Valkyrie by this point, and she had no trouble using one this time. Without giving her mum time to think too much, Valkyrie stepped over and hugged her, overjoyed that she could finally do this without a heavy heart or a closed-off expression. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"