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The Park [Tuesday Afternoon]

Tuesdays seemed to be the day that Hatter ventured out to the park. Sure, he could have gone into work again but one day a week was enough for right now. The restaurant still ran itself without him though they were missing the very best part (in Hatter's opinion, of course). It was their loss and the park's gain.

Everything seemed a little quieter what with the students apparently moved to another island. Going from having a constantly packed tea shop to a restaurant that was quiet enough to hear a pin drop at times took some getting used to but Hatter was a man who could adapt. And when he thought the silence would get to be too much, he just left and went out to find his own fun.

The flamingos in the park were ignoring him today. Hatter had directed a few choice words towards them but nothing else. He had something else to occupy his time. There was a mug of tea beside him on the bench because one never went anywhere without tea. And if he'd put a nip of something special in it, could anyone really blame him?

He'd also brought along a newspaper just to try and catch up on this world's current events but he was getting bored with that quick. Hatter had disliked the queen and her entire monarchy but at least she hadn't been boring. Everything here was just talking and non-action. Hatter made loud gagging sounds and slouched on the bench.

Wonderland was being severely missed right now.

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One could not inventory one's newly-acquired sex shop without taking a break for sustenance. After dipping out to grab herself a coffee, she'd decided to take the long way back, cutting through the park.

She took notice of the gentleman on the bench, mostly to establish that he did, indeed, seem to be alive and awake despite the slouching, but other than a quick smile, she wasn't going to say anything.

Until she noticed the newspaper, that is. "Is that today's?" Her eyes weren't that good, but it almost looked as though the date was wrong on it.

Edited 2014-07-01 18:15 (UTC)

"Far as I could tell, yeah," Hatter said, opening his eyes but moving no more than that. He could see the woman well enough from his slouched position. Perhaps he'd move in just a moment. "But I wouldn't recommend it. It's bloody boring. There isn't one good thing in this pile of words."

"Not a one?" Irene asked, raising a brow with a small smile. "America's quite a bit more dull than I'd reckoned, if that's the case. Or maybe it's just a boring week."

She doubted either was the case, but it'd been a good long time since she'd actually looked at a proper newspaper.

"Well, I do think I read the word undulate in one of these here articles and perhaps I could make an exception for that particular word," Hatter decided, tilting his head. "Other than that? It's a barren wasteland. I am saving you from a fate worse than death by keeping it from you."

...okay, he had her attention properly now. "That's quite a big word for a newspaper," Irene commented, wandering over a little closer to look at the paper a little better. Sure enough, the silly thing said 2014 on it. That was odd. "They mostly deal in the shortest and very most boring of words, you know. Not enough people in the world are bright enough to know the likes of 'undulate,' so it's a sad case of catering to the lowest common denominator."

Edited 2014-07-01 18:34 (UTC)

"Perhaps they accidentally hired someone who had a measurable amount of intelligence then," Hatter commented, glancing down at the paper. "Or perhaps someone had easy access to a dictionary and a thesaurus and wanted to seem intelligent. There are fakers everywhere you know."

He glanced one way and then another before looking back at her. "You do have to watch out for the fake and the phony. Wouldn't want to get caught up in their net, would you?"

"Depends on the sort of faker they are," Irene commented lightly. "Playing pretend can be an awful lot of fun, you know."

Though disguises always did present a problem, as she well knew.

"Isn't playing pretend more of a child's game?" Hatter wondered, going from slouching to sprawling all in one effortless motion. "I don't know if I want to have any tea parties with imaginary friends. They were wankers anywhere."

"Ooh, if that's what you think, you haven't been playing right," Irene tsked, shaking her head. "It's only fun if your friends aren't imaginary, for one. For another, it can be nice to just be someone else, for a time."

She cocked her head at him, raising a brow. "At least, as long as you can keep it up. It all goes to hell rather quickly when you can't."

"Spoken like someone who has experience with long periods of faking it," Hatter decided after a thoughtful pause. "Am I right?"

He thought he was right. Hatter crossed his legs at the ankle and tipped his hat back so he could see her a little more clearly. "My friends haven't been imaginary since I was just a wee lad. But, I find that most of the...real people can't keep up."

Irene didn't answer his question, instead just choosing to smile and shrug a shoulder. Which was probably an answer in and of itself, wasn't it?

"That's most real people," she commented. "The trick is getting them to try to keep up, at least. Most people don't care to tax themselves that much. Most people are too lazy to find out whether they're clever or not."

"Most people, most people, most people," he repeated, shaking his head once. "Why should I be concerned with getting people to discover their inner selves when I could be entertaining myself elsewhere?"

Seemed like a lot of work for a little reward. "If they can't keep up, they don't deserve what I or anyone else might be able to give them. That's their very unfortunate loss."

"Oh, I quite agree," Irene said with a firm nod, watching him. "The moment someone allows you to take control of a situation because they're too lazy to exert themselves, they open themselves up to whatever consequences may befall them. They can still be useful, though, I've found. Entertaining, too. All in how you approach it."

