The Beach By The Boardwalk, Monday Afternoon

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

It was the first day of break and Arden was going to spend it the way the goddess had intended it: out on the beach with the salt and the sea and the sun and the sand, sorry Anakin. She was sprawled out on a blanket with a towel or two next to her and a cooler of drinks and snacks. She had a book with her for later, but right now she was enjoying the warmth while sending out a text to all the usual suspects (and a few new ones for good measure) inviting them to come and spend the day out on the beach with her.

[Open to all! If you think you got a text, you did, or maybe you just happened to be wandering up the beach and decided to chill!]

Comments

[what_big_teeth]

Ever since moving here, the ocean had easily been Eleanor's favorite part of living on the island. If she had her choice and wasn't so bound by those things that let her lean into the category of human, she would possibly never even leave it. So it would be pretty remiss of her, wouldn't it, to pass on the opportunity to enjoy sitting by it that afternoon? Especially without anything better to do. Especially after the party over the weekend...

She'd long since invested in a bikini. Honestly, she hated the feel of swimwear between herself and the water, and would be entirely rid of it if it weren't for social expectations and her own shyness. But it was that shyness and self-consciousness and tgat wayward message on her phone about her body that left her pulling out just her old regular suit and a wrap-around instead, and then heading down to the beach, a hand lifted to her eyes against the sun as she approached to see who else might be there.

And hope some of the magic of the other night hadn't been completely dispelled by now.

"Hi. This the spot?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Eleanor, hi!" Arden said, looking up from behind her sunglasses and grinning. "It is! Come sit down, make yourself comfortable!" She gestured grandly to all the beach around them and if her hand just sorta happened to linger in Kamala's direction for a few seconds longer than anywhere else, well...surely it was a coincidence. "Glad you made it out! Settle in, I got some pizza, some water, plenty of sunscreen, whatever you need."

[what_big_teeth]

Just like how the slight increase in Eleanor's awkwardness when following that grand general sweep was merely coincidence as well! But she was trying to work pass this completely unrelated bout of coincidence and gave Arden a faint smile.

"Pizza does sound pretty great right now," she admitted. "And sunscreen's probably a good idea, too."

She was pale enough she sometimes wondered if she wan't just translucent; skipping the bikini may have just saved everyone from blindness.

"Probably that first, actually," she realized, going to go and grab a bottle.

"Thank you for sending me an invitation, by the way," she added, lest she forget.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

All y'all and your lack of melanin. Thank goodness she and Kamala were here to try to offset the glare.

"Of course!" Arden said, her grin turning into a cheerful laugh. "You're fun to talk to and we really should be hanging out more. Besides, once you fall down on your ass with someone while attending a roller disco, you're basically friends for life. Everybody knows that, definitely not something I just came up with."

[what_big_teeth]

In defense of Eleanor's bloodline, melanin wasn't exactly much of a concern down where the sun didn't even reach.

"Well, that's good to learn," she had to laugh a little herself, sunscreen now in hand and finding a spot to sit to start smearing it on. "Roller disco was a little after my time, so, see? I actually didn't know! But now I do, so thanks for that, too, Arden."

She didn't know if she really believed stuff like that, from her experience, but she starting to feel pretty determined to cling onto what was starting here for as long as she possibly could.

"Did you have a good rest of your weekend?" she asked, squeezing the lotion into her hand and already starting to work it into her shoulders and arms.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"It was pretty low-key," Arden said. "Saturday was devoted to be sprawled on my balcony, asking myself what I thought was doing going roller skating and figuring out which was most bruised, my ass or my ego - jury's still out on that one - and then yesterday I very handwavily grabbed a pastry at JGoB and chatted with Boc and the folks there. Mostly just being lazy and debating the heavy subject of where to claim my victory dinner this week. You? And didja have fun at the party?"

[what_big_teeth]

"Oh, I had a great time at the party," Eleanor enthused, her eyes still a little wide and mystified about that. And a lot of that had been thanks to Arden, too, but she was trying not to be too weird by making a big deal about it. "I really wasn't so sure about it, but I'm really glad I ended up going, it was so much fun.

"And I didn't do much, either. Mostly just read a lot, worked with my plants..."

And pretty much tore through her closet and flailed a lot about calling her sister and never doing it and then bemoaned how she ever thought it was a good idea that she should try to throw her own party here, even if it was just to watch a silly movie, but Arden didn't need to know about all that.

