Participants:
| Scene Title | For Science |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Rue and Samara reconnect, and Brian tests a hypothesis. |
| Date | November 24, 2010 |
Pollepel Island - Bannerman Castle
"See? Isn't that awesome."
A childlike giggle sounds out before it is echoed by a not so childlike giggle. The fork comes back, before giving the tiny forearm another small jab. "Nothin'. Not at all." Another giggle comes out from the smaller of the 'boys'.
It's getting to be evening at Bannerman castle. A cold evening to be sure, but at least the icy weather is penetrated by the warmth of good company. Swaddled in a large blanket, Brian and Joe sit sidled together. The former is wielding a fork, and the latter is getting poked in the arm by it. "I could break the fork on his arm, I swear." Brian attests to the third party. Taking another jab at the child's arm. His other hand is held aloft the Disney Princess Mirror angled so that their third party can communicate with them when she feels so inclined.
"Powers are awesome."
Skeptically, Sami knits her eyebrows together. Her little optimistic smile edges her lips as Joe doesn't seem to be reacting to the fork pricking his arm regardless. With a shake of her head, she disappears from the mirror to encircle the room. To most she's an odd spy, to herself, she merely wants to break from the frame. There's something confining about being restricted to her reflected self in a small mirror.
She reaches the opposite end of the room and watches the pair of 'boys.' Her head shakes slightly as she murmurs quietly to herself, "Boys will be boys." A hand is laid against the stone wall of the castle. Out of sight, out of hearing, and out of mind, Samara spins in a tight circle along the wall in this little bit of space. "Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens~ Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens~" her tune lowers into a hum, inaudible to the general populace as she tries her lithe dance moves.
"Brown paper packages tied up with strings~ These are a few of my favourite things~"
It must sound odd to the boys, without the first two lines of the verse sung preceding that they can hear. Rue Lancaster smiles brightly to a spot across the room from Brian and Joe. It should look like she's staring into space, but her gaze is very focused on something neither can see. "'Bout frickin' time you showed up. I was beginning to think you'd floated off into the ocean, girl!"
The ginger's black Chucks make a quiet scuffing sound as she moves through the room, dressed in a pair of jeans that actually fit for once, and a red sweatshirt a couple sizes too big, covered in a large back web pattern with the silhouette of an arachnid synonymous with Spider-Man across her chest. "Hey Brian. Joe." Rue doesn't completely forget the wholly visible boys in the room, even if her enthusiasm is for the one they cannot see. She holds her arms out toward that empty space and asks of Samara, "Where's my hug?"
"WHEN THE DOG BITES~"
Maybe a little over enthusiastically, but it doesn't bother Brian any that she started on a weird line. She's probably just a weird girl, but oh wait, oh yeah! "You can hear her, huh?" He says somewhat excitedly, looking up sharply at Rue. He then glances back down at Joe. Handing off the fork, the young man gives the boy a little shove. "Get goin man. I'll meet you back at the room." Brian dismisses quickly. Joe leaves not long after, allowing Brian to take the large blanket just to himself. Rising up, Brian brings the blanket around himself tightly.
Angling the mirror out so he can see where Samara is, he walks closer to the female pair. "Rue." He finally greets, with a light smile.
The sound of the next two lines pulls Samara out of her tranced dance-reverie. Her own arms open wide as she floats back to Rue and tightly grasps her friend; the small miracle of human touch not lost on the intangible woman. "I pretty much did, Lanny! You have no idea— every night I wake up in weirder and weirder places— sometimes I feel like my head is spinning and will become unattached from my body except it already is kind of, I mean it's here, and look, there's my body, but only air in between them except you see more than air, right?" There's an impossibility in her speech, Samara is talking undeniably quickly, such that when she finally asks the question she gasps for breath. Going so long without anyone able to hear her has been difficult. "Anyways… so I don't understand how it's spinning— " the analogy makes no sense, but in her nonsense, Samara finds some solace.
