Summary:A coffee spill brings people together. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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Celerity is rattled. Tests are coming up which had somehow passed her notice, and so now she carries her study materials everywhere with her. Like right now, she's gone to Cafe Wha to take a break from deliveries, and she has her books out in force. She's reading from an environmental-science book as she comes back from the counter with her coffee.
This, of course, makes her a bit less aware of her surroundings. Her foot contacts something and she trips. She could do something to stop it, but not without breaking her secret. So instead, she watches in slow motion, as the coffee leaves her cup and splashes towards…
Where is this thing going?
The valences are wrong. He needs more power flow to the wings.
Peter Parker, ESU freshman, is sitting at a table, drinking juice and pondering the hurdles of designing a flying suit for a friend. Maybe if he…
Then a venti coffee, contents unknown, hits him right in the arm, splashing him, the ADVANCED NEUROBIOLOGY textbook, and the laptop with the crack in the screen. Which dutifully blinks out. In short, a short.
Well, hello, Parker Luck. Nice to see you haven't gone anywhere…
Felicia isn't rattled. In fact, she can't remember the last time she was. She is sitting single at a double table, perusing her tablet and scribbling notes on it with a black stylus. A tiny sparkling charm - a little black cat - dangles happily from the end as she writes. She is wearing black leather leggings and a thin black cashmere sweater, silvery blonde hair swept up into a sleek ponytail that falls to the middle of her shoulder blades.
And then, there's coffee which has been blessed with the gift of flight. And a laptop that has been blessed with the gift of coffee. She turns her attention in the direction of the catastrophe, and arches a brow.
"Oh dear. Are you all right?" She didn't even have to push the cup off the table this time. Pity.
Wow, Cafe Wha is crowded tonight. Zatanna isn't exactly a regular here, but it's a good place to practice what she calls her goth style, which isn't objectively goth at all but just kind of black. Specifically, high-waisted black skinny jeans, a very wide studded belt, and a tee-shirt with a cartoon girl on it who looks kinda sorta like Lydia Deetz but for the wide-brimmed hat and the huge glasses she's wearing. She makes her way through the crowd with a cup of goth coffee (because it's black! get it? she decides to work that joke into her act somewhere) in one hand, saucer in the other to support its ceramic bottom, twisting easily from side to side to avoid bumping into anyone. It's a dangerous game to play to be sure, life and limb are on the line here, but how else is she gonna successfully hunt the most dangerous game: fashion tips?
And the people here are interesting, that's for sure. The woman in even more black than Zatanna but with the gorgeous silver hair (what a brilliant choice!) catches her eye just before the airborne coffee event. She winces in sympathy at the damage done; the poor boy in the detonation radius doesn't seem like he can afford to have that shirt cleaned, let alone that computer repaired.
Well. Time to work some magic, then.
Fixing on a sympathetic smile, Zatanna scoots over to Peter as quickly as she can. "Hi, I saw what happened, that was such bad luck. I'm so sorry. Here, do you have a napk—ah!" She snatches one off the table and bends over Peter, dabbing his shirt (not rubbing it, her mama didn't raise a fool). As she's down low and her voice is obscured somewhat by the angle, she mutters, "Retupmoc sriaper," letting the spell work into the machine and dry out its wet, fried innards.
It *was* a fairly calm evening for Hisako; her portion of the table in front of her currently holds what's left of a mug of cocoa, crumbs from a slice of biscotti, and a sketchpad with a partial image of the far side of the cafe relative to her seat.
Her sketching is interrupted by a cup of coffee suddenly going aerial and winding up splattered across another student, and his textbook. And his laptop. Hisako winces a little as she sees the screen blink out like that. Others are already closer and actively helping, so maybe there isn't much she can do to help … besides staying out of the way.
"What kind of coffee was that, miss?" she inquires at Celerity. "I can spot you for a replacement, if you'd like?"
Carin…is…well, she likes getting out of the school. Where she doesn't feel quite so dumb having to take remedial classes to just catch up with other kids. She's not exactly the most outgoing, and still has a tendency to shy away from talking to people easily. Getting kidnapped and thrown in training for 'evil soldier or death' will do that to a girl.
