Simon and Sissy-Poo

Participants:

simon_icon.gif Mallory_icon.gif

Scene Title Simon and Sissy-Poo
Synopsis Simon and his twin sister Mallory meet up at lunch, mock each other, and agree to poke into the PARIAH video.
Date October 14, 2008

Washington Irving High School

To all appearances, little has changed about Washington Irving High School, although it was closed for 20 months after the bomb exploded in Midtown. The windows broken and walls graffitied by mischievous teens during that interval have been restored to their original appearance; the hardwood floors have been recently waxed, the walls are clean, and row upon row of lockers line the halls of all eleven floors. The entrance hall remains elegant in its wood paneling and fireplace, as if nothing untoward ever happened.

Even when school is in session, however, there is a quiet atmosphere unusual in most public schools. Many teachers and students alike did not return when Chelsea was reopened; what faculty there are struggle with too-large classes, at least on those occasions when most of their enrolled students attend class. Some have to teach subjects not their forte, filling in the gaps left by the departed. Before the bomb, this school offered excellent instruction in fashion design and photography, along with an International Baccalaureate degree; now, it's just another example of Manhattan's fight to make ends meet at the most basic levels.


Simon distrusts cafeteria food and for that reason he doesn't have to wait in a stinking line like all the other suckers he's walking by right now. Of course he's not nearly that mean up in his head, probably because of the music that's pumping in through his iPod. He's listening to Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, which puts a smile on his face as he heads for a table in the rare of the cafeteria, where he usually sits. His backpack is slung over one shoulder and a bag of delicious home cooked food is held in his hand.

Mallory appears at his elbow in a matter of minutes, climbing onto the bench next to him. She's got a bagged lunch, too, but she seems to survive on vegetables and crap. Her and her not eating meat. Whatever! "I think I'm wearing your socks," she opens with.

Simon has plucked out his headphones the moment he sat down, so the music doesn't drown out Mallory after she joins him. "Well take them off. They're mine." He doesn't look serious, though because that would be crazy. They're just socks. "Guess what. I bet you can't guess," he tells her as he stuffs his iPod into his bag and the slides it under the table.

"Maybe I already have," Mal tells him. She opens up a baggie and sticks a celery stick in her mouth. Crunch. "Hmn. Did you get a date with the head cheerleader?" she drawls, giving him a flat look.

"No! Why, did she say something?" Simon peers at his sister for a moment before remembering she's terribly sarcastic and should be ignored at all costs. "No, I just aced my calculus exam," he says in a sing-song voice that blatantly explains one of the reasons he's not considered to be very cool.

Mallory voices this. "Sshhh, the popular kids might hear you and revoke your coolness status," she says with a little smirk. "Go, you. You win at calculus. I'm pretty sure I just failed an English quiz. Stupid Old Man and the Sea."

"I don't think old men should go to sea. Aren't their inner ears screwed up or something? You gotta be able to balance." Simon doesn't know what he's talking about, but that's okay because he remembered to sneak in extra meat into his pita sandwich this morning. Possibly to spite Mallory. Probably, even. "So I have to go to the DMV after school to get my replacement license. How does my hair look?"

Mallory flicks her celery stick at his head. "It has a vegetable in it," she deadpans.

The veggie stick hits him in the head and does manage to ruffle up his hair a bit, so he reaches up to smooth it out. "Seriously, Mal. It's like you don't even care that I was mugged. This is my chance to take a picture without a black eye. I want to look my best."

"You could probably ask the head cheerleader for makeup tips if it's that important to you," Mallory says, pulling out a carrot stick and opting to eat this one instead of throwing it. "You look about as ugly as usual." Ah. Siblings.

"Gee, thanks. You're the best. Seriously." Simon rolls his eyes and reaches into his lunch bag for a smaller bag filled with potato chips. The baked kind, because they're infinitely better. "I wonder, though, if Head Cheerleader *could* help me out. I bet she knows a lot about hair." He reaches up again to pat the mop on his head.

