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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 7:55 pm
 Noah Arnolds wanted to settle down. He wanted to live somewhere safe, somewhere where nothing bad would ever happen. After years of living in the city, where he lost everyone who ever meant anything to him, who could blame him? But he didn’t expect to meet Cassandra Talbot, a girl who only wants to get out. After being stuck on the small town world all her life, caught in its gossip and its shame, she has every reason to go.
She just needs someone to take her there, and Noah Arnolds is the guy.
Though, he has every reason to stay away from her. After all, he was trying to avoid trouble, and in this small town, she's the very definition of it.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:06 pm
T h e T o w n ~Tiptonville, TN // mapPopulation: 4,464
Area: 1.4 sq mi
Tiptonville is the small urban center, surrounded by farms. Being only a mile big, the city hosts all the major spots for the surrounding areas. The local high school is there, the courthouse, jail, newspaper, the Church, but most importantly the bar. Which, is located ideally right on the edge of the town’s only highway so all the truckers and small farmers have first service. It’s also the first thing that anyone sees when they enter the place, which seems to paint a very good picture of what one can expect.
The town is filled with country folks who know the area like the back of their hand. It’s fairly simple how things work actually. Need medicine? Go to Fred’s. Need something greasy? You have two fast food places to stop at, Dairy Queen or Sonic. There’s also the local pizza joint that delivers to everyone in their one mile radius. If you live any further you have to “pick up your own damn pizza”, so says the half angry, half drunk pizza shop owner Mr. Brett. There are two grocery stores, Mavericks for all your food needs and Wal-Mart for everything else. Need anything more specific? You have the in-home specialty shops, or you need to drive to another town. The paper comes with the mail every Tuesday, driven in by the wonderful mail man Eric Dailey. For the sake of your mail, he’s gone to the emergency room ten times for major dog bites, and treated more than twenty himself. You can always call the sheriff if you need anything, but he’s fairly inept since there’s never any crime. Your best bet is to buy yourself a gun and keep the hospital’s number on speed dial. Luckily, nothing more than accidents happens in this town. With religion holding such a tight rein, what could you expect?
Well, you can expect lots of services. Everyone goes to church on Sunday. Sunday school starts at nine, and everyone except the Dales show up. The Youth Group, consisting of 40 small minded teenagers meets in a small hut. The Children meet in one of two classrooms right next to the nursery, depending by their age. Anyone under thirteen has to listen to Mrs. Brett, whom the parents take turn taking her out to lunch every Sunday and Wednesday. The adults meet in one classroom on the other side of the church, and the seniors meet in a classroom next to them. Service starts at ten thirty, lead by the Minister John Gregory. His father was before him; his father was before him, and so on. The Dales show up at eleven, and at twelve, there’s lunch prepared in the fellowship hall. Other than that, the youth meets on Wednesday, the seniors on Friday, and every Sunday night the kids meet to practice their current play. Church is a big part of the life in this town.
When you’re not pretending to be a functioning family or the prefect religious person, there’s always the bar. It’s served mostly by Cassandra and Coy, who switch shifts. Unlike everywhere else in the town that closes at 11, the bar is open 24/7. The majority of those who stop there are truck drivers, the pizza man, and a few others in the town who don’t try to uphold their religious persona. Kids from twenty-one to thirty hang out on one side of the building, and those older hang out on the other. In the middle is the counter where all the drinks are made, and only the depressed or the heavy drunks actually sit on those old bar stools. The place is run by Jed Foley who everyone knows is a pervert and a drunk. Still, he provides the few immoral actions of the town, which circle around porn, drugs, and guns. It’s a small business, but one that’s made him one of the wealthy in town.
Of course, that pretty much wraps up the entire town. There are woods and farms surrounding the place, and inside there’s hardly anything at all. Welcome to Tiptonville, Tennessee!
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:42 pm
E l a i n e ’ s C h a r a c t e r s ~ .::Noah Lee Arnolds::.  b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n I Have Been on this Earth for About
I am of the
c o l o r m e p r e t t y
How I Look
Noah always had a hard, rebellious look to him. His eyelashes are dark leaving a long shadow over his hallow, bagged eyes. His skin looks rough, as if he just left a bad stage of acne and all the scars are there but the blemishes faded away. Spread along his cream toned skin is hidden freckles and uneven splotches of skin, adding onto the effect. Moreover, he seems to never quite have a full beard, just a bit of stubble. It’s as if he never shaves, but at the same time, he can’t quite grow a beard. His bit of hard stubble and hair line almost touch, and for a small section, they’re almost the same shade of brown. However, his hair mixes with blonde and is a nice dirty blonde throughout. He keeps it a relatively short but it seems to be a bit messy. Once every few months he shaves it down to just a few inches high, and grows it out to where it can easily be played with it. However, it never grows long enough to form ‘bangs’, and as soon as it seems it could, he shaves. Overall, it gives his face a look of maintained recklessness. He even seem to ‘walk the walk’, head high, steps not caring, giving the whole ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe. If it weren’t for his sparkling blue eyes, he might scare everyone away.