But, hey, cafe! She likes cafes. She can feel kinda normal with people around, many who are her own age from the nearby colleges and schools who hang out here at least. Though she gets looks. Being pale with fiercy red hair and a huge face tat of a lightning bolt will do that.
At the stumble she looks over, her eyes widening as time slows a bit for her as she starts to stand up…then stops herself and sits back down. It almost looks like she vibrated fo ra moment! She's not suppose to show off her abilities, right? People are looking for her. And she might get the school in trouble…
And she immediately berates herself as it lands on Peter and soaks his tablet, biting her lower lip as she hesistates, then snags the napkins off her table and moves over. "Um, h-here, to clean up?" she offers.
Celerity lets out a long whine when she sees what destruction she's wrought. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god I'm so sorry." She sets her things on a nearby table and grabs fistfuls of napkins to start patting things down. "If it's damaged, I-I'll pay for it, I promise!" She can… maybe afford that? She'd have to spend a while just working instead of patrolling, that's for sure.
And then others are gathering around the site of her failure, too, which brings a blush to her cheeks. "U-Um." Seems others have it better handled, so she just steps back and wrings her hands. "I'm sorry," she adds again, just in case she hadn't said it enough.
She jumps when Hisako approaches her. She'd expected to just fade into the background. "No! No, that's fine, really! I couldn't impose like that."
She blinks when Carin dives in. Now this looks like Someone Just Like Her… as in, red-haired and shy. Yes, surely that's all they have in common. She'd been rather too occupied to see that moment of vibration. Hearing that stutter emboldens her, and she gets a stack of napkins and moves in alongside Carin. "I'll do the left, you do the right?" Then they'll get the cleanup done fast, and have the table all clean while Zatanna does the man himself. Teamwork!
Peter is a little gobsmacked. The coffee wasn't that bad—when a bully tapes you to a light pole and uses a Super-Soaker loaded with urine, coffee isn't that bad in comparison. And it wasn't that hot. His clothes had been spattered. Some had gotten on the book, but that wouldn't be too bad…
And then he looks at the laptop and is about to mutter something under his breath when the girl who spilled it apologized profusely. And Peter, being Peter, immediately forgave her and was about to say words to that effect when another girl speaks up, and whoa…something about her makes him blush immediately. She's…very beautiful.
Then another woman steps up, also offering to help, and Peter is at a loss for words. She's very lovely too, but she also looks familiar for some reason. He is about to speak, to say something along the lines of it's okay, he cen kludge a fix…only there is a quiet beep, and the computer starts up. The splash screen goes to Windows. He thought was was going to have to do some magic on it, but…something's off with the screen, though.
*That is because it isn't cracked, genius.* His mind sounds snarky and caustic. Like him during his wrestling phase.
"What the deuce…?"
Felicia doesn't get up. There are enough cooks in the kitchen to spoil that pot, already. "Oh, Barista," she calls out with a sultry voice. "Would you be so kind as to treat this entire pit crew here to a round, on me?" She looks intently to Peter, and glances to his gaggle of attendants, then back, knowingly to Peter. Crossing her legs and dangling a black patent leather-heeled foot daintily, she adds (without looking away from Peter), "/Anything/ they desire…"
Zatanna straightens up from Peter's shirt. "Sorry, I think this is beyond my ability to salvage, at least while you're still wearing it." She couldn't resist adding that last, nor entirely suppress the twinkle in her eye. "But if you have something else to wear, go change into it and I'll see what I can do with this thing. I used to work in Vegas, so I met a few specialists in removing evidence from laundry." She offers Peter a friendly smile, Carin's face an openly admiring glance, and Felicia's offer a grin. Turning to face the last here, she notes the proffered boot and takes the bait. "Wow, that's really kind of you! Thanks. I love your boot, by the way. It doesn't look quite Vuitton; is it custom?"