"Like a toy? Or a puppet?" he asked since he couldn't see how anyone that lazy could be fun otherwise. "Spin them around like a top and step back and watch with utter glee, right?"

He'd done that before to various oysters here and there. It went with the territory, went with the game. "It's safe to say I agree. But, once the novelty wears off, it's back to boredom and how to solve that without going out and finding a new toy."

Edited 2014-07-01 20:25 (UTC)

"And that," Irene said, pointing at him, "is why it's worth it to weed out the brighter candidates from the sheep. Lazy, dull people are useful as tools, and can be bent to do what you need them to, of course. But it's far, far more satisfying to try that on someone with their wits. That's a far more reliable entertainment source. Social experimentation is probably the politest term for it."

"Is that why you're here, then?" Hatter asked, giving her a quizzical look. "To conduct experiments on the -- "

He almost said oysters but refrained for the moment.

" -- townspeople? There are a few prime candidates that I could recommend for being the pawns in an experiment like that. They probably wouldn't even know it was happening as long as you promised them free food."

This place ran on free food, it seemed. "As for the other group, I think I'll leave that to your expertise. Giving it all away would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"Experiments like that are mostly a hobby," Irene said lightly, shaking her head. "I don't run into it so much in my current profession, no."

Her prior one, yes, plenty, and they had loved it. But that was worlds away, now.

"I'm here because I rather abruptly became the new owner of one of the shops here," she added. "Which I suppose probably makes us neighbors, in a way, presuming you also live here."

"I do and, amazingly enough, my story is fairly similar," he shared. "I own one of the restaurants in town. It's barely been a month but I can tell you one thing for certain: I am still looking for something fun to pass the time."

This island was quiet and he was used to action and deception and movement. This constant sitting and waiting and drinking tea, while nice, wasn't what he wanted to do forever.

"Welcome to the island, neighbor."

"Thanks," she said, but she pursed her lips in a small frown. "It seems...quiet, so far. Not that I mind -- it's like a holiday -- but is it always so sleepy? Aren't there roving tribes of teenagers I should be wary of, or something?"

Irene still thought that was her biggest concern, here. Silly Irene.

"Oh, they're around," Hatter assured her. "They're just off on another nearby island right now. There's an infestation at the dormitories."

He pointed in the direction of the rather large castle. "Apparently, it's a fairly bad one if they were evacuated so that makes it a little more quiet than usual. What sort of store are you running? Are you expecting a large influx of teenagers?"

"Dite's Decadent Delights," Irene said with a slight sigh as she looked up towards the castle -- it was impressive, yes, if wasted on teenagers -- then glanced back at him. "It's a sex shop. I wouldn't be surprised if I get more than a few who come just to giggle, but the inventory seems to indicate a certain...youth to at least some of the clientele."

Which was fine. Irene was more than happy to serve as an ambassador to impressionable adolescents. She might even be good at it. And it certainly beat being dead, after all.

"And your restaurant? Is it quite popular with the students, then?"

"Hardly," he said, waving a hand. "It's fine dining and from what I've gleaned, most of these teenagers live off of greasy pizza and cheap Chinese food. I would imagine your particular establishment will get more traffic than mine."

Not that Hatter minded. In fact, he was reminded that he had tea with him by thinking of his place and he picked up the mug to take a sip. "Most teenagers enjoy their sex more than they enjoy their fine dining."

"Yes, but they often like it as cheap and greasy as their food," Irene pointed out, wrinkling her nose. "But that's all the better for you, then, isn't it? Mostly dealing with adults, save for the odd awkward first date or two-month anniversary or whatever it is teenagers these days celebrate."

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Hatter asked, shrugging a shoulder and actually straightening up for the first time. He tipped his hat back a little further. "I actually haven't met many adults either. One or two here and there but no one really...memorable."

It was too bad, really. The island seemed to be interesting, if quiet. The lack of interesting people was a sad, sad thing.

"That's a pity," Irene commented, though secretly, she was grateful. Fewer memorable adults meant that there would be fewer people around to remember her, and she could blend in more easily.

That being said, she also might stand out more. It could go either way, and she was hoping for the former.

"I'll keep my eyes open for anyone memorable," she added, smiling. "Hopefully our criteria match up."

"I'd be interested to see that myself," Hatter said, climbing to his feet and dusting off his coat and pants. He picked up the newspaper and tucked it under his arm. "Perhaps you'll be able to find some fun. But, perhaps not and you'll end up like me, wandering around like a sad, sad excuse for a man. Or woman."

"I'm pretty good at making my own fun, in a pinch," Irene told him, sipping her coffee with a smile. "And after all, I've met one interesting person, so far. Not a horrible start."

"And lucky for you, I've no plans to go anywhere anytime soon." Because he couldn't. Dammit. "Do feel free to stop by at some point. I'll make sure you're taken care of."

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The Park [Tuesday Afternoon]

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