Sandwiches And Paparazzi

Participants:

kameron_icon.gif lori_icon.gif

Scene Title Sandwiches and Paparazzi
Synopsis Kameron and Lori bump into each other on a blustery day and a friendship is made.
Date January 16, 2009

Piccoli's Delicatessen

Everything about Piccoli's is welcoming. There's a large, cheerful neon sign mounted on the roof, the interior is brightly lit and spotlessly clean, and the old-fashioned decor is more reminiscent of mother's kitchen than a successful business. Since the doors opened in 1946, Piccoli's has been best known for pastrami, hot dogs, corned beef, and salami. The wait can sometimes be a little long, but the prices are reasonable and the food is always worth it.


Even the poor need to eat - of course Kameron isn't entirely poor - or at least she wouldn't be if she would just accept the money that her parents kept trying to sneak to her. Occasionally, she did - but she came to New York to get her first taste of freedom and real independence. Worlds worst decision, she knows now - but hey, she didn't think things would be THIS bad post-bomb! Nonetheless, towards the deli marches the young lady, a pair of mirrored sunglasses on her face to block out excessive stimuli.
Most of the time it worked, but her eyes were kept tightly shut -anyway-. Leading the way is a pretty male Collie by the name of Prince, who serves as her seeing eye pooch. Kam lingers outside of the deli a few minutes, debating between taking him in with her, or taking the chance of navigating the interior of the deli on her own. A few minutes later, the dog is tied to a parking meter outside and Kameron takes a step inside the deli. She's feeling daring today. Who knows, it might be empty!

THAT hope fades pretty quick. Because not only is it more busy than usual, there's a crowd of paparazzi about. The reason why is obvious for the sighted at least; there's a local celebrity. Famous mostly for being famous, the woman is in there in skintight jeans, some nice brown leather boots complete with furry tops, leather jacket, gloves, and ubiquitious sunglasses.

What the…

On the one hand it's a good thing that she didn't bring the dog in with her, since he'd probably get stepped on - on the other, the hustle and bustle and she's almost positive she heard the shutter click of more than one camera. o O ( Bad day to come to the deli.. ) Kam murmurs to herself apprehensively. Right! Nothing to it but to push on. Besides she was incredibly curious as to which celebrity had been sighted. What were the odds of someone like her popping into a mundane place like a deli where a -celebrity- was!

Kam bites her lower lip, squeezing past a particularly stubborn cameraman who just wouldn't freaking MOVE - she didn't want his camera spot, she wanted to get to the counter! "Uh - excuse me," she tugs on the nearest person's sleeve, "There seems to be a bit of fuss here today - what's going on?"

The man pulls his arm away with an irritated grunt, "Can't you see-" Pause, as he looks at the girl's face, and assumes the mirrored glasses might mean that she -can't-. Rubbing behind his head, he clears his throat, "S'a landmark day for the media and the deli alike, kid," Says the man no more than five years her senior. "You ever hear of Lori Levonian?"

Kam's squeak is all the answer he needs. "Yep, she's here of all places - all the guys are swarming her to get a few words and some pictures - now if you'll excuse me, I'm goin to miss my opportunity!" He pushes forward, jostling Kam in an attempt to get Lori's attention.

Kameron, on the other hand, is currently working her way through a few minutes of STARSTRUCK. Lori Levonian. HERE. And she can't even *SEE* her! "This is SO unfair.." With her luck maybe she'll accidentally wind up sitting at the same table! —ahahaha, yeah right, what are the odds of that be real Kammy!

Lori, of course, is just getting a sandwich. And a coffee. And well, basking in the attention. She REALLY loves to do that. The paparazzi, however, are busy shoving in and around Kameron, and Lori actually notices THAT. "Hey, knock it off, give her some room!" Lori's actually pretty nice. Not too bright, but pretty nice. She looks over to Kameron. "You okay?"