Especially with the way he dresses. His jeans are always blue jean, darkened and worn by age. He wears a pair of dark boots with them, and his classic dark leather jacket. His shirts are always plain, ranging in all neutral colors. His closet doesn’t vary much, nor does he own much. Just enough to wear through the week, wash, and start over again.
He looks like a bad boy all right. It doesn’t help that his vehicle of choice is a 2000 Harley-Davidson FLSTF.
y o u o u g h t t o k n o w
How I am
Noah’s always been the reserved one. He doesn’t want to say too much, so instead he doesn’t say anything at all. It keeps him from opening up where someone else can destroy. It keeps people from getting too close, or sometimes going too far away. In a way, it’s his salvation, his safety, his comfort zone. Because of being reserved, he’s very brief and to the point. He can hardly stand long rambles, obnoxious television shows, or pointless stories. The only things he can stand are the classics, as in literature. He’s read through Shakespeare, adores To Kill a Mocking Bird, and appreciates Ann Frank. His mind set is if someone’s been published and their work has lasted through the years, they’re worth listening to. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see many others that are worth the time he puts into his books. Therefore, while the living try to grasp his attention, he’s too focused on the dead.
I guess with knowing all that, it isn’t too hard to see that he’s very pessimistic and has serious trust issues. When he meets someone that he’s actually interested in being friends with, he only gives them a few months ‘til he assumes they’re going to leave. The sad thing is they always seem to. All of his girlfriends have dumped him, sometimes in the most tragic ways. Every friend he’s made has walked off since he was such a ‘freak’, and the one who stayed, well he’s dead. Needless to say, Noah is used to being alone. In fact, he’s scared that someday he’ll be foolish enough to think someone will stay.
Sadly, on contrast to his solitude, he has heroics. Blame it on the classic literature. Romeo killed himself for Juliet, Orestes avenged his father’s death, and Hamlet went mad searching for Justice. Thus, poor Noah roots to do the same. For years, he worked tedious for his infinitely needy grandparents. As he grew older, he pulled his best friend out of a gang. When kittens were in trees, who saved them? Noah! From carrying someone’s groceries, to risking his life, Noah’s done it all. It doesn’t help that for most of his life he lived in Brooklyn, somewhere well known for needing a hero. Of course, he tries to stay out of it. Yet, when he sees something wrong, there’s just a deep urge within to help. He can’t sleep at night, can’t eat, nothing. In the end, he always goes and helps. Yet, the more people that leave, the more bitter he becomes about his need to help.
With all of these traits together, it’s obvious that Noah has a troubled soul. He goes through his days angry, bitter, and alone. No wonder he moved to the middle of nowhere.
How I came to be
It all started when he was young. Noah Arnolds was raised in a small secluded home surrounded by trees in Alberta, New York. The house was worn down, and his toys surrounded the front porch. Not that he remembers any of it, but from the bitter rambles of his grandparents, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. The roof leaked, the door creaked, and TV dinners slewed the kitchen. It was the home of a broken family. For the first three years of his life, Noah’s dad tried to stay. Though, between his cocaine and heroin withdraws, there wasn’t much he could do. One day, he was caught selling, trying to finally get clean so he could repair the roof. Unfortunately, it landed him in jail. The emotionally frantic mother packed all of Noah’s things and brought him to her parent’s house in New York, New York; Brooklyn to be exact.
“I can’t do it!” was the last words she said to the young boy, words that Noah still remembers. After that, he was raised by his grandparents. They schooled him until he was old enough to start, and then he reluctantly skipped a few grades since he was so ahead. The days were filled with school work, home work, and back breaking chores. Since his grandparents were too old to move much, he’d ride the subway to buy their groceries and ride it back. Hearing the horror stories of his dad’s drug life, he stayed far away from that and anything remotely dangerous. His grandparents even pushed him into a private school to keep him safe. Unfortunately, they were too old to leave and the city streets had their own way of sucking the boy in.
