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Ellie took in a deep breath. Ah, the smell of car parts waiting to be purchased was a wonderful way to brighten up the blonde's day. She had spent some time that afternoon working on her junk pile in the garage, but she found she needed to get a few engine parts before continuing her work. The valve was shot, and she also needed timing chains. Lastly, she needed piston rings. It might have been easier to buy a completely new motor, but that would remove half of the fun of tinkering around and learning new things.

The Meadowview student was in her garage jumpsuit and had a few oil spots dotting her skin. Her headband was covered up by a red bandana, which helped keep some hair out of her face. As she made her way past what seemed to be a scene near the front counter, Ellie couldn't help but give in to the temptation of just browsing. It wasn't like "The Vortex" was going to go anywhere if she didn't get the parts within a few minutes.

Initially, Ellie didn't even notice the other girl. However, she did come across Phil (who was an earshot away from Mili). Phil worked at the junkyard. Smirking a bit, she walked up to the man. "Hey dude!" she greeted, offering her hand for a fist-bump. "Looks like Hank's gettin' an earful, eh?" She chuckled a bit, glancing back to the front counter while brushing some stray hairs out of her eyes.

Ellie's eyes peeled away from Phil's face to take notice of some girl. No girl she knew, but that didn't really mean too much. The world was a really large place. There was no way one person could claim to know everyone. However, Ellie couldn't help but notice how clean-cut this girl was.

"Oh, you don't say?" Ellie gave a slightly sarcastic grin to the girl. "And I'll 'ave you know, that I'm certain Hank ain't a fan of yer father's 'hagglin' methods."

Fortunate for this other girl, Phil had more sense than to speak out against the accusation. It wasn't his place as an employee to argue. Silently, Ellie gave him another fist-bump, then she literally excused herself without a word. It was a nice thing to be a regular at a place like this, because you knew exactly where to go to look for things.

Calling back to the clean-cut girl, Ellie offered "...were ya lookin' fer somethin' in particular?" She didn't stop walking, but the offer was there should the girl want to take it.

"Hmmmm... the whole headlight, or just the cover?" Multi-tasking while she could, she took off her backpack and unzipped the front pocket while walking to where the pistons were kept. She pulled out a notepad that she had written specifics onto so she could find exactly what she needed.

Once she was standing in front of many piston rings, Ellie finally looked back to this girl. She certainly talked a lot, and most certainly came across as a bit confusing as well. Quirking a brow up, she pointed something out: "How can ya let me know about a messed up car if I ne'er met ya before?" Despite how comfortable she was in the current surroundings, she didn't work at the junk yard. She took this as a perfect time to do a proper introduction and offered her hand for a handshake. Her hand was without oil spots, but it was generally dirty.

"Name's Ellie!"

Ellie seemed to lighten up as she returned a very firm handshake. It was nice to see this girl had a strong character, or at least, based upon the handshake she came across that way. She did catch the eye-rolling, but she figured she'd let it slide for now, despite how rude such a gesture was.

"Well... I'd personally talk t'Phil or Hank if ya wanted help. I'm just a regular, so I know where most things are located." Speaking of knowing where things were located, she needed to do some quick comparisons before finding something to purchase. Glancing to her notebook, she then glanced to the appropriate part and began doing mental measurements. Once she found exactly what she was looking for, she plucked it up with her fingers with a big grin.

By the time she started to pay attention again, she heard some interesting information. She would have explained the difference between the headlight and the cover, but instead, her eyes almost seemed to sparkle. Car collection! However, instead of wanting to come across like a school girl fawning over the cute boy, she cleared the twinkles out of her eyes and coughed.

"Collects cars, eh?" she asked. "What sorts of cars? Old cars, racing cars, particular brand?"

Old cars. Not so much Ellie's thing. However, muscle cars weren't half bad. The combination wasn't practical for her, since she liked the idea of having a car for racing. She could still appreciate the hobby though.

Signaling with her hand that she was going to move on, she began to walk towards another pile of "junk." She still needed a new valve and a timing chain.

"From what you said, it could be several types of muscle car. The wedge shape is leaning me t'think it is a Chrysler Valiant Charger or a Ford Torino." Ellie wasn't an expert with the older cars. Once more, she leaned forward and looked through the pile for a timing chain that worked out with her specs on her notepad.

Ellie casually glanced up from her notepad to find Mili retreating. She lifted up a hand for a simple wave, then went back to work.

"Yeah, nice ta meetcha, Mili!" The girl had manners enough, which was a positive in Ellie's eyes. She would talk to Hank and Phil later to see how "horrible" the girl's father had been though. It was always fun to get the other perspective of an argument.

[FIN]