That's a voice she couldn't ever ever EVER forget. And it's being directed towards HER. EEE. CALM DOWN damnit. Be cool, you're a grown woman not a teeny-bopper. (Eeeee) Turning her head towards Lori, quite frankly Kam is even more tempted to open her eyes and LOOK, gift bedamned, but she remains strong, ignoring the mental squeaking at the fact that Lori is actually talking -to her-. Much nicer than the celebrities she's heard about, where most were drug-crazed attention lovers, or couldn't be bothered to talk with those 'beneath' them.

"I-I - yeah— I mean, yes, I'm fine. Ma'am. Miss Levonian." Manners, Manners! To think Lori ate at the same deli she did! o O ( I am never going to another deli -again- ) "I'm used to this kind of thing. UH -" She waves a hand, "Crowds I mean, not..not.. you know." She clears her throat, "I didn't expect to run into this sort of thing this morning. Do you come here oft—" Before she can even finish the sentence, Kameron mentally kicks herself. OBVIOUSLY Lori doesn't come to the deli often - jeez, that was stupid. o O(Way to make yourself look dumb, Kam. ) Still what do you say to a Celebrity? They're…they're -stars-. Kameron's family might be slightly better than middle class working families, but they were still a far cry from people like Lori, financially.

Lori looks back at her…and then actually, yes, waves her hand more or less in front of Kam's glasses. Okay, so it's sort of tactless. But it's a tactless born of cluelessness, not spite. "Wow…so you can't see, and you came all the way here to the deli?" Not that she knows how far Kam had to come, but it sounds like a herculean effort to her. "Are you going somewhere?" Tons of flashes, when Lori pulls her little wave-hand stunt. THAT will be on the Internet soon enough.

Tactless or not, it works! Kam can't tell exactly what Lori's doing, but she can guess from the woman's words afterwards. "Well — yeah, no I can't see..not really." Half truth. It's a darn good thing she DIDN'T open her eyes, or she really WOULD be blinded (and in paaaain) from the camera-flashes going off as papparazzi grab snapshots of Lori. "Well not really - I'm not sure how far it was, but whenever I go anywhere I take my dog with me. He's tied up outside right now - good thing, it's so crowded I don't think we both would be able to move around in here. Doesn't it get a little annoying?" The papparazzi she means. "Oh me? Well I just came to get a sandwich for later, really.

Lori looks out, wide-eyed! "OH! We can't leave the poor doggie out there! He'll freeze, it's COLD out there!" She looks back to the menu, then to Kameron. "What kind of sandwich did you want?" She'll cut through this line problem with a quickness.

Whoah. It's good to know people with power! "Turkey with lettuce and mayo - but um - aren't you," Kameron scritches her head. It's true, Prince was probably really cold out there, even with his fur, but.. "Could you tell me how much it is?" She twists about, reaching into her pocket where she left a few folded up bills to pay for the sandwich. "I've already taken care of Prince's lunch for the week. Normally I make my own food, but I'm a little low on groceries this week."

Lori looks at Kameron like she comes from another planet for a minute. "It's nothing." She looks back to the counter. "Add on a turkey with lettuce and mayo…actually add two. And some soup. Something warm." There's no sense that she'd get refused. She's not used to getting refused. Ever. Her attention finally swings back to Kameron. "I'll give you a lift home."

Kameron says, "Are you sure?" Kammy asks, a bit giddy at the generosity (from a STAR no less! Eee!). "I really appreciate it M— Oh!" Wait, she wasn't offering to pay was she? Kammy holds out the crumpled bills, "I can't ask you to pay for me, so you can take this." She of course, missed the strange look that she was given. "A ride home? Oh -b-but that's MUCH too much! I mean you probably came in a limo and you'll get dog hair all over everything -it's really no trouble to walk.." Kammy bites her tongue. What was she doing! Here was an opportunity to get a ride home - probably in a limo or something - with a superstar like Lori, and she's actually refusing? Crazy! Polite was polite, but there'd never be a chance like this again!"