When Noah was thirteen, his grandfather died. High cholesterol plus the stress of living in the city gave the old man a heart attack. For the first time, Noah felt alone. His grandfather taught him how to read Shakespeare, how to shave, and how to fix a bike. Those were only the simple things. The boy needed a friend, and to fill that need came alone Nathan. He was a boy with a troubled past as well. Mom was broke, dad was gone, and he fixed their problems by working the streets. In a troubled area, drugs were good business, and it gave him enough money to buy his mom groceries and himself shoes.
Noah met Nathan while walking to the grocery store. It was a simple talk, short but lasting. Nathan came up to the kid and asked bluntly “want something that feels good”. Noah looked at him for a good long minute, then said slowly “my dad’s in jail for selling drugs.” Then, he walked away. Every day after that he passed by Nathan on his way to buy groceries. The air was tense and on both boys’ mind was the other. Finally, the troubled drug dealer couldn’t take it anymore and he followed the boy home.
“How come you don’t want an escape? When things are so bad, I need one. These are one. You need it to!” The desperate look in the young boy’s eyes tore at Noah’s heart. He yelled back with equal fierceness, hoping that maybe his words could save the boy. “I have an escape, I have books.” That was all they needed. After that, Nathan came over to Noah’s every day after school to learn to read. His new found escape was enough to stop him from using drugs, not enough to stop him from selling. It was how he took care of his mom. Unfortunately, soon there was no mom to sell drugs for.
It was on a walk to the store that Nathan’s mom was gunned down. She was on her way to buy Nathan a new game for his birthday, one that took her months to save up enough. Nathan was at Noah’s, and they were celebrating their birthday with cake and ice cream. In between bites of their second slice of chocolate cake, the phone rang with the bad news. Instantly the boy packed all of his stuff and moved into Noah’s house. They were only sixteen.
As time passed, all of Nathan’s gang friends were dropping like flies. He had nightmares, he would cry randomly, and he didn’t talk much. One night after waking up from a nightmare, he told his best friend that he simply couldn’t get out, he was too far in, they’d kill him. By their eighteenth birthday, Noah’s grandma had an escape.
“I’m dying Noah.” She told him with a weak voice. Over the past year, she had been battling cancer, and now she was at her end. Through a conversation of tears, she told the boy quite plainly that Nathan needed out, it was her dying wish. Two months later she was gone. The boys used her inheritance to buy an apartment in Cleveland, Ohio.
For years, it seemed to be the ideal place. They lived their lives happily, dating girls, playing classical music as loud as they could, and just living. It was a week after they graduated college when things took a turn for the worse. Nathan’s old gang was trying to tie up loose ends. Apparently, the mayor was cracking down on crime, and anyone who could tell them anything was getting some reward. Nathan knew everything, and even though he had no attention of spilling, no one was willing to risk that. When Noah got home that night, he found his place trashed and his best friend dead. He was only off shopping, buying stuff to make a big dinner to celebrate their graduation. Two hours saved him life, but lost the one that was most important to him.
Three years later, the case was finally solved, leaving Noah able to leave and start fresh. He chose Tiptonville, Tennessee as his new home.
.::ElaineeNicolee::. .::Coy Nathanial Dale::.  b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n I Have Been on this Earth for About
I am of the
c o l o r m e p r e t t y
How I Look
Coy is a sweet ol’ country boy, which one can tell easily from his looks. He’s tall and awkward, but with bright eyes and well muscled limbs that add on the charm. In fact, he’s an astonishing 6’ 3”. As a kid, he was made fun of for his height, but from serious work outs, he quickly became something to look at. His arms are well built, his calves and thighs look as if they were carved by the gods, and his chest could make someone faint. His face is just as pretty as the rest. He has a long, square face colored by ivory, sun kissed with light chestnut freckles. His lips stand in contrast to the fair skin with a light red. His nose is long and thin, and marked with freckles that go across and mark his cheek bones. His eyes are a light blue, and his eyelashes are light but long. Though, in contrast to the light color of everything else on his face, his hair is a dark thick brown. Mostly he pushes his bangs back leaving an almost permanent crease.