"I missed you," she whispers quietly like somehow someone will hear if she says the words any louder. With one final tight squeeze, she finally takes a step back from her friend. With a quick sniffle, and a rubbing of her cheeks (she'd deny the tears if anyone mentioned them) she forces a large toothy grin. Happy reunions are happy, but even in that joy she finds space for something quietly uttered, "Sorry. I'm a big baby… it's been…" her mind drifts the events of the last few weeks— the rioting, the destruction, and then finding Tahir in New York (of all places)— leaving her verbal thought unfinished as her eyes stare up blankly at the ceiling.
"Missed you." Rue embraces Samara tightly, which looks rather odd except through the mirror's face. She plants a kiss on her forehead and keeps a hold on one of her hands, swinging it back and forth gently. Like she needs to hold Samara there and keep her grounded. "Glad to see you found her," she tells Brian. "My little frog princess." The corners of her blue eyes crinkle at their inside joke. She squeezes Sami's hand.
Tilting the mirror, Brian watches intently as they hug, then hold hands. Brian's brows crease considerably. Peering into the mirror, he shakes his head. "How the hell can you touch her.." He says quietly, mostly to himself. Bringing up his other hand he scrubs at his chin intently as if the harder he scrubs the more he'll be able to figure out. Lowering the mirror, Brian smiles a little. "Yeah… We tried to play monopoly. She cheated." Brian frowns. Though his brows arch for a moment. Oh shit, she can speak for herself now. Oh well.
Smiling, Brian decides to give the pair a little time to catch up. Backing up, Brian goes to sit back down next to the wall. though the mirror is still angled so he can watch the pair interact. Kind of like watching a movie, except half the movie is on mute.
"Frog princess?" Samara's nose wrinkles around the word as her own hand tightens around Rue's. "I know I don't see colours like I used to, but if I turned green or something, you'd tell me, wouldn't you?" Her lips purse together as her free hand rises to her hips. "And for the record Brian cheated. He like put a red house on while I was distracted," the mock indignation only gets her so far. "And I pretty much can't cheat, even if I want to. That would imply touching the board. If I did that, I'd probably blow away even easier. You know how I get when I'm tired." She sighs a wary sigh, but the smile remains. Tired or not, optimism continues to be her modus operandi.
Rue casts Brian a sympathetic look. "She does that. You should have seen when we were kids how she'd cheat at Life." A more apologetic look is shot back to Samara. It seems like a poor choice of games to have been brought up, considering…
"So, you aren't dead?" Rue's brows furrow and she lets go of Samara's hand only to curl her arm around her friend's waist. "I don't know how I can touch her," she tells Brian. "She has floated through me before, but mostly when I'm not paying attention. It's really weird. Doesn't hurt or anything. Just looks funny when I notice it."
When Samara asks if she's turned green, Rue lets out a small laugh. "No, Sami, you haven't turned green. I promise I would have mercilessly poked fun at you if you had." She tries to repeat enough of Samara's words for Brian's benefit, so he can get some context. She smirks and informs him, "Sami says you're the cheater." She shrugs. Just the messenger!
"Ooh. She cheated at Life. Oh, Rue. What a funny game to bring up to the 'dead' girl." He smirks a little bit before pushing his back to the wall. Rising up fully, he gets an offended look. "You going to believe the alive honest guy? Or the dead girl who no one can hear lie?" He gives a tsk to the invisible girl. "Honestly Sameye. You need to work on your lying problem. And your cursing problem."
"When you're not paying attention??" Brian asks quickly, looking over at her. He gives a low hum before walking over to the pair. Mirror in hand, he shrugs the blankets off to the floor. "Rue? Do me a favor and trust me? Close your eyes." Reaching up, Brian goes to grasp Rue's shoulder before going to spin her. Then spin her some more. Then some more. Pretty soon she's going to hit the pinaaataaa~
"Now. Sami. Without saying anything. Punch her in the head." He nods affirmatively.
This is a great idea.