Mallory rolls her eyes a little. "If you ask the head cheerleader for advice about hair you're definitely not ever going to end up on a date with her." A pause. "Because that's gay."

"I'm not gay. Whatever." Simon lets out a sigh and pops a chip in his mouth. When he's done he says, "And at least I'm interested in someone. Maybe. Have you ever been on a date? Do you know what a date is?"

Mallory shoots him a dark look. "I know what a date is. It's when the Adventure Candy comes out. You take it and wake up in a different place completely. You're actually interested in someone in particular? Oh, god."

"Oh please, that only happens to girls who guys want to sleep with. You don't have anything to worry about." Simon eats another chip and the reaches into his bag to grab his sandwich, which he starts to unwrap. "And no, I guess I'm not actually interested in someone. Not really anyways. It's complicated."

"Poor me," Mal says with another roll of her eyes. "Complicated, huh? I get it. You're keeping it hush-hush to escape the inevitable mocking." From her.

"Exactly! You can read me like a book." Simon has successfully unwrapped his sandwich and he takes a big bite out of it. When he's done, he leans a bit closer to Mallory. "So these guys showed me something on the computer today. Some crazy anarchists burning their registration cards. Scary shit, if you ask me."

Mallory's eyebrows raise; she chews thoughtfully on a bit of nan bread. "Oh, really? I'm guessing you're not talking about the guys from the basketball team?"

Simon shakes his head. "Nope. For some reason I don't really see those guys outside of practice. I should organize something. Maybe a trip to Chilis." He shakes his head as he feels himself go off. "These guys were in my Spanish literature class. It's going around like crazy! So that got me thinking"

"The onion flower is a must," Mallory tells him, gesturing with a carrot stick. "You're actually thinking? Are you sure it's not just gas?"

"Not yet!" Simon announces with a wave of his meat and cheesy sandwich. "But seriously I was thinking that, you know, since you're good at computer you could find the source of the video?" He pauses to check out Mallory's reaction to that. "I mean is that even possible outside of television?"

Mallory smiles faintly, just a slight upward curving of her lips. She nods slowly. Yes. Yes, she can.

"See, you are good for something!" Simon grins and goes on, "I really want to meet whoever is sending it out. Even though the woman on the video has man hands." Man hands are creepy.

Mallory reaches up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She could stand to run a comb through it. "If they're man hands, how do you know she's a woman at all?"

"Because they're girly man hands. You know the kind." Simon points at Mallolry's own vegetable-wielding hand. "I guess I don't know for sure, but that's besides the point."

Mallory glances down at her hands and frowns. "My hands are not man hands," she mutters, a line appearing between her eyebrows. "The video's not on YouTube, is it?" 'Cause that's a headache.

"Well that's what I saw it on. But, I mean, it's just YouTube, right?" Whatever, it's all Greek to Simon. "Anyways it may be a creepy anarchist video, but they totally make sense, you know? Those cards are ridiculous and they almost got me killed."

"Yeah. Don't die," Mallory tells him, slipping into a hint of solemnity that rarely shows. But then, he's rarely in hostage situations, is he? "I'll take a look. I already agreed, right? Just… give me a little time. It might take a while to sort through." She picks apart a little pita pocket. Or nan pocket. Whatever, there's bread.

"Thanks, sissy-poo!" Simon mockingly makes some baby sounds at Mallory and laughs because it cracks him up. Then he eats some more of his sandwich since their meals are timed so militaristically.

Lunch hour? Try lunch forty-five minutes. Yeesh. She eyes him. "Yeah, that makes me want to help, that right there. Dork."

"Oh come on you know you love the attention." Simon grins and goes back to eating his lunch without saying anything for a while. He's hungry and needs the fuel for the last stretch of classes for the day.


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October 14th: She's Got a Cat
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