The Perk; Thursday Morning [11/19].

[somethingwithturquoise]

Oh.Em.Gee. Summer was, like, so totally in love right now.

...with this phone! After all that drama and fighting with her dad over how a high school freshman didn't need a new phone every year, here he'd apparently gone and got her a phone that looked way beyond even the latest stuff that was out right now, and he'd clearly just said all that stuff so she'd be extra super surprised when she saw it there, and she was going to be the envy of her entire class, and maybe even some sophomores or (dare she even dream it???) some juniors, too! And so she was definitely sending her dad a ton of glowing texts about how she definitely had the best dad ever, in the entire world, even, which was, you know, pretty big! And then she was going to take all the pictures because the camera on this thing? Holy crap. Amaze-balls.

And after raiding her closet and contemplating when she picked up so many cute pink tank tops (like, she got it, they were simple and cute but also a little showy, maybe she should totally consider making that her thing? She should have a thing, right? You had to have a thing if people were going to notice you and you were going to be popular), so she thought about it and texted Nancy and asked her what she thought Frank Palicky might think of pink tank tops, and Nancy texted her back with Summer wtf Frank Palicky has been dead for almost four years now and so she just sent back lol with a bunch of these cool new emoji on her sweet super-new phone because when did Nancy even get to be so funny?

Eventually, Summer found her way to the coffee shop, and while she was there, thinking it would be pretty cool to start drinking latte and stuff, right, she was in high school now, and...

"Pumpkin Spice Latte!" she gasped. "I haven't tried one of those yet, those are totally everywhere! I'll take one!"

She sure hoped this didn't awaken anything in her!

[[ um, like, so totally open. duh. ]]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

You know who wasn't allowed to have a phone? Almost-fourteen year-old Rebecca Anne January, that's who. She had been told she was allowed maybe when she was fifteen, which also coincided with when she'd be allowed to patrol on her own, too, and so she was currently in a whole battle with her mother about whether maybe she could sew some pockets into her uniform, or maybe get a little pouch, because she needed a phone.

(Sean Jakowski was never going to notice her if she didn't have a phone, okay?)

(There was also totally a phone in the apartment she'd woken up in today; Annie had just not thought to look in the kitchen.)

"Are you drinking coffee?" she greeted the other girl, about halfway between envious and concerned. Annie had ordered tea, because coffee stunted your growth and dairy was bad for your skin, you know.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer had been maaaaybe scoping out this other girl since she came in because she was, like, so pretty, like, cheerleader pretty, and left her sort of on the precipice of trying to decide if she totally hated her for that or if this was, like, kind of a good opportunity to weasel her way into potentially cheerleader pretty crowds herself, because you really had to make those sorts of connections super early, once you were locked in, it was that much harder to change ranks, and schmoozing it up with cheerleader pretty girls was going to get her so much more social distance than texting band nerd Nancy about Frank Palicky...

She could be texting this girl about Toby Matthews instead.

Omg, Toby Matthews....

Summer shook her head. Right. The girl had asked her question. And she had to play it right, sound like it wasn't a big deal or her first time or anything.

"Totally," she said, voice super cool and super smooth. "Pumpkin Spice Latte. They're kinda my favorite."

Followed by that actual first sip and a very impressive ability to absolutely not react to it at all, because, wow, that was...

There was a lot going on in that sip, for suuuuure.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"They always smell so good," Annie noted on a sigh, now leaning more towards envious and regretting that she now had to pretend she was super into this stupid green tea she'd ordered. "Like, you know, pumpkin pie? But also with coffee."

She frowned a little, hesitating because she wasn't sure whether this would make her sound, like, babyish, but she added, "I heard coffee stunts your growth, though?"

And Annie really, really wanted to be at least 5'8", like Queen Maeve was.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"I hope so!" said Summer, emphatically. "That'll totally improve my chances of being at the top of the pyramids, you know, or getting to be one of the flyers!"

Alas, it was not to be. Not only would she not even make cheerleading squad, but she was destined for a volleyball girl growth spurt by the end of that year.

But since that was, like, a totally legit concern to have, her approval (okay, okay, her desperation, whatever, same diff) ticked up enough to be all, "I'm Summer, by the way. I don't think we've met?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Annie. It's really nice to meet you," she supplied with a slightly-shy little wave. "Oh my gosh, you're a cheerleader?" Of course she was, look how she was tall and beautiful and had interesting red hair.