Samara clucks her tongue. "I was like ten! That was half a lifetime ago, you can't insist I still cheat! I haven't cheated in at least four years. Except at like those contests where you guess how many jellybeans are in the jar. And you know you always want jellybeans. Maybe it's unfair I can count them without getting caught, but then life isn't always fair, right?" Her eyes twinkle with that little bit of mischief. "And if I did get caught counting? Well that's just as fun." She winks.
"Please tell Brian I never lie. I'm like Abe Lincoln. Honest Abe. Never lying. Unless you count lies of omission. And why would you. Pretty hard to share everything when you can't really speak to everyone."
As Rue spins, Casper, the friendly ghost, stares in silenced perplexion. The instructions have Sami's jaw dropping. Her head shakes slightly, she can't hit a friend, can she?
Graceful as Rue otherwise is, when Brian spins her around and around, she nearly tumbles, tripping over her own long limbs. She reaches out and grabs Brian's arm to steady herself, keeping her eyes tightly shut.
At least until he makes his suggestion.
"Wait, what?" Rue isn't so sure about this. She opens up her blue eyes an stares a little incredulously at Brian, leaning to one side before catching her balance again. "Uhhh…"
"Shush shush shush. Rue. This is for science."
Insisting she close her eyes again, his hand waves over her face before he goes to spin her a few more times. "Okay fine. Sam. Kick her in the shin, or bite her elbow, or poke her in the throat. Just do something to her and don't let her know where you're coming from." Brian insists, looking hard over at… no one.
The D.P.M is brought up quickly to make sure that Casper is doing her job.
There's a skeptical arch of her eyebrow— the question implicit even without aid of signing or lip motion. Is Brian serious? But for science… Samara's lips purse as she silently sucks on the inside of her cheek. With a silent gulp of breath she mouths two words, 'Sorry Rue.'
Her cheeks flush a pale pink. Her own eyes clamp shut as she aims to kick Rue in the shin…
Despite being effectively blind, and disoriented, the kick connects and Rue howls, hopping on her good leg as she hunches to clutch at the kicked one. "Owwwww! Sa— Whoa!" Dizzy as she is, Rue goes toppling over and onto the floor in a tangle of gangly limbs. "Ffffffff…"
"HM!"
Brian grimaces slightly before tucking the mirror back into his blanket. "Well that theory's a wash. I really thought that wouldn't work…" Brian purses his lips before peering over at Samara. "We shouldn't kick friends, Sameye. Very rude." Tsk tsk. Taking a hasty step away he gives an apologetic smile. "Oh what's that Joe? Coming buddy!" He shouts to the hallway before glancing back at the pair. "Sorry guys, I think Joe cut himself." With that he is hastily exiting.
"Ahhh! Rue, Rue, Rue— I am SOOOOOO sorry!" Samara's hands extend out to her BFF. "It was for science, we're trying to figure things out and stuff… I'm so sorry! Soooooooo sorry! I swear I will never ever ever ever punch for kick you again. Unless you ask." With a shake of her head, she bites her bottom lip, "Not that I can even think of an occasion where you'd ask…"
Brian is shot a quick glare— not that he can see it— before exiting. "I swear it wasn't because I wanted to hurt you or something Rue, just science." Her eyes roll at her own naivety. Her lips press together tightly. "That or else Brian just wanted to pull a very strange and unusual peer-pressure induced joke…"
"Science, science! Yeah, I get it." Rue winces and peers up at Samara. "I think I'm better off down here for now. The room's still kind'a spinning." She huffs quietly and grabs Samara's hand to drag her down to the floor with her, pulling her into a hug. "I forgive you. But did ya have to kick quite so hard? Man, I'm gonna bruise. Do you know how much concealer and foundation I'm gonna need to cover that up if I get a job?"