It's about then that a tall-ish, rather pretty blonde walks in, looking around curiously as she does. She appears to be in probably her late teens, and is wearing nicely-fitting black jeans and a loose, comfy-looking grey sweater, with a pair of pink Nike cross-trainers on her feet. (Becca's look: https://tinyurl.com/y4oqvnzn)
She does spot one semi-familiar face, and pauses for a moment while trying to recall his name.
Hisako smiles wryly at Celerity, "It's not an imposition, just trying to be friendly." … and then Felicity one-ups Hisako's offer by offering to buy something for *everyone* in the approximate group.
Cue the Japanese girl shrugging gamely, and putting in her request for another hot chocolate. Carin seems to have caught her attention, though; for a long moment, Hisako just looks at her, trying to remember why she seems familiar. And then it clicks.
"… Taylor, right?" she calls out to the redhead with the lightning-bolt 'tattoo'. Hisako follows that up with, "Did you need somewhere to sit?" and a nod at the seat across from her, even as she makes sure her stuff isn't intruding beyond her section of the table. (She didn't really need to worry, from the looks of things.)
Carin looks like she appreciates the help cleaning Peter ups, though sudden there's people all around her and she's a little suprised…does everyone know this boy? Maybe he's like a secret prince or something! or like a power nerd. King nerd, and this is his court. Is that a thing? She forgets if that's a thing.
She gets a faint flush as she notices Zatana looking at her tattoo, getting a bit flustered now as Pete addresses her. "Oh, uh, I'm C-Carin. Hi?" she offers. She herself is dressed pretty suprisingly…uh…well, okay, she looks like she went diving in the Big Brothers Big Sisters consignment and came out with the stuff that fit. Which in this case is a pair of cut off jeans which are probably getting to be a bit too cool for the weather, Aidas running shoes with green highlights, and a purple crop top that has a picture of Alice Angel on it. This would be tolerable, except she added a floofy neon green ruffled skirt to the mixture. It is…the girl needs help, is what I'm saying. Fashionista Police are hunting her even now.
"Uh…y-yeah? That's me. I'm Taylor." she says to Hisako, looking suprise. "Um…s-sure?" She has a pronounced Chicagoland accent to her…definitely not a local.
Celerity's eyes go wide — at first because of Felicia's offer, and then because of what she adds on the end. And then Zatanna openly suggests he take off his shirt. That's enough for her to squeak under her breath, like a little mouse trying to hide… and the attention isn't even directed at her. So hey, at least she probably can get away without notice, right?
The offer has still landed her way; she can tell when someone's going to insist, and this time, it's not like it's just for her. "Um. Just a flat white, please? Th-Thank you." That's what she'd had before the spill. She gives Hisako an apologetic smile for going with Felicia's rather than Hisako's. She's not really sure of the etiquette of receiving things. As Carin departs to head for Hisako's table, she adds, "Thanks for your help. A-And I like your tattoo."
She perks up when Rebecca enters and opens her mouth to greet her… but no, no, she can't act like she knows the blonde. Celerity never met her before; that was all Anon. So she drops down from that perk, and just… waves to the blonde neutrally. People greet total strangers like that, right? Right. It's one way people stop being total strangers.
His Spider-Sense was tingling. At least, he HOPED it was his Spider-Sense.
"It's…okay, really. I was going to head home after here, anyway. These are old clothes…it's not that big a deal…"
He quiets as Zatanna talks to the platinum blonde. He takes the time to look around, and then at the girl with the thunderbolt on her face. It doesn't faze him - it looks like a very bold tattoo idea. It somehow accentuates her face instead of detracting from it.
"No, really, it's okay, you don't have to…" He paused, then said to Carin, "I'm okay, Miss Taylor." He had picked up enough to make a good guess at the name, As Carin talks to Hisako, Peter actually relaxes a little. He never felt comfortable being the center of attention, especially if humiliation was a factor. Which it usually is.
"They're custom," Felicia replies with a nod. "Thanks…I can't find a THING that fits the way I want." The Peter Tingle is probably always going to be there. Even when Felicia isn't a cat. Because her bad luck field doesn't take a coffee break. Not that Felicia could possibly know about Peter's tingle. Or its implications.