Lori shakes her head. "No, it's totally no problem." She reaches out to gently push Kameron's hand back towards her, with the money in it. "You keep that. Buy the doggie a treat. And it's completely okay. They'll clean out the car." She looks back to the counter. "Those sandwiches ready?"

Kameron says, "Wow," Kameron draws her hand back when Lori insists on taking care of the sandwiches, "That's really really nice of you Miss Levonian, I .. don't know what to say other than thank you - so much!" She doesn't even for a second consider that this may be a publicity stunt. She tucks the money back into her pocket, smiling. "My name is Kameron," she adds, since it'd be rude to accept the offer of a ride from someone who doesn't even know your name.

At the counter, the server is just placing a pair of sandwiches on the counter to add to the request Lori had already made, "Yes ma'am Miss Levonian. Don't worry about the cost, it's an honor to have you patronize our humble deli." Gush gush gush."
Actually, neither does Lori. Oh, it's great PR, certainly, and this will be all over the press. But she just did it because it's nice. She picks up the order, and the bags, and then starts towards the door. She'll move to put one arm around Kameron's shoulders, to bring her along in her personal space. It'll keep her paparazzi-free. "Don't be silly, call me Lori." She heads towards her limo.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!

Kammy manages not to keep herself composed pretty admirably for someone starstruck- it was a bit of a shock that not only did Lori pay for her lunch, but she was giving her a ride home, and was even guiding her along, paparazzi-free. Though there is mild discomfort not because of Lori's invasion of her personal space - but she can still sort of see the flash of the cameras going off around them. "L-Lori? Really?" Kammy squeaks, "O-Okay!" Her parents were NEVER. EVER. goin to believe this. EVER. "Um - here, I have to get my dog -and I think.." Crap, she can't remember where she parked the Collie. Fortunately she can hear him barking over the clamor around them.

Lori nods (forgetting completely that Kammy can't see that), and moves to the edge of the sidewalk. "No problem! What's his name?" Her driver opens the door to the limo. The paparazzi continue to take pictures, greedily. They'd pay a fortune for Kammy to take one peek, if they knew about her powers, and get the answer once and for all to whether Lori's had plastic surgery.

Kameron would NEVER do that! She was traumatized when she did it to someone else on accident! But then, those paparazzi are soulless, greedy bastards who will do anything to make a buck. Even ruin someone's life. Jerks. "Prince," Kammy answers Lori's question, a hand reaching out and feeling the cold, wet doggy nose of her companion. oO ( I can't believe I'm going to ride in a Limo. A real live LIMO. ) She's never ridden in a limo before!

Leash in hand, she turns, free hand lightly touching the sleek, long vehicle until she realizes she's getting -fingerprints- all over it, and snatches her hand back. Before jumping in, Prince sniffs curiously at the interior of the car - well he waits for Kameron to get inside first regardless. "I really can't thank you enough for this," Kammy stammers again, when she slides into the seat. Ooo, that's cozy. And roomy. Oh so ROOMY. "Do you know Confucious Plaza Apartments? That's where I'm staying." It's plain, but she doesn't exactly need a lot of things. Oh heavens, if it was a trailer park she would never have accepted the ride.

Lori beams. "That's a good name. Come on Prince! Come on, Boy!" she claps her hands, and lets the dog and Kameron get in, and then she gets in too. She looks to the front. "Confucious Plaza." He can look it up on the GPS. "No hurry." She takes out the first sandwich. "Here, have your sandwich." She'll turn up the heat too, so the poor puppy can thaw out!

Ah, warmth, both for puppy and owner. "I can't wait for spring," Kammy rubs her arms, letting go of the leash. The collie flops down on the floor of the limo, fascinating himself with the scents of the vehicle, and the smell of turkey - but he's good, he won't beg. "Right in here?" What if she drops it? There will be mayo or shredded lettuce all over the nice clean limo floor. But Kammy is rather hungry, so she doesn't wait any further. It would be embarassing if her stomach started growling. "I hope that this doesn't leave a blemish on your reputation or anything - I mean, picking up strange," Gifted. "girls and giving them a ride home and things.."