"Than-ahhh!" Samara begins before being pulled down into a hug. She's easy enough to tug, especially when unexpected. "Sorry! I didn't think it was that hard! Do you know the last time I ever kicked anyone? I'm pretty sure it was Adisa. And I was in middle school. Or something." With a twitch of a smile, she lays on the ground next to her friend, sidling her best bud. "And I don't really think the job thing is an issue for you right now. I mean… we're on an island and not really allowed to go home…" her fingers lace with Rue's. "And maybe it'll help you meet a nice young lady here. And then she'll have all of this empathy because the poltergeist beat you up. And then… you'll have this like intense moment…" her smile broadens, "You know I enjoy watching a good romance now and then."
Rue lays back next to Samara and stares up at the ceiling, clutching her best friend's hand tightly. "Quinnie's on the island. Did you see her? And her new girlfriend…" The whole thing has been eating at her for days and this is the first chance Rue's had to really talk about it. She turns her head and peers at Samara with a small frown. "I hear Brian mentioned you at that big meeting. So, she… She doesn't think I'm crazy anymore." She looks away again, the frown turning into a pout. "But it doesn't change anything."
Now it's Samara's turn to wince. Her head turns to face Rue rather than the ceiling as she too frowns. "I'm sorry about that… There's no way that any other gal could be as charming, lovely, or wonderful as you, lovely. It's just not possible." The words are matter-of-fact. Whether or not they're accurate, Sami is certain of them. "And anyone would be lucky to have you as their very own. Quinn is the one that missed out." She gives Rue's hand another squeeze.
Her lips press together tightly as she now stares at the ceiling. Her free hand is pressed to her forehead tightly. "Brian is convinced I'm alive. He wouldn't even introduce me as a ghost. And I mean, I want to be alive and experience all of those things I was certain I'd missed, but… four years. I've spent four years living like I'm dead…"
"Thanks, Sami." It's obvious Rue believes the loss is hers, rather than Quinn's, but she lets it go, opting instead to roll over on her side and snuggle up to her friend. "Do you think it's scary? I mean, is it scary? The idea that you're really alive? I mean, if you are… Quinnie thinks maybe you're just invisible, but… Then how do I see you?" A frustrated huff leaves Rue's lips. "If you're not dead, then where does that leave me? What does that make me?"
"I don't know," Samara admits with a sigh. "Being dead is just… easier. But if I'm alive… then I want to be alive. This whole in-between thing…" a momentary frown pulls her features downward. "But Lanny… there's so much I missed out on! I mean, I thought I'd have a chance to grow up, dance at our prom, go to college, kiss someone… I mean really kiss someone— I know it sounds silly and a little small, but I just wanted these things. I just think it's terrifying to hope. LIke what if I let myself believe I'll get these things? And then it turns out I can't be like anyone else. Like what if I am actually dead? Or if this is just the way I am now? It would be crushing. I already died once and lost everything, I can't imagine doing that again… especially when I feel like— like I haven't felt in a long time."
"Prom sucked." Rue frowns and nudges against the side of Samara's head. "They wouldn't even let me wear a tux. I looked fucking awesome in that powder blue thing. And the white top hat and matching cane? I was the most fucking dapper bitch at that damn dance." Or she would have been. If it weren't Chicago in 2005. A world before the bomb, even. "But… I do feel bad you can't… Didn't get to… You know what I mean."
Rue hugs her arms around Samara tighter. "BFFs. Totally." She pauses for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. "…The floor is cold."
The hug is reciprocated and then released. "The floor is cold," Samara agrees as she sits up and then offers Rue her hand to help her up. "Come on, maybe we should check on Joe or something." Not that Samara could do anything to help if she wanted. Within moments she's standing again without really folding herself in that direction. "Do you… do you think Brian's right? Do you think I'm alive and this is just some ability working against me?"
"I don't know what to think," Rue admits, pulling herself to her feet with a bit more effort than Samara had to exert. She reaches out to snag the other girl's hand again and starts for the hallway, peering one way, and the other. "Which way do you think they went?" Of course, there's the much easier method…
"Brian?" Rue's voice echoes off the walls, not quite a shout, but loud enough to be heard. "Briaaaan! Where'd you go?"