"Neuroscience, hmm?" she asks Peter from her table. "That's an awfully heavy subject for a cafe on Hump Day. Hopefully you can break free of your textual confines and have a little fun, sometimes," she purrs with a mischievous grin.
Zatanna smiles at Carin but doesn't offer a hand to shake; she's back to holding her coffee cup and saucer. "Nice to meet you, Carin. I'm Zatanna," she greets, without making a bigger deal of it than that. It's not that she doesn't want to be recognized, but it comes off desperate if you have to prompt people to do it, especially after dropping the Vegas hint.
And anyway, there's the important business of Felicia's boots to pay attention to. Mustn't be rude, after all. She nods at the expected answer, even though her eyes widen in time with her smile to mark her appreciation. "They're gorgeous! Are you keeping the creator a secret? If not, I have to ask for the name. I'd love to see if they can make anything that looks half as good on me."
The blonde who came in returns Celerity's wave with one of her own and a smile, before focusing again on the familiar-looking guy. And then the imaginary light bulb over her head is almost visible as she recalls the name to go with the face. Her smile brightening a touch, she approaches his table. "Hi. Peter, right? I waited on you and your friend, the rich guy, last week, I think? I'm Becca, in case you don't remember me."
|ROLL| Anon +rolls 1d100 for: 38
"Hisako Ichiki," the Japanese girl answers Carin, bowing her head slightly. "I thought I recognized you from school, yes. Were you here for homework, or just relaxing?" she wonders, picking up her mug to finish off what's left; she has a refill coming, after all.
She doesn't seem quite as focused on the others in the cafe; they're basically strangers, after all, and while it's not impossible that they'll cross paths again somewhere, it doesn't seem that likely in a city the size of New York. Never mind that Hisako doesn't spend *that* much time in the city proper. But she keeps an ear perked anyway, just in case. After all, if the conversational web keeps weaving itself, it would be rude not to know what to call somebody.
The tattooed redhead looks a bit unsure of herself, though she catches Celerity's compliment, getting a flush. "Um, thanks…" she says, sounding a bit pleased but unsure. Perhaps she doesn't get a lot of compliments on it? Or she's (oddly) a bit self-conscious about it, considering presumably she wanted to put it there.
And at Peter's comment, as Miss Taylor, she can't stop herself from letting out a slightly nervous giggle ohmygodpeoplearelookingather! "Um, o-okay, that's good! And, um, I guess, I'll have a hot chocolate?" she says at Felicia's generous offer. As Zatana offers a hand, she'll take it. "Nice ta meetcha, Zatanna." she answers. Well. That's a name she'll remember at least. Followed by. "They're pretty books." she offers to Felicia, because they are!
She pauses, quieting as Becca comes over and introduces herself, then hesistantly gets her backpack and moves over to sit across from Hisako nearby, feeling oddly like she's being asked to sit at the popular kids table in a cafeteria or something. That is to say, it's a really new feeling for her! "I've seen ya walkin' around at school." She's sort of facing everyone now, though she's hunching her shoulders slightly as she squirms in her chair, nto quite sure what to do. "Um, nice to meet ya all? I mean, not nice to meet ya because he got splashed all over, an' stuff, cuz that sucks, but, um…hey?"
She nods to Hisako. "Yeah, just…relaxing and stuff. It's nice to get out away from things sometimes?"
Celerity's brain doesn't turn off. She takes in information — 'Taylor' and 'Hisako Ichiko', who go to school together; 'Peter', whom she'd splashed; 'Zatanna', who seems familiar, though she just can't place her. And 'Becca'. Now Celerity knows both names, though she'll keep that to herself.
Instead, what slips out is, "I'm sure it'll look great!" …and then she blushes, realising she's blurted that out aloud where Zatanna can hear it. She gives an awkward smile and goes to gather her things… which, it turns out, she'd left on the table now occupied by Hisako and Carin. "S-Sorry," she murmurs, picking up her book and preparing to step back. Here's a flower preparing to cling back to the wall again.