Lori is unworried. She takes off her own sunglasses. "Sure, go ahead!" She doesn't go at hers, not yet. "And it's totally cool. I couldn't just let you and the puppy freeze. So how'd you get blind?" she asks.

She's dreaming. She's definitely dreaming. Things like this just didn't happen to people! But then Kammy thought the same about her ..uh..gift. Cough. "Um," she fidgets a bit, embarassed. "We don't really know. I was fine for up till the middle of high school, then my eyes just started to get worse and worse. We went to a lot of doctors to try and figure out what the problem was. Glasses didn't help either, and there was some noise about eye surgery, but..

Lori makes a sympathetic sound. "The doctors couldn't fix it?" she asks, sounding sad, as she looks to the other woman. The limousine rolls smoothly along the roads, heading for Kammy's place.

Kameron shakes her head, "No, but it's fine. I mean, I've had more than a enough time to adjust to my situation by now. It's been a few years - I'm just glad I was allowed to leave home, though I guess New York wasn't the best place to go to." She plucks a bit of turkey from her sandwich and sneaks it down to the dog. If nothing else, anything she dropped was quickly snatched up by him, fortunately.

Lori sounds sad on Kameron's behalf. "That's awful. I hope they manage to come up with something new that might be able to help you." It's a sad reminder that sometimes not all the money in the world can fix something.

And then there are some things that can't be fixed no matter how many medical advancements that are made. "It's all right.It's just a matter of making a disability into a strength, really!" Kammy smiles, trying to reassure the woman. Sure she'd like to see normally again, and her gift was more of a nuisnace than anything else at the moment, but it couldn't be helped. Something must have gone wrong when she got the Evolution Shuffle. "But what about you? It must be pretty annoying having all those newshounds and paparazzo chasing you down all the time. When do you get any privacy?"

"Not very often." she admits. "It's not too bad most of the time. Except when they're trying to take pictures up your skirt. Or down your top. And don't ever wear certain fabrics in black. They go transparent when the flashes hit." The car continues to drive on, getting close. "So what are you doing here in New York?"

Kameron says, "Really?" Kameron had to keep that in mind - nevermind camera flashes hurt her eyes more now than ever though. "Oh me? Well.. I wanted a little freedom. I mean even before I had the..problem with my eyes I didn't have much of that. So when I was old enough to, I left home and came here to live on my own." She was managing so far - with the ocasional donation from the folks."

Lori beams at that news. "Oh, that's pretty cool. I'm living on my own too!" But then they're pulling up outside Kameron's building, which is a far cry from Lori's penthouse. "What do you do?" It's an odd question. She doesn't "do" anything.

If she accepted the money from her parents, she could afford a place similar and live in luxury. Fortunately despite her monetary background, she was humble and happy with what she had now. "Um.. I'm ..actually kinda unemployed at the moment.. I usually make ends meet playing in the park - the violin I mean. But that's not really a career of choice."

Lori blinks! "Oh!" Well, she can't let THAT stand. "What apartment number are you?" she asks, looking to Kameron. She'll find some solution.

Huh. She isn't aware of the devious plans going on in Lori's head. "Apartment 105." She answers easily. It was towards the middle of the hallway, but she had insisted on one closer to the ground. She was lucky there weren't a lot of people in the complex yet.
The car rolls to a complete stop, and the driver comes to open the door. Lori passes the bag to Kameron. "There's another sandwich and some soup in there for when you get hungry again." she says. "Take it easy!"

Wow. "Oh - um. Thanks!" She takes the bag in one hand, Prince's leash in the other, sliding out of the limo. Wow. Just. WOW. "Thank you so much Miss l - I mean Lori. Take care of yourself too, okay?"

Lori smiles. "I will! Bye!" And with that, the driver will help Kameron out if need be, and then back to the front, for the car to roll off, ending the surreal lunch.


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January 15th: Just Another Night
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January 16th: For Loved Ones
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