Participants:
Featuring
| Scene Title | Walking Is For Losers |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Two residents of Eltingville come together unexpectedly one afternoon lunchtime. |
| Date | July 21, 2011 |
Oakdale Community Center, Eltingville Blocks
The "weather" inside the community center is much the same as outside: hot and humid, disappointing anyone who might hope to come in to cool off from the summer day. The roof and walls may give respite from the noon sun, but inside, the masses getting "free food" raise the degrees a few notches, as do the steaming pots of soup being ladled out.
Platinum hair sticking to her slightly flushed cheeks, Daphne Millbrook looks irritated as she comes away from the line with her tray of chicken noodle soup, crust of bread, an apple, and a bottle of water. Crepes on Champs-Élysées, this is not. Huffing an exasperated breath at the crowded tables, she looks for a free spot, moving toward what looks to be an empty chair, just before a young man cuts her off and puts his tray down first.
Only because she wasn't speeding, of course. Daphne huffs out an exasperated breath that makes the shock of white-blonde hair over her eyes flutter, and she changes direction, this time putting on just a touch of speed to beat someone else to the spot she's scoped out.
When she unblurs to set the tray down (no soup spilled!), Daphne glances back at the interloper with a smirk of triumph before sitting down to eat.
Sometimes, a community center isn't one's first choice for a midday meal. Sometimes, it's the only choice available. Or at least, that "I'd rather be somewhere else" impression is likely the one given by the sigh that comes from the young woman that Daphne sits down next to. Not that she really seems to be paying much attention at first, merely aware that ssomeone has sat down enxt to her as she keeps her nose buried into her phone.
But when the tray hits the table, the phone slides shut, and she leans back a bit and she exhales sharply, a moment passing before she looks over at Daphne. "Stuck eating here today too? Lovely, isn't it?" There's a bit of a smirk on ehr face and a sarcastic tone to her voice, fingers drumming on the table. Brown hair frames her face, dull green eyes quirked into an expectant expression as she looks over at Daphne. "Haven’t seen you around the blocks before."
Daphne glances at the younger woman, and shrugs. "I try not to eat here if I can help it. If I can't help it, I try to come early enough to sit by myself. I slept too late, I guess," she says, not-overly warmly but at least not-quite rudely. "My roommate cooks some of the time, but there's only so many fish sticks I can handle."
She picks up a spoon to stir the thin liquid of the soup, wrinkling her nose before reaching across the table for a pepper shaker to shake into the soup, hand blurring to get enough shaking speed to actually get the pepper flakes to fall through the holes of the overstuffed lid.
"Pretty much keep to myself. I haven't seen you yet, either, that I remember, but…" Daphne shrugs again listlessly now that the shaking is done with. "I might not remember if I did."
"Yeesh. Fish sticks? Sounds liek your roommate needs to start exploring the frozen foods section a bit more," the young woman replies with a bit of a alugh, taking a bit out of her own apple as she keeps an eye on Daphne - not leering, mostly just watching the other woman as she talks to her. "That or you need to start coming her more often. I totally don't blame you for wanting tp get something that doesn't taste like the Long Island Sound." Not that the soup is really that much better.
But when Daphne's hand blurs, that's when the young woman's face lights up a bit, and she sits back forward a bit. "Oh, wicked. So, that's your little trick? Man, that would be really handy for studying," she remarks thoughtfully. "Anyway, you should get out more. I mean, it's not too bad during the day. I guess?" She shrugs a bit, crunching another bite of the apple. "Sandi. You live around here, or use that little trick to get here froma cross the Blocks?"
Spooning soup up, Daphne blows first to cool it, then sips it up. "He likes fish. It's his money, so I guess I can't complain," the speedster says with a shrug. "Not sure how it'd be helpful for studying. For cheating, sure. Too bad I didn't have it when I was in school."
She pushes bangs out of her face and glances at Sandi, looking a little uncertain before finally responding with her own name. "Daphne. I live here. I guess." The word 'live' is a bit strong in her book; it's a temporary perching spot at best. "How long you been here?"
'"Back since this place opened up," Sandi remarks nonchalantly, eyes cast down on her soup, as if hesitant to have more of it. "Used to live on Roosevelt, but…" She wrinkles her nose a bit, growing silent just long enough to make her feel just a little uncomfortable. Sitting back up straight, she sighs. "Not that I really spend much time around until lately. Too busy with school."
She shrugs a bit. "I think it'd be helpful. Though I guess reading really fast wouldn't be the best without understanding it real fast. Hmm." She pauses a moment, a finger tapping on her chin. Finally taking a spoon of her soup, she grins. "Fair enough on the fish though, I guess."
"Oh. Roosevelt." Daphne wrinkles her nose in turn, a mirror of her redheaded neighbor. Nothing good has ever happened to her (or anyone else, she guesses) on Roosevelt. "That sucks."
"Ah, speed reading. Yeah, I can process stuff pretty quick while moving, but reading's a different thing all together, really. My head would probably explode if I tried to read as fast as I can do other stuff," she says, with another shrug, reaching for her apple to wind off the stem without thinking, a way to fidget nervous energy away. "What do you do? Or are you just a family member of someone who's here?" It's a personal question, in some ways, but it's about the same as asking someone in prison "Whatcha in for?"