Peter smiled pleasantly to Felicia, but it had a mystified air about it, a Why Is She Talking to Me? vibe. "Uhm…well, I find the subject fascinating, really, Miss. Do you have an interest in the sciences?" Because there's no reason she can't be brilliant as well as pretty. He knew far too many people to put any stock in the Dumb Blonde stereotype.
He had glanced at the screen and was wondering where the crack had gone to before he heard Rebecca. He looked up, slightly startled, then smiled a familiar smile, the Apology Smile. "Oh! Hi!" He looked apologetically to Felicia, then mouthed, "Sorry," before looking back to Rebecca. "Yes, I remember. Mine was chicken-fried steak, Harry had the filet mignon. Delicious, by the way, Rebecca." Peter looked down at himself. "I'm…sorry about the coffee stains. I was testing my Coffee Magnet and I had a technical problem." He shrugs, a what-can-ya-do? shrug.
Felicia glances back at Peter's book, then back to his face. Mostly. He's built pretty well, after all. "I have a fascination with the sciences. I studied quite extensively for a number of reasons." But then his attention is diverted again. His mouthed apology affords him a wink, as Felicia turns back to Zatanna. She half-smiles and stands to pull a small silver case from her pocket. She snaps it open and plucks a card from it, tossing it to land with precision directly in front of Zatanna. This is Gambit-level cardery, right here. She squeezes the case back into her tight pocket, and seats herself again. "His name is Phillipe. That's his card. He can make leather do anything my little heart desires."
Zatanna is surprised by Carin's extended hand and has to slighty juggle her cup and saucer to avoid spilling now that she's holding it one-handed, but fortunately for her, juggling is actually in her repertoire. She shakes carefully but quickly to return her steadying hand to her cup, which she prudently decides would be safer on the tabletop. She sets the saucer and cup down before looking back at Felicia. She glances at the card but doesn't pick it up yet, her black lips pulling slightly to the right in the ghost of a smirk. "He must consider himself very lucky. To have your business." The pause in the middle is barely perceptible, but there as Zatanna extends a forefinger to the card, pinning it to the table without picking it up yet, just sort of pushing it around as if doodling with it. Probably wouldn't be a very good doodle since she's still watching Felicia, though.
"Coffee magnet. Riiight," Becca replies, with a chuckle and a smirk. "Seems t'be another name for 'shirt' for a lotta guys," she observes, her Texas accent a bit more apparent than before. "I should let'cha get back to what you were doin', though. Looks like a cool little place in here."
Hisako nods vigorously (if briefly) to Carin, "Yeah. Funny that - some people go out to the country to get away from the city, some people come to the city for a change of pace from the countryside." She grins, shrugging gamely.
Then she pauses, leaning to the side a bit so she can look at Peter. "Um. Is your laptop all right? I thought the coffee … well …" Hisako trails off uncertainly.
Carin blinks a little at Celerity comes over, then says. "Um, no worries…if ya wanna sit down, there's still a chair?" she offers. "I mean, plenty of room an' stuff?" She looks questioningly at Hisako to see if she minds, before glancing over at the group around Peter. "Maybe if ya turn the tablet over it'll all drip out through the, um, crack thing?" she suggests. That being the sum total of her tech repair knowledge concerning tech and liquids.
Celerity's ears are still open, and a scarlet blush rushes across her cheeks. Leather doing whatever Felicia wants, huh. She tries not to think about it, though there's something tense in her eyes, from how she's actively keeping them from dipping towards Felicia now.
She gathers up her books, and her chin ducks at Carin's offer. "No, no, it's alright, there's no nee—" She looks back. The cafe is getting rather busy, and her original table has been taken at some point in the commotion. So she slips into that offered chair. "Thank you. Um, Carin, right? I'm Celerity. So, uh…" She glances between Carin and Hisako. "You two go to school out in the countryside?"
