Summer 01

[mightythinice]

[when it clicks on, have a face full of dirty red headed kid. She looks absolutely delighted by the fact that the console works, and her words seal the deal]

Holy shit, this thing really works?! This is so fucking cool! So, I turned this on and everyone else can hear me, right? This thing’s like a mass phone call or… Oh, wait. Is this what it was like being on TV?

[she pulls out a book from her backpack]

Well, I’m reading a book about anti- gravity… It’s impossible to put down. Pfff. Okay, okay, I won’t read my good ol’ pun book to everyone, but if you ever need a joke, let me know.

Also, I’m looking for someone. His name’s Joel, he’s kind of older, brown hair, talks with a pretty thick Texas accent.

And if anyone knows where I can find a bunch of books in English, that’d be awesome. Last place I went to, they were all in this fucking weird script! No good if you wanna actually read something, you know?

Comments

[grigio]

[Oh, god. This kid was friggin' adorable. Julie watches her order, placing an identical one and asking for two of their iced tea drinks as well before giving Ellie a proud grin.]

Nailed it. Great job. So...if it's okay with you, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to...but I was wondering if you could tell me more about Joel. How'd you guys meet?

[mightythinice]

[Drinks-- she should have figured that would be important. At least asked for water or something! When Julie asks the next question, Ellie tries to figure out how to put it in the best terms possible.

She didn't need to tell someone who had experienced something similar about her condition, or why Joel was escorting her.

She hoped he'd be there, even if it meant they'd both drowned. She didn't like not having him with her all of the sudden. He would know exactly what to do-- and even if that part didn't matter so much anymore, she wanted him there.]

Well... a friend of mine asked Joel and-- his partner to take me to meet the Fireflies. They're a group back home that's trying to restore the government.

[she sits down and rubs her nose]

Considering we're in Boston and we weren't sure where the home base for the Fireflies was besides 'out west,' we've been everywhere together.

[grigio]

[Julie settles in the seat across from Ellie, listening attentively. No, she didn't need to know about Ellie's condition, even though she'd find that fascinated. All she wanted to know was what Ellie was willing to tell her. She understood that sometimes it was difficult to even talk about home.]

Sounds like quite the adventure, just from that much. It's just the two of you? I live in a Super Stadium back home and when we send salvage groups out, it's usually a group of anywhere from five people to more. We don't go far from home.

[So she can't imagine it's all that easy in such a small group.]

[mightythinice]

We've... had friends help along the way, but yeah, it's mostly been me and Joel.

[none of those friends survived. Tess, Henry, Sam...]

I wish we had a bigger group, it'd be easier, except for when you run into those fucking Hunters. [grumble] They're the assholes who aren't infected, but they fucking try to kill everyone who isn't one of them.

I hate those fuckers.

[grigio]

We have groups like that. They like to make things hell for everyone.

[Their food is delivered, steaming and smelling a lot like heaven in Julie's opinion. She sighs, enjoying the scent for a moment before reaching for a pair of chop sticks.]

Know how to use these?

[mightythinice]

Nope! What are those?

[grigio]

They're chopsticks. Eating utensils. They're hilarious if you don't know how to use them.

[Julie demonstrates how to hold them, ready and willing to help Ellie out of she needs it.]

They take a lot of getting used to.

[mightythinice]

[She tries to imitate her hold, but honestly, it's very slow going. There's no way she's going to be able to master them this quickly. And she already looks a little bit confused at trying to do anything with them]

... Are you sure I can't eat with my hands?

[grigio]

How about a fork?

[The broth is hot as hell, Ellie. And Julie doesn't want her new friend boiling her fingers so she heads back to the counter and points out the forks. It takes a moment for the kedan behind the counter to understand her but Julie returns with forks, holding one out for the kid.]

You need it for your dessert, anyway.

[mightythinice]

Thank you.

[she grins, and pretty much as soon as that fork is in her hands, she's digging into the noodles. Hot, or not.]