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Post by Simon Burkett on Dec 20, 2006 8:10:19 GMT -5
Simon was convinced that the Caldecott sunshine was even hotter than the last time they had made the walk in to town. If such a thing was even possible. He half expected to see the paving bubbling under his feet and the air was so thick you could have cut chunks out of it with a knife and sold it to heating companies. It was less walking, more wading.
He was very happy to have invested in some lighter clothing and happier still to have taken the time so butter himself up with sun screen. Simon was a pasty white north city boy. He burned at the slightest inclination.
As they reached the edge of town Simon glanced shyly at Dani, her bronzed skin shining in the sun. She probably wasn't bothered by the heat at all.
She's probably fanned by her own personal choir of cherubim.
Quite possibly.
But at the same time, so very hot!
Well ... yes.
She'll get a job easy ... I mean ...
Enough!
"So uh ... " he said, speaking now to drown out his own inner monologue, "what places are you applying for?"
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Post by danielle on Dec 20, 2006 23:15:09 GMT -5
Regardless of her skin tone, Dani wasn't used to this heat. She was from the north, in the mountains, and she was starting to feel like her little road trip had led to the worst place possible for someone used to the cold.
She wasn't complaining, though. She'd met some wonderful people since she'd left to get the cure and try to have a normal life.
Simon was one of them. He was looking cool, calm and collected (at least to her eyes) as they wandered into town, although she'd been trying not to be obvious about the fact that she was looking. Her eyes raised up to his face as Simon spoke, and she gave him a shy smile.
"Um, the fast food place, the coffee place, the craft supply place and where we went for clothes the other day. Maybe the general store. I dunno." There weren't exactly many options.
"I don't even know if anywhere is even hiring, I figure all I can do is ask and hope for the best." She wasn't feeling particularly confident. Whether that was because of being with Simon, wearing a skirt, or the actual job thing, Dani didn't know.
"So, um, why were you coming in today? Nothing better to do?" He'd already said that he didn't have any applications to hand in.
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Post by Simon Burkett on Jan 6, 2007 13:05:25 GMT -5
"Um ... not really, I just ... thought it would be nice to ... walk with you," he smiled and then his brain caught up with what he had just said. "Not ... I mean ... y'know ... that ... "
Abort, retry, fail?
He blushed but hoped she wouldn't notice, or pass it off as the heat.
Fail then.
"I'm going to look around for a job too ... I uh ... just don't know what I'm going to be able to do in a place like this, the idea of having to look for work hadn't even occurred to me six months ago ... seemed like the world of work was a long way off."
And you were SO wrong about that wern't you?
Thanks for that.
"And ... a coffee would be nice."
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Post by danielle on Jan 7, 2007 8:17:53 GMT -5
That sounded vaguely like something that she should take as an insult, but then the way that Simon said it contradicted the words.
Boys were so confusing sometimes. More confusing than just girls, and they were terrible. People were just weird, really. Or it was her that was just weird. Whatever.
"Mmmm," was all Dani said in response to his declaration that work had seemed a long way off. She was going to say more before he mentioned coffee, and she turned to look at him thoughtfully for a moment.
Was that asking her to have coffee with him? Probably not; it hadn't really seemed like it was asking for a coffee like that.
"Yeah, a coffee would be nice." Well, that wasn't so bad, was it? If he was just commenting that coffee would be nice, then she was agreeing. But if there was something more to it, well... She was agreeing to that, too.
"So you were doing computer stuff, right? Where did you want to work? Have you thought about going back to finish?"
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Post by Simon Burkett on Jan 16, 2007 9:48:27 GMT -5
"I ... I don't think I could go back ... at least not to where I was before."
He was quiet awhile.
"Maybe I could do a course at a college someplace else ... but if I can get a job then I guess I won't need to."
He gave her a tentative smile, "perhaps I can get something at the supermarket, sorting out their IT problems or something ... I'd cost less than an engineer."
He gave a self-depreciating chuckle.
"How about ... you though? Think you'll ever go home? I guess we can't all stay at Rogues Place forever."
The idea was attractive, but unrealistic and he knew it.
I'll stay here as long as you're here though.
True.
HA!
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Post by danielle on Jan 17, 2007 9:18:22 GMT -5
"I ... I don't think I could go back ... at least not to where I was before."
Dani nodded silently at that; she could certainly relate, at least in some ways. She didn't know why Simon had needed to leave, but assumed it was something similar to her own experience - crappiness derived from his powers. Not everyone got a cool mutation. Some were downright scary.
"Maybe I could do a course at a college someplace else ... but if I can get a job then I guess I won't need to."
He gave her a tentative smile, "perhaps I can get something at the supermarket, sorting out their IT problems or something ... I'd cost less than an engineer."
"I think that'd be a good idea, Simon. Definitely worth putting your name down." She gave him a smile that was far less tentative than his had been.
"How about ... you though? Think you'll ever go home? I guess we can't all stay at Rogues Place forever."
"Well, no, I guess not." She shrugged uncomfortably. "I would like to go back, to see my grandfather, but... I wouldn't want to live there. Too many..."
Dani looked down at her feet for a little while, kicking a stone a little ways along. "I lost a lot of friends, you know, when I got my... powers." There was no shame in what they'd been. Dani just didn't ever want to go there again.
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