Peter looks to Rebecca, that apologetic look still on his face. "No, it's okay. I'm just…" He looks at the laptop again. "Hunh. It seems to be okay…" No blown caps, no ozone, no smell of burning components. Even the crack is gone. How is the crack gone? "The laptop seems fine. I guess I…underestimated the damage." He looked back to Rebecca. "Maybe I should come by the diner again? I can't tip as much as Harry, but the food's great…"
"I'm lucky to have /him/," Felicia replies with a smirk to Zatanna. "Have I seen you on TV? Or online, maybe…You look familiar, somehow." She shrugs, but looks around at the others, and they all seem quite immersed in conversation. Felicia idly glances down at her tablet, and jots another note with her stylus on what appears to be some sort of architect schematic.
Zatanna carefully ignores the discussion of Peter's laptop
*don't say abra cadabra zatanna i swear to god*
and focuses her smile on Felica. "I'm so sorry, I was so focused on your outfit I've been rude. I'm Zatanna Zatara. I've been on TV a few times for my magic show, and I'm sure there are illegal vids of me all over YouTube." Her smile is knowing and good-humored as she leaves hanging what kind of videos. She extends a hand toward the obviously wealthy woman and asks, "What's your name?"
Peter glances at the platinum hair again. A trace of memory. Something about luck…
Felicia. Hardy.
Felicia "BLACK CAT" Hardy.
Suddenly, a lot of nagging questions are answered, and he suddenly feels a sense of…well, panic.
He looks at his bare wrist and says quickly, "Oh, would you look at the time, I should really get going…" he snatches up the laptop and the textbook, dumping them both into his backpack. "Sorry, Becca, gotta run. Late for class, that sort of thing."
It's the evening. But there MIGHT be a class still going at school, and he feels the urgent need to attend.
"Sorry, gotta go…!" And with that, another panicked college student bolts out into the night to make a very important class. It's practically a trope.
"He seems like a pretty okay guy, but he really oughtta let himself do the talkin' instead of his money," Becca replies to Peter, regarding Harry. "I mean, I'm not complainin' about that tip, but I went to high school with guys who came from oil money an' all that. Seemed t'think the way into a girl's panties as to drive a fancy car and throw a lotta cash around. Your buddy was flashin' a watch that probably cost more'n six months of my rent. He doesn't need to do that. An' he'd get further if'n he didn't, y'know what I'm sayin'…?" And then Peter is making his hasty exit. "Um… bye?" She's hoping it wasn't something she said…
Carin. So *that's* Taylor's given name. Hisako smiles sheepishly, then nods to Celerity, moving her things a little more to make sure there's room for the third young woman. "A smallish school up in Westchester," she answers Celerity. "I don't get down to the city that often, but it's usually worth the trip. There's always something interesting I can practice drawing … even if, sometimes, it's so interesting that I don't finish." She grins ruefully, looking at her half-finished sketch.
If Carin or Celerity look, they'd notice something missing from that drawing … namely, people. Hisako's apparently been working on drawing *just* the wall(s) and furnishings.
And as if cued by Peter's quick departure, there's a jingling chime from a pocket of Hisako's bag. "Excuse me," she says sheepishly, fishing her phone out and checking the notification. "Erk. Not a lot of time before the train I was planning to take back to the Institute." Hisako falls silent, lips pursed; she *could* wait for the next train.
And after a few moments, she resets the alarm so she can do exactly that. She might as well enjoy the chance to chat - with one of her fellow students, and with a friendly stranger. One with an interesting name, at that.
"Um, yeah, we go to a private school thing. Though we're not in th' same classes, I think?" She glances at Hisako, who hears her phone ringing, then waves hesistantly to Peter as she sees him leaving, before turning her attention back to Celerity. And noticing the picture too. "Oh, wow, I guess yer in the art class too?" she asks Hisako, before saying to Celerity. "You go to school in town around here?"
Celerity blinks as she looks over to Peter and his rush. It drops a stone of anxiety into her own pond, as she whips her phone out to double-check… and breathes easy. No, this mystery class isn't one that she needs to go take, and so she settles down in her seat again. She smiles at Hisako. "Oh, you do art?" She takes a peek at the scenery she's drawn. "Oh wow, that's really good." When attention turns on her, she gives Carin a more nervous smile. "Y-Yeah, just started up at New York University this semester. But, uh, I don't take whatever class that is." She lays a hand on her textbook. She really should get into that study again sometime, but… people. Speaking of whom, she looks over to Rebecca, now left on her lonesome. She turns a questioning look on Carin and Hisako; is it okay to invite her over?