Because yeah, despite appearances, Annie was more Bible Camp than cheer camp, and not especially popular at her school, to boot. (Though she would have been an excellent cheerleader, given how athletic she was. And also super jealous of that growth spurt, since she'd be topping out at a firm five-foot-six.)

[thatwaslucky]

Twenty-year-old Rey intended to just stop in for a minute on her way to training, but stopped near the door. Apparently she could tell who was here with no problem but it didn't look right?

[somethingwithturquoise]

Yeah, twenty-year-old Rey, don't mind the very much fourteen-year-old Summer just sort of gazing almost longingly at you over her coffee through the glass and just wallowing in how life was just so not fair and if she could only manage to look a fraction as cool as that when she was older, she would be totally set...

Like, there was almost a whole sort of Space Battles vibe to her, wasn't there? But that was kind of a wild thought, people actually from space? Pshyeah, right! Like that was even an actual thing.

[thatwaslucky]

Yeah, Rey kind of caught that, which was why she greeted her with a, "Hello."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Hi," said Summer, who was now telling herself to not be a complete spaz and screw this up somehow. "I like your..." Everything. "...hair."

Nailed it.

[thatwaslucky]

"Thank you." This really was adorable. So cute.

And just a hunch that came from that whole feeling thing, along with the fact that they'd gone to high school together later, she asked, "What's your name?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Those are like, really cute yoga clothes," Annie told her shyly. "Lululemon?" The cool college girls at Drake and Grand View wore a lot of Lululemon. (Ugh, and they also did cool, interesting things with their hair, Rey, like you.)

[thatwaslucky]

"Thank you," Rey said, looking just slightly confused. "I don't know what a Lululemon is."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh, wow." That just made you seem cooler, Rey, like an adult who was too busy or whatever for brand names. "They make, like, really cool clothes for exercising."

Annie's stuff all came from Target, so the envy might have been palpable, there.

[thatwaslucky]

"I'll have to check them out." She'd look at the prices and run screaming. "I'm Rey."

[sith_happened]

Anakin's head whipped over to feel someone else strong in the Force. "Hello?"

[thatwaslucky]

Rey had seen holos of Anakin when he was younger, and it still wasn't preparation for this.

"Master Skywalker?"

[sith_happened]

"Yes, that's me," said the Jedi who was definitely not a Master.

[thatwaslucky]

"Oh this is weird," Rey admitted, blinking.

[sith_happened]

Anakin was, of course, get a plain black coffee--like his angsty, angsty heart--and staring off into the middle distance because his life was full of drama.

He was very carefully not thinking about the two children who'd called him Dad and then laughed really hard at his hair before telling him to have a good weekend. Ugh, whoever they were, they were the worst. They were probably being paid off by Bel or Angel or something.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Well, that was...

Summer was going to try to not be a total judgey-pants about this guy's rattail, but while her eyes were pointedly avoiding looking his way while she sipped on her latte, her eyebrows were not able to ignore it so easily.

[sith_happened]

His hair was part of a uniform okay, intended to teach humility and keep everyone celibate. The hair was doing its job.

"May I help you?" he asked.

[somethingwithturquoise]

It really, really was.

And Summer thought about asking if she could help him by finding a pair of scissors.

"Do you work here?" she asked. Because that sounded like something someone who worked here would say and she was clearly barely even noticing him otherwise, sooo...

[defenderofdesmoines]

Well, that guy was both kind of weirdly cute and also just kind of weird.

Annie offered a little wave, because that was a pretty intense...middle distance gaze, there. (Ugh, broody boys were kind of a thing, weren't they? Sometimes Sean brooded. But what was he brooding about? Teenage boys held such depths.)

[sith_happened]

He was maybe brooding about his secret girlfriend shut up I'm hilarious! Or about how terrible black coffee actually tasted.

Or both! Truly he contained multitudes. Anakin gave her a solemn nod in reply.

[defenderofdesmoines]

*dies* Annie returned the nod, wondering if this guy was like, a poet or something. He definitely seemed like he was into more interesting, angstier music than what she listened to.

"Are you drinking coffee?" Annie asked, trying not to sound judgmental even though she was really seriously judging him.