Welcome to Gaia! ::

Saturday had been an especially good day for Christa - she was out in something other than a uniform of some kind, she slept in, and didn't harbor too many bruises she'd have to explain to her aunt and uncle. They hadn't yet found anything out of the ordinary, but to keep up appearances, Christa went about her daily routines as if nothing was different. Today, she was at the local bookstore with some money to find more stationary for her collection. She was now overly interested in moon paraphernalia of any kind. Her computer was filled to the brim with information, but things to keep in mind on a daily basis were relegated to stationary. The gray-haired teen stood in one of the aisles, eying several different kinds of moon-themed pads of paper. Which one would look the best with her new pen set?

Turning them over in her hands, she was comparing prices, trying to keep out of the way of other customers. She was a fairly frequent shopper here, but she'd quickly gotten many of the pads they already had in stock. Soon, she'd have to find somewhere else to go. Frowning, she couldn't decide between pink with yellow crescent moons, or light blue with white stars and a single, full moon.

Decisions.

Christa didn't expect someone to speak with her, especially with how serious she looked while examining the stationary. It was reminiscent of the way a surgeon eyes a body before a cut - much too serious. The girl's voice snapped Christa out of it and she blinked in confusion for a few moments. The blue one with the full moon? The teen looked back down at the stationary she was holding before speaking. "Ah, yes. Yes, I think you're right."

She really didn't know what to do with herself, not expecting to be interrupted. Her brows furrowed a moment while looking at the girl who spoke. "You're... here for stationary too? What kind are you looking for?"

She's obviously got good taste and we're in public so... no need to be rude.

"Pale green with musical notes? Oh... Hm."

Christa was lost in thought for a moment. She could have sworn she saw something that matched that description a few moments ago, but... where? Tapping a finger on her chin, she spotted it! Back behind some other pads of stationary was a lone package that matched the girl's description. It looked like it was put away in the wrong spot, but this was the only one she'd seen when she came into the store. It might be a discontinued line in the store, which would be a tragedy. And until they decided to make Cthulhu-themed stationary, Christa would have to settle for everything else they had in stock. Mundane. was what she thought.

Plucking up the package, Christa handed it to the redhead. "Here. I knew I saw it somewhere, but I don't think there are many more of this kind. Maybe they're on backorder?" While she waited for the confirmation that this was the kind the girl was looking for, Christa tilted her head. "What made this one your favorite, if you don't mind me asking?"

Oh good, this was the stuff the girl was looking for. Hopefully the store would get the hint and carry less of the garish Hello Kitty stationary and bring back the more charming lines, like the stationary this girl liked. She wrote to her grandmother with it too, which meant there were still good people in the world, according to Christa. When asked her name, she blinked for a moment. "Christabelle. But please, call me Christa. My full name sounds more Southern than I actually am."

Christa shook her head at that statement and smiled, taking Liliana's hand in a firm shake. Now these were manners! She didn't expect something like this out of a stranger, which pleased her greatly. She liked this Liliana already. "Do you go to school around here? I go to Meadowview. You don't find people our age interested in this stuff very often."

"Lily." The gray haired teen parroted. She wanted to make sure she could put the name to the face later on if need be. That red hair and her unusual eyes made her stand out in the crowd, just like Christa's own hair, so spotting Lily again would be easy. Plus, she went to Meadowview, which could explain why Lily looked vaguely familiar.

Christa thought for a moment, staring at the stationary in her hand. It was true that she was a writer, but she didn't frequently physically write her stories down - they were all stored on her laptop. But perhaps her stationary could be used for more letters or notation. That would probably help her in school too, with having to write essays by hand and whatnot. That was something she could endeavor to do.

"I'm a writer, but I don't typically write my things out with a pen and paper. I like to use my stationary for note-taking and... I tend to collect some of the nicer pads. They're just too pretty to go to waste." As she explained her reasoning, she picked up one particular pad that was more expensive than the others, pointing to the intricate designs that appeared to be made from lace. "Like this one."

Ah, so they both shared siblings. There were many stories to be had from that. Christa was the eldest, and she did shop for clothes on occasion, but she couldn't shop for a younger brother. "A shopaholic? At least you can benefit from it. If my brother went shopping for me, it'd all be for laughs - tutus and things that would look good on someone else, but not on me. I don't really do lace or pink things for clothing. No offense."

She didn't mean anything by it, but just in case, she covered her rear in a way. Tilting her head, she smiled absently at her own haul. Only a few pads in the store were ones she didn't have for her collection. "I like having goals, and I suppose collecting things is like having a constant goal." she explained, motioning for Lily to follow her to the checkout line. "I mean, there's always school and work and bills and things like that, but with a collection, there's the thrill of the hunt, if that makes sense." She made a face as if not being sure of whether or not she was rambling on about something nobody cared about. "I'm sure your sister understands the thrill of the hunt."

Once it was her turn, she placed her items up on the counter so the cashier could tally them up. Three pads of stationary, two packs of pens and a small spiral notebook. "I guess I have a weakness for writing pads and utensils..."

She was glad when Lily didn't mind the accidental rambling. It wasn't often that someone else appreciated stationary the same way Christa did. When Lily mentioned her mother's doubt in the capacity of the human brain, Christa rolled her eyes. They were both out of the checkout line now and were walking towards the exit to the store. "When there's a will, there's a way." she said with a curt nod. "If you want to learn more songs, you'll learn more songs. It's amazing what the brain can accommodate. It's not like we have some storage limit like a computer does."

The idea was silly, but she was sure Lily would understand the comparison. "Are you going to be a singer as a career? I'd like to be a writer myself, but I guess both those paths require you to be 'found' in a way." Christa even lifted her hands to make the air quotes. Sometimes she thought the idea of becoming an author was scary - what if she didn't make it? What would she do then? But she tried to push the idea far from her head. She had other things to worry about.

Singing and playing an instrument were things Christa tried in the past, but didn't find much interest in. She listened to music on occasion, but not frequently enough to call it a hobby. Not yet anyway. "I bet you've seen my little brother Zach in there." Christa motioned to her head, pointing at her hair. "He looks like me, obviously. Gray hair is hard to miss. He loves to wail Eye of the Tiger as off-key as possible. He's in middle school."

Sometimes she regretted moving out, even if it wasn't permanent. Christa would often take him to the karaoke lounges because he had so much fun playing air guitar and shrieking into the microphone. The kid had no whims about being discovered as the next big singer. "I'm a junior, but yes, I do plan to attend college. How I'll finance it is another story."

Christa shook her head. "Thanks for the compliment though. Are you planning to attend college?"