"What's your victory dinner for?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I wasn't sure about going either," Arden confessed. "If Kamala hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't have. I'm never sure if those parties are for everyone-everyone? Or just the adults everyone, you know? But Captain Rogers was really polite and kind, so either we're welcome or he was great at faking it and not calling security."

She chuckled a bit, and passed Eleanor a water, just so she'd have one when she settled in.

"Oh, you know Cal? A little older than us, red hair, world's most adorable robot? He and I had a long standing bet about who would do better in paintball every week. He still owes me for last week's ultimate victory."

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor nodded as she took the water from Arden. "Thanks," she said. "I don't think I've had the chance to meet him yet. Congratulations on your victory, though. What is paintball, anyway?"

[slothbabyproductions]

"Hi El!" Kamala said with a wave and a happy grin. "Have you recovered from your roller skating experience?"

[what_big_teeth]

"Hey, Kam," Eleanor said, and, boy, it sure was a shame her blood made her blush a little differently, so she couldn't just blame it on sunburn already setting in, huh? But she returned the grin and the wave easily enough that it almost didn't bother her. "And I think so! I wasn't expecting to be so sore afterwards, but I guess it's more exercise than you realize.

"How about you? Did Jerry ever end up getting his act together?"

[slothbabyproductions]

"He did his best. Everyone had a good time so I guess that's the big thing. And honestly I think I was the only one who knew what was supposed to happen," Kamala said with a shrug. "Did you at least have a good time?"

[what_big_teeth]

"Well," Eleanor offered encouragingly, "if it helps any, if I didn't know about Jerry, I wouldn't have noticed anything wrong at all. I thought you did a great job."

And, you know, this party didn't even have a death count! Which was way more than you could say about any party Eleanor had ever been involved on putting together!

"And I had a really great time, too," she admitted. And assured? She didn't really think her experience would have that much bearing, but it might still count for something. "A lot more than I expected, actually."

Was that embarrassing to admit? Well, it was too late now, if it was.

[slothbabyproductions]

Who said there wasn't a death count? Who knows if Jeremy will ever return after going 'missing'?

"I'm so glad," Kamala said with a huge sigh of relief.

Yes, Eleanor, your experience did count for Kamala. A lot.

"I'm so glad you were there," she said reaching out to give Eleanor a pat on the arm. "Having you there made the evening a whole lot more fun for me."

[what_big_teeth]

Okay. A SIGNIFICANTLY smaller death count, then

Was there such a thing as a fish caught in headlights? Because that was probably what Eleanor looked like, at the moment, especially once Kamala patted her arm.

"Really?"

'Things Improved by Eleanor Zarrin being There' was a list that could generally be counted with one hand.

[slothbabyproductions]

“Well, yeah, isn’t that obvious?” Kamala asked with a laugh. “We wouldn’t have had a group skate without you.”

[what_big_teeth]

"There'd still have been enough people for a group skate without me," Eleanor pointed, but her amusement was evident, even if it was also a little confused. "But I am really glad you guys brought me into it, too. That really was a lot of fun."

[wildgalegirl]

"Eleanor, right?" Charlie said. "Come grab some beach! It's an excellent day!"

[what_big_teeth]

"Eleanor," she nodded, "right. And you're Charlie? Thanks, I think I will. And you're right, it is a pretty good day. Perfect for the beach. Arden always does seem to have great ideas, doesn't she?"

[wildgalegirl]

"Charlie is me," she confirmed with a smile. "And yes, Arden wins for best ideas. I'm just happy to tag along."

[what_big_teeth]

"Me, too," Eleanor admitted, a bit more sincerely than she probably would have liked, but it was true, and she tried to keep her smile a little more buoyant to not make it seem as much so. "And, really, all these beaches and the water is probably my favorite part of living on an island. It's fantastic. I already spend a lot of my time out here, but usually just by myself."

She looked around at their little gathered party with a bit of softness in her smile.

"I like the company."

[wildgalegirl]

"It is a pretty awesome perk," Charlie agreed. "I tend to wander around but myself also, but yeah, this group is pretty great."

[what_big_teeth]

"Where do you tend to go?" Eleanor wondered. "When you tend to wander?"

[wildgalegirl]

"Oh, I go across the causeway a lot and do some busking," Charlie said. "You know..."

She pointed to her guitar. "Find a good spot on the street and play and sing for whatever cash people want to toss in my hat."

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor followed Charlie's gesture, then nodded. "Sounds like a good way to spend some time, at least," she said. "I could never do it, but I don't really have a musical bone in my entire body. Do you think you're going to play anything here?"