Turtle & Canary; Friday [09/24].

[white_oleander]

It didn't take long for Astrid to start to feel like maybe she should have just skipped her shift at T&C; it was going to be very difficult to get through a day of dealing with Apu and mindlessly checking out customers when she had a portal to catch later that she'd been anticipating for...months, now, really.

And it would figure, wouldn't it? Ingrid just had to have things her way. While everyone else's parents were coming to visit them this weekend, Astrid had to do just the opposite, and go visit her. Reverse Parents Weekend. But it seemed oddly fitting. And, really, Astrid would never want Ingrid to step foot on this island, anyway, even if she could.

This was better, and this was good, but it was making her anxious and difficult to focus, and the fact that the store was inexplicably filled with bluebirds flying around wasn't really helping that much.

Today's Squishy Flavors
Cherries Jubilee
Horchata
Red

Turtle & Canary is open!

Comments

[onlyajones]

After Wednesday’s classes, it occurred to Jo that she should really probably look at getting some items that were more in line for while she was in 2021 and she should have done it when she first arrived but at least now she had a reasonable idea of what she was looking for. She thought starting at one of the main stores in town would be a good place to start. So after she had been to the bank to take out what she hoped would be enough to pay for everything, she set off to see what she could buy.

She entered the store, blinking a bit at the birds flying around and approached the girl at the counter, a bit timidly, “er - hello?” she said, she normally didn’t do her own shopping, so this was all new to her.

[white_oleander]

Astrid was pretty deep in her own head when Jo came in, her mind tumbling over all the different things she wanted to say to her mother when they met up tomorrow, so she didn't hear the bell, and only even realized someone was there after being addressed. So she blinked a little, turned a dull sort of expression toward Jo for a moment before her eyes cleared and she could bring herself back to the moment, in the shop, with a customer.

She gave a faint smile.

"Hey," she greeted back. "Did you need help finding something?"

[onlyajones]

"I was hoping for help finding some ... I guess modern items?" Jo wasn't sure how to describe it, "I'm from 1952 and well .. I think I'm a bit over dressed for this time period," she indicated her floral dress that wouldn't look out of place at a Sunday church service, "maybe some clothes that are more casual," she paused, "I was also wondering how I may go about getting a ... I think it's called a cell phone?"

[white_oleander]

It was the kind of dress Claire would have loved, Astrid realized, as she tilted her head and considered it and its time period, but, then again, maybe that was just where Astrid's head was at. She nodded a little, and then reached under the counter, past the jugs, and to the the pink box just beyond them.

"The first one's easy," she said. "Summer actually has a special selection of phones for people who don't have them. They're really cheap, but they have everything you'll need. She considers it sort of an outreach program."

With that, she opened the box and set it on the counter in front of Jo, wherein she'd find a wide variety of them just waiting for an owner.

"They're nothing much," she said, "and definitely not the newest models, but they're a good place to start. I ended up getting one of these ones," she added, pointing out the model.

"Clothes will be pretty easy, too," she offered. "We've got a lot of solid basics down Aisle Handwavey. Not as much variety as you'd find in the clothing shops, but they're affordable and Summer makes sure they're at least fashionable and up-to-date."

Which was weird how much some of the stuff coming in these days seemed to resemble a lot of the clothes that Astrid was used to back home from the '90s, but fashion was cyclical...

[onlyajones]

Jo's eyes were wide as she took in the cell phones, "and do they have the internet?" she asked, "I know something about the TikTok app ..and email but I haven't been on the actual internet yet, I'm told you can look up anything on there,"

Jo took note of the clothing aisle, "money's not ..." she started to say and then realised that sounded almost like bragging, "I mean, my dad's covering my expenses while I'm at school but it's good that there's still options to select,"

[white_oleander]

A subtle brow did quirk a little at Jo's self-interrupted sentence, but Astrid wouldn't pay it too much mind.

She waited for a bluebird to finish swooping over head before she continued.

"They've all got internet," she confirmed. "They're on some special plan she set up. It's really convenien, especially once you kind of get used to it. Internet on phones blew my mind a little even being from the '90s, I can't imagine what it's like for someone from...you said the '50s?"

[onlyajones]

Jo nodded, “if we wanted to look something up we’d have to use an encyclopaedia or textbook,” she said, even though both of those things were also new to her due to a previous lack of interest in her studies, “its quite astonishing how tiny they are and that they can do so much,” she glanced at one of the models that Astrid had pointed out previously.

She paused and realised she never introduced herself so she quickly added, “I’m Jo by the way, well it’s Josephine, Josephine Jones but I go by Jo,”

[white_oleander]

"I'm Astrid," she offered back with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Jo. I guess we don't have any classes together; that's usually how I meet newer people these days."

Especially since she'd definitely given up on Monday Morning breakfasts.

"It's definitely a lot sometimes, though, huh?" she asked, looking around. "This place?"

She meant the island as a whole, not just the store, but, as the birds continued singing and swooping, the store itself could have worked just fine, too.

[onlyajones]

“Same here,” Jo smiled, “it certainly wasn’t what I expected when I first came to Fandom,” she glanced back up at the birds, “my home’s quite ordinary,”

[white_oleander]

"Mine, too," Astrid said, though she looked thoughtful, as if that wasn't quite right.

"Comparatively," she added, and, yeah, that made it feel much more accurate.

"L.A.," she then offered. "In California." Since Jo definitely didn't sound American, at least. "How about you?"

[lieutenant_glasses]

Nanao had a sneaking suspicion that Shunsui was planning on hiding from her, probably in the most obvious 'last place she'd expect' spot like his office, but this honestly worked out much better, because she had actual work to do, and she was significantly more likely to get that work done without him around than with him there.

And so after checking in at the picnic, she made her way to her next order of business...

The actual business.

Nanao stepped in, deftly ducked out of the path of a bird, and looked around, before her attention went to the girl behind the counter.

"Miss Magnussen, I presume?" she asked, checking her clipboard and marking something off on it.

[onlyajones]

“Southwest England,” Jo told her, “I used to go to school in Cornwall,” she added.

[white_oleander]

"Do you miss it a lot?" Astrid asked, wondering if that could be just as much a question about the location, as well as the time period.

[white_oleander]

There was a little bit of a reluctance for Astrid to answer that question, especially considering what was so heavily on her mind. But this woman was dressed in black robes, which she doubted any Children of Ingrid would be dressing themselves that way, at least not to come and see her.

Still, she decided to answer with a somewhat defensive, "Depends on who's asking."

[onlyajones]

"It's ..." she paused, "yes and no," she said after a bit, "I mean I do miss home but after a being here a few weeks, it's hard to imagine going back to 1952,"