To Daphne, it's exactly the same.
"What do I do? Well, I spend most of my days sitting around the house making phone calls, /trying to find people to hang out with…" She trails off a bit, that grin back on her face. "You don't mean that, do you?" She lets out another smalls sith, hands folding behind her neck. "Dunno. Haven't… I dunno what that word they use on the news is. I don't really pay toom much attention to it, to be honest. I just know I tested positive last year. Maybe I'm secretly keeping the world together, maybe it's nothing."
Her smirk fades a bit and she rolls her shoulders. staring a bit absently ahead. "I live alone, for the most part, My brother would come by, if he could. But they have all those stupid rules and he's too busy to really fuss through them, so whatever."
"Manifested," Daphne supplies, crunching into the apple and chewing for a moment. "Sometimes that happens. It might be already up and you just equate it to being you. Hopefully you aren't the only one keeping the world together… I mean, that'd suck if something happened to you."
Realizing that sounds a bit selfish, Daphne adds, "On multiple levels, I mean."
She glances down at her anklet. "Yeah. Lots of rules. You can leave, though, right?"
"Yeah, that would be pretty bad, wouldn't it?" Sandi laughs a bit, shaking her head. "I take it back. I'd really rather it not be that." She nods when Daphne produces the word she was looking for, taking a bit of the apple. "That's it, thanks. Yeah, apaprently I haven't done that yet. Or, well, like I said. If I have, no one's noticed. I'd kinda rather it be that."
She doesn't look down at Daphne's anklet; she's heard a bit about people who have them. Presumably, you kinda can't live in the Blocks without knowing about that kind of business. But she's not rude. Not intentionally, at least. "Yeah. I mean, I don't very often, really just to go see my brother. But I can."
Daphne glances chews another bite of apple a bit sullenly. "You should take advantage of your freedom," she finally says around the mouthful tucked into one cheek. "You never know when you won't have it anymore."
The half eaten apple is tossed onto her tray, and the tiny blonde sighs, eyes lifting to the ceiling with exasperation. Only it's at herself.
"Look, I'm sorry. I'm not the most interesting dinner partner." Lunch, but who's counting. Daphne's eyes move to their nearest neighbors — an elderly couple speaking in Korean and a man reading a book, as he slowly spoons soup into his mouth, not noticing that he ends up with half of it on his shirt.
She shrugs again. "I guess beggars can't be choosers."
"That's what he says too," is noted with a very nonchalant shrug, Sandi leaning forward a bit over her soup, starting to eat in earnest. "Whatever," she says through spoonfuls. "Someone to talk to is someone to talk to, right? Better than sitting here in total silence. At least, I think so." She would shrug again if she wasn't too busy eating. But with that, she herself lapses into what is more or less silence as she works on her soup, only piping up once. "You're more responsive than teh Koreans at least."
Her own soup left mostly untouched, Daphne uncaps the water bottle and drinks from it before smiling Sandi's way. "Sort of a loner by nature, even if I never shut up once you get me talking. Weird paradox, but not as bad as some paradoxes I guess. Do you know I knew a girl who could keep her food warm if she left it hidden as long as no one ever looked at it? I think there's a paradox in that, but I'm not sure what it is," she chatters, while starting to stand, lifting her tray.
"Sooo…" she begins, looking down for a moment at her tray, then finally back up. "My pothead roommate managed to get some movies that were actually filmed after 1999. You wanna come watch 'em?"
"Being a loner is so high school," is a god natured barb from Sadi, the young woman rolling her eyes a bit as she speaks. The paradox example, though,g et a furrowing of her brow. "That…is that her thing? Because that's probably the weirdest I've ever heard of. And I live here!"
The invitcation is met with a noted look of surprise, though it fades after a moment into one of amuse ment. "Oooh, after 1999? Did you just get a DVD player? Crazy things, aren't they?" But with that aside, she takes a last spon full of her soup, and rises up to her feet. "Sounds better than the afternoon of sittingg around watching trashy TV I had planned."
"Like last week. Thank god. Rewinding is so fucking slow. I don't have a lot of luxuries," Daphne says a bit wryly, moving to the shelves where the cleared trays and dishes go for clean-up. "And she could do other stuff, but that was kinda the coolest part," she adds regarding Clara's ability. After all, Daphne can move fast and on water.
She begins to move toward the exit, narrowing her dark eyes at a mother who pulls her small son out of Daphne's path, giving the speedster's anklet a dirty look. The pixyish blonde turns back to Sandi, shaking it off.
"I think we still have some Chunky Monkey left, too," she says brightly, and without a warning, she takes the other's wrist, to send them racing toward Scarsdale.
Walking is for losers.
"Wow, I didn't think that was actually the case. I'm sorry," Sandi replies, eyes widening a bit as Daphne relates their recent acquisition. One hand slips into her pocket, the other pulling up her phone so that she can stare at it for a moment. "You friends sounds kinda cool. Not lucky enough to have her as the roommate I bet. Also-"
There's about to be another sarcastic remark, this time about the choice of ice cream, but then her arms is taken, and suddenly she's being jerked forward, phone almost slipping out of her hand.
"Fuckin'-Jesus! Give some warning next time before you do that!" But, it's said with a laugh, and sandi doesn't really mind.
Really, it's just nice to be doing something for once.