Luke's Diner, February 14 (Monday)

[laceycantlie.livejournal.com]

Lacey had kept up on the radio broadcasts and knew exactly what was going on this weekend (despite the fact that it had been prom weekend she'd marked up on her calendar with big red Sharpie exclamation points and warnings about watching out for balloons), so she'd made a point of hiding out for most of it. There wasn't much she could do other than brave the possible children and head into work today, though, and so she'd tried to quell her own anxiety by throwing herself into planning the day's menu with a desperately maniacal fervor.

She'd been in the middle of congratulating herself for the delicious-sounding yet vegetarian specials she'd come up with when she remembered that the entire reason she'd started to put so much effort into planning vegetarian food options wasn't around any more.

It took a lot of the perk out of her demeanor as she bustled around the diner today.

Today's Specials
Spiced Coconut Pancakes with Tropical Fruit
Quinoa, Garbanzo, and Spinach Salad
Provençal Chicken and Tomato Roast

Hastily scribbled below all those, almost as an afterthought:

Macaroni and Cheese
Chicken Nuggets

NOW HIRING - See Manager for Details

Luke's is open and, Lacey hopes fervently, destined to be balloon-free.

[OOC: And OCD-free, and open, and yes, Lacey really is terrified of balloons. Mwahaha.]

Fixer-Uppers, Monday

[endsthegame]

Ender took both children to work with him in the morning, because what else could he do? At least Fixer-Uppers would give both of them something to do - especially for Valentine, who seemed to get bored easily with normal children's games. Ender supposed he and his sister had never been good at that, either. (Peter-proof buildings didn't count, for obvious reasons.)

Though Peter had sure loved his buggers and astronauts.

"So after this, will we just disappear?" Olhado wanted to know. He was curled up in one of the chairs. "I still don't understand portals."

"I don't think anyone understands anything that happens on this island, Olhado," Ender said, sighing. "You come, you go, and we all assume you return to the exact same worlds you came from. Some of you come back, so I guess it's not too terrible an assumption to make."

"I wonder if it's random chance," Valentine contributed, glancing at Ender's back. "I don't think it is. I think we might be here for a reason."

Ender jammed a hand into the innards of the device he was working on. Emotional blackmail? he wanted to offer, sardonically. "Or maybe everything just happens and we sort it out afterwards," he said.

And so on it went, at least until Olhado decided to take a dump of the video files he'd racked up in his eyes and-- Well. This weekend was not shaping up to be one good for Ender's myriad issues.

[[ open! Warning: some disturbing imagery in the comments. ]]

Arms Hotel, Monday, 2/14

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

Valentine's Day meant roses through the lobby and a mix of romantic music over the hotel sound system. In a different year, Quinn probably would have found it weirdly touching.

This year, though, the kids all over the place kind of took away from the lovey-dovey stuff. Quinn's kid included -- okay, so Beth was pretty cool (like she could avoid it, given her DNA) but she was also exhausting.

A little after they got to the hotel, Quinn sent Beth off to help the chambermaids for part of the morning. She whined about it a little, but it was good for kids to learn the value of hard work, right? And if it gave Quinn some extra free time to do her actual job, she wouldn't complain.

Welcome to the Arms Hotel!
Today's specials: Parmesan Fish Sticks
Baked Macaroni & Cheese

The Magic Box, Monday

[stylin-wizard.livejournal.com]

Alex decided to take Melanie to work with her and then to class later in the day because she thought it might be fun.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, she'd cast a spell to create a theme in the store. Paper hearts floated throughout the store (she'd avoided anything relating to those baby cupids, just to be safe) and heart-shaped bubbles floating around. Some were low enough that Melanie could chase them.

That may have had Alex giggling a little.

She had some coloring books and crayons in a corner, should any other kids happen on by the store and need some form of entertainment.

The Magic Box is open.

[OCD free.]

Covent Garden Flowers :: Monday, February 14

[auntie-vida.livejournal.com]

The love monkeys had all vanished -- whether they'd been picked up by the delivery service or just monkeyed off to the mainland, Vida wasn't sure.

Today Vida was still hard at work making any last minute bouquets for Valentine's Day deliveries. They were, of course, fabulous.


Covent Garden Flowers

Vida Boheme, prop.
Fresh flowers from nosegays to bouquets!
Delivery available upon request.


[OOC: Vida will deliver any flowers this afternoon for anyone who forgot the student council post SHANIE. (ME.) Please be to uploading any images to tinypic/photobucket/etc so it's not hotlinking, however! You can either ping in to Vida at the shop (warnings for SP if the flowers are trying to eat me) or use the order post.]

Caritas, Monday

[shagthis.livejournal.com]

So Buttons (version 2.0) had neglected to make an appearance this year. Jake couldn't say he was all that disappointed. Tinny was enough of a handful as far as children went, and she wasn't even his.

However, just because he'd lacked temporary children didn't mean Fandom wasn't intent on messing with him. Oh no. Today, every single drink he poured, no matter what it was, seemed to come out of the bottle a nauseating shade of pink or red.

Pixie Dust, Monday

[gorka-wolf.livejournal.com]

Makita did not have any children this weekend, which, did not particularly surprise her or cause her any distress. She and Proto lived in a city that was a ground-zero bloodbath, and any child of theirs would be far too well trained to go through strange Gates without their parents. It was as simple as that.

But there were lots of new parents with small children flailing about, and so Makita had put some of the smallest clothing they had on racks right up front. Small shoes, too, in case small people had some sort of accident over the weekend.

Pixie Dust was open, but Makita was going to expect you to pick-up after your own kid.

Book Haven, Monday

[notmyownage]

Claudia had decided she couldn't let Stan out of her sight, so he was hanging out in the book store with her, today.

"Come on," he said. "The bowling alley's not that far away!"

"And risk you trying to build an AI in the arcade machines? No."

"But these books are all really old!"

"Suck it up, short stack. You're the one who decided to dismantle a stove."

Stan sulked. "It wasn't gonna be a killer robot."

Claudia thought of all those foster parents who told her that one day, she'd have to deal with a kid just as bad as she had been, and wondered how many of them had secret psychic powers.

Book Haven was open.

The Park, Monday Evening

[endsthegame]

Some would rejoice, others would cry, and a good chunk of Fandom's population would probably wind up with mixed feelings. This portal had brought the children onto the island but two nights ago, and now it had reversed the polarity of the neutron flow returned to take them back.

It floated calmly in the middle of the park's clearing, exuding a soft yellow light. It wouldn't steer the children wrong.

Say your goodbyes, Fandom... for the year.

[[ up early for sp, and open to all. *hands out tissues at the door* ]]

Chilly Boulder, Late Sunday Afternoon

[glacial_queen]

If things went as they usually did these weekends, Karla knew there would be a portal opening back up in the park in a few hours. Soon the children would all be gone; back to their futures and their real parents. Perhaps Karla would see them all again. Perhaps they'd disappear forever. She didn't exactly know how it all worked. But she did know one thing.

She was going to stuff these children full of ice cream and candy before sending them home, dammit. Hope their parents were ready for wired kids on a sugar-high after their weekend of peace and quiet.

Seven kids at once. Seriously! What the Hell was that?!

[Open for all! On extreme SP due to holiday shenanigans]