Empire Records & Bidet: [6/15]

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Empire? Open.

Music? Playing.

Jamie? Taking a nap behind the counter. Possibly talking in his sleep.

Comments

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

After his time in the gym, Tyler stopped by Empire Records. He noticed Jamie was asleep, and began contemplating Acts of Dada and Chaos that could be put into effect before he woke up.

He started by beginning to remove all of the Broadway show CDs from their racks.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Jamie snorted and sat straight up, drool still on his face. "I don't want to be an elephant!" he called out before realizing he was waking up from a dream.

He shook his head and looked around and saw Tyler.

"When did you get here?"

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"About three minutes ago," Tyler informed him coolly. "Why don't you want to be an elephant?"

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Jamie wiped the drool from his face. "Because then people would only want me for my fine ivory tusks. I was having a weird dream."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"But an elephant never forgets," Tyler argued. "That would be kind of nice."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"There are some things I'd prefer to forget," Jamie said. "So that part really doesn't appeal to me. Soaking people with water through my trunk? That does appeal to me."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"I can't stand not being able to remember things," Tyler confessed. "The blurry days freak me out."

He paused. "Though the water thing would be pretty cool, too. But it'd be hard to buy a car, if you were an elephant."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"You usually have a lot of problems with blurry days?" Jamie asked with a concerned look. "And honestly... if you were an elephant would you want a car? I think I'd just want peanuts and hope that any offspring didn't look like Dumbo."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"No," Tyler said defensively. "I meant Sunday and Monday. Isn't there stuff you can't remember?"

Maybe it only hit the crazies, a voice taunted him. Or mutants were immune to ... whatever it was. He knows everything.

Tyler clenched his hands into fists, forcing a laugh. "See, I think an elephant would be happy with a kid that looked like Dumbo. He flew."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Monday night was kind of fuzzy," Jamie admitted. "Thought I wasn't exactly social on those days. And yeah sure everyone's happy with a kid who can make money, but the whole teasing of the ears is murder on a parent elephant."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"But that's on the parents," Tyler said. "It's their fault if they can't accept their kid being unique, especially if they're just born that way."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Good point. Hey what happened to the Broadway soundtracks?"

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"What broadway soundtracks?"

Tyler was not above trying Jedi mind tricks. He maneuvered to stand in front of the tower he had been building out of them.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"There was a whole bunch of them in that rack over there."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

Tyler coolly glanced at it. "Oh. They aren't there now."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"What that behind you?" Jamie asked suspiciously.

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

Tyler craned his neck and gazed ostentatiously at the far wall. "Over there? It appears to be a poster for the Tom Waites album Swordfishtrombone," he told Jamie.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"I mean directly behind you." Jamie said with a look.

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"Oh," Tyler said elaborately.

"I think it's some CDs."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Huh. Funny that," Jamie said rolling his eyes. "I wonder how they ended up that way."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"You were asleep. Maybe some smartass kid came in and pulled them out," Tyler said. "Or else they were just making a break for it. It is Fandom."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"The 'Smart Ass' kid theory sounds very pratical," Jamie agreed. "Though I supposed the CD's making a break for it cannot be ruled out. I should probably make a note of that in the store log."

Jamie wrote down a quick note.

"Lucas & Nadia,

Please be aware that some CD's are thinking of trying to escape the store. I'd recommend getting a Border Collie for the store to keep them contained.

No I haven't even touched the brownies.

-J

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

Tyler had to fight the urge to smile at Jamie's notetaking.

"I could help reshelve them if you want," he said, feeling a momentary pang of conscience.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Nah. I'm bored out of my mind. I can reshelve them. It's what they pay me for," Jamie said going to work. "So what's new with you Durden?"

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"Not a whole lot. Made condom art in sex ed, spent some time in the gym working on my game," Tyler said. "You?"

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Working right now. I've got a couple of me wandering around though so I may know more later tonight," Jamie said with a shrug. "Plus I'm trying to figure out a way to get Nadia out of that locker thing."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"Do you know what all of your dupes are doing, or are they completely separate?" Tyler asked, curious. "And Walter told me about the locker. Sounded like he hadn't had any luck opening it. Maybe it'll like you better."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"There's an empathic link that the writer's use whenever they feel like between us but it's pretty weak. I usually only feel anything from them if they're getting the crap beaten out of them or dying," Jamie said seriously. "So I only know exactly what happens when I absorb them which is kind of weird in a way because it makes a lot of my memories nonlinear."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"That's incredibly strange," Tyler said helpfully. "Wait, you've died?"

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Well not me personally. Duplicates or the guy I was originally duplicated from have died but I have his memories. One was shot to death. Another died while trying to be cured by a the mutant equivalent of the AIDS virus which gave me amnesia for a while. Then there was the one who was stabbed in the gut by a hitman hired by my ex-wife," Jamie said counting on his fingers and trying to remember if he's missed anything.

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

Tyler rubbed his forehead. "Huh." Okay, maybe Jamie's story was a little more comoplicated than he thought...

"How'd you get an ex-wife?"

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Duplicate married her then split when he found out she was evil. Later on the Original Jamie found out what was going on and had her mobster boyfriend shoot her," Jamie explained matter-of-factly.

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

Tyler's gaze was very intent. "So how old is original Jamie? Because no way did she marry a guy in middle school, unless she's very, very twisted."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Well she turned out to be a mutant that looks like one of those aliens that ran around in that one movie, but yeah. The original me is about 35. Long story short, I was a duplicate that got caught by a insane scientist who did some experiments and..."

Jamie made a gesture with his hands to reveal his glorious self.

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"You're stuck in high school?" Tyler snickered. "I'm sorry. That must suck. How's it feel? And should I call you Pops or something?"

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Aw the weird frakker who did this to me also mucked up my memories a bit," Jamie grumbled. "So I can remember who I was and what I did, but like academic stuff and skills I learned? Gone. Plus my power is still a little wonky at times. So I came here to do something about it."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"That still sucks, but at least you fit right in with all the weirdness here," Tyler said carelessly. Internally, he was boggling.

He glanced at the tower of CDs. "I think I'm going to go find dinner. Sure you're okay putting these back?"

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, well where I come from people have weirder stories," Jamie said waving him away from the CD's. "Don't worry about the CD's. I'll take care of them. See you around Tyler."

[tyler-gone.livejournal.com]

"Remind me to stay far, far away from where you;re from," Tyler said. "Later, Pops."