Once Peter's made his exit, Becca accepts the invitation from the pair of redheads to join them at their table — Why not? "Hi. Thanks. I really hope it wasn't anything I said that made him run off like that. My name's Becca. Nice t'meet you." She pulls back a chair, probably the one just vacated by Hisako, and settles in. "This seems like a pretty cool place. First time I've been in here."
Carin doesn't seem to mind, waving to Hisako as she has to head outside to take a call, then scoots over to make room for Becca. "Oh, hey. Um, me too. Carin?" She offers her hand. Presumably this is her introducing herself rather than insisting Becca go by a different name. "Maybe he just wanted to change clothes?" she offers.
Celerity shakes her head, smiling. "Take it from me. As a college student, sometimes a class or a deadline just pops into your head as something you have to deal with right now." That happens far too much for her. She keeps her hands to herself, laid on her book, and nods to Carin's introduction. "A-And I'm Celerity. He said you're Rebecca, right?"
"I really like your, um…" Becca gestures to her own face, clearly referencing Carin's tattoo, though Becca doesn't know if it's a permanent tat or some kine of makeup, hence her trailing off noun-less there. "It's different, in a really cool way." She pauses for a beat, before finding the courage to say, "And really kind of hot, too."
She then turns to the other girl at the table. "Well, I usually just go by 'Becca', like I said, but yeah, that's me," Becca replies to Celerity. "Where y'all from?"
Carin reaches up, flushing. And boy is it easy to see on her pale skin. "Um, thanks…I've had it a while….and…" She trails off as the second comment registers, her blush ramping up at that. "O-oh…uh…thanks…Carin, yeah, that's me…I'm from…Chicago? Though it's been a long time since I've been there." Then, oddly, she adds. "I think."
Celerity's blush matches Carin's, though she's not pale enough for it to show as vividly. She blushes even from /second-hand/ embarrassment over compliments like those. "My family's just from down in Queens. How about you? I'm, uh, guessing somewhere south." She tilts her head at Carin, an eyebrow lifting at that last addition. "You think?"
Carin ums. "Think? I don't…uh…oh wait, I'm gonna be late for class…" she squeaks as her phone starts beeping at her. "Um, sorry, it was nice meeting you, very sorry to run out hopefullywillseeyousoon!" She grabs her bag and books it! Perhaps a little bit because she's, well, blushed. And embarrassed. And needs a moment. Or a day or two to get over that! Zoom! Well, she manages to avoid going superspeed until she's out the door and out of sight at least.!
"Hope that wasn't my fault either…," Becca says after Carin makes her hasty exit. Turning back to Celerity, she says, "Yeah, kinda hard to miss, I guess. I'm from just outside o'Dallas. Been up here since the middle of the summer."
Celerity's lips purse as Carin goes, but she looks towards Rebecca with more of a smile. "Nah. College students are just like that. Sometimes, we just have to go." She looks back towards the door, pondering something… but she doesn't voice it, instead turning her attention more on Rebecca. "Up here for school, then? How do you like New York so far?"
Becca shakes her head. "Maybe 'ventually. School, I mean. Right now, just here on my own, 'cause it was better'n stayin' there." She doesn't seem inclined to elaborate on that. "But y'know what? I kinda like it here. 'S not like they say back where I'm from, that y'all are rude jerks up here. I mean, sure, there's some, but I don't think there's anyplace there ain't any. People mostly been decent, and a lot of 'em kinda nice. Still learnin' my way around, an' checkin' places out — That's how I wound up in here tonight. But there's just so much here that y'can't find back home, not even in the city."
Celerity chews her lip at Becca's mention of why she left, but she doesn't ask. She's not going to go prying into someone else's family history any more than she'd want it for herself. "I'm glad you're liking it. I know I, at least, try to be one of the nice ones. And I could tell you about a couple of other good places around the city, if you're looking for more hangouts to add? If you haven't seen Central Park yet, you absolutely have to."