The boy adds onto his beauty by his charming clothes. He never wears anything but Levis and a pair of old cow boy boots. His shirts are always neutral tank tops, with sometime a plaid button up. On his more dressy occasions, he wears nice tee shirts or tank tops ordered offline, from Urban Outfitters. His has a few plain button ups and ties that he wears on Sundays, hoping to make up from his tardiness to church every week.
y o u o u g h t t o k n o w
How I am
Coy is a Dale. In a town as small as Tiptonville, that matters. It gives the persona as goofy and dumb. The young boy may be goofy, he’s not dumb. Coming from a long line of farmers, Coy knew he needed to get out of the trend. It pushed him to be the hardest striving student the Dale family has ever known. Throughout school, he never got a grade lower than an A. Whenever his parents tried to make him miss school to work on the farm, the boy protested and ‘borrowed’ his father’s truck to drive himself to school. It lead to many groundings, many missed dinners, and countless arguments. Nonetheless, Coy Dale graduated Lake County high school as number one in the class, and valedictorian. Yet, even after the top notch speech he gave on graduation day, he was still a Dale. No one saw the possible genius, and only a few hours later he was working on his father’s farm.
Possibly, the farm allowed him to be such a worker. As a young boy, he’d do all his homework then work on the farm until nightfall. Then, he’d be up at the crack of dawn, working the chores until it was time to go to school at 8:30. In high school, he balanced all his school work, school clubs, his job at Fred’s, and his work on the farm with little sweet. Then, as soon as he turned twenty-one, he picked up another job at the bar to add some extra cash for college. He’s always been the boy to work hard on everything.
Which, shows just how much a dreamer Coy is. Out of five generations of Dale, not one of them has done anything more than farming. However, young Coy Dale wants to be a lawyer. The funds, the resources, and the faith are all lacking, but that doesn’t faze the boy. Ever since eleventh grade he’s been entering every ounce of writing possible to win money, working every hour possible to earn money, and fundraising any chance he can to save money. The boys hosted comedy nights at the bar, sold cakes, worked on people’s yards, and sold himself as a date. You name it, Coy’s done it. Not that he wants to leave his beloved state of Tennessee. Just he wants to go to Harvard, become a lawyer, and open a practice that represents a few cities. His father hates it, but the boy knocks his father’s rude comments out by using his best humor.
Which, of course, he’s a goofy one too. He’s graduation speech had the whole town laughing, and he’s always having fun at the bar. Jed always describes the boy as good business since he’s good at keeping the men in good moods, and thus drinking more. Whenever he’s late to church, he always turns the older ladies away laughing instead of yelling at him for missing most of God’s holy time. It’s been his one method to stay out of the wrath of the small town, and it works on just about everyone except his father, who doesn’t like the boy, not once ounce.
How I came to be
Coy Dale was born on December 24 in the middle of a snow storm. Miraculously, his parents made it to the hospital long before the snow started to fall, and Jim Dale looked on his young son, so proud to have a boy to help him on the farm. Since the boy’s birth, they had two more children, a boy named Earl, and a girl named May. Neither have experienced the wrath of their father like Coy, whom his father constantly describes as a “no good dreamer”. Of course, why would they experience his wrath? Earl wants to be a farmer, taking over the Dale property, and May wants to open a diner right in the middle of town. His two dream children, whom are nothing like Coy.
It all started in kindergarten’s career day. A lawyer came in from another town (young Louis’s father who couldn’t live with her because her mother found a much more suitable husband, a plumber of course). He described how good it felt to know he was helping those who can’t help themselves, those who don’t know much about law, those who the court would otherwise take advantage of. He said he was the helper of the farmers, the diner owners, and the church goers. Ever since that speech, Coy knew he wanted to just like him. He didn’t want to work on his father’s farm, nor did he want to represent the wealthy. He wanted to be a lawyer for the poor. Since that day, that’s exactly what he’s striven to do.
It was quite simple, perfect attendance and straight As. No one had ever worked as hard as the young boy in school, and he knew it. Teachers loved him for it. Though, that was about it. For the longest time, he was only a Dale. Late to church, good for nothing farmer. He came to school already dirty from the high amount of chores and every time a teacher asked his dad to work him a little less, the poor boy would only have to work more. His mom gave him sympathy, but begged him to just fail just one test when she tucked him in bed at night. His siblings teased him, especially since they received all the best gifts from their dad. His dad, well, he could barely stand to look at him.
“You think I’m a good for nothing farmer, don’t you?” His father yelled at him freshman year as the young boy begged his parents to allow him to save up for a trip to Paris. They said no that year, then the next when the trip was to Australia they said no, no when it was to Germany, and no when it was to England. The teacher never understood that saying he deserved to go on those trips only gave him more chores.
Things weren’t so great at school either. All through elementary school through the end of Junior High he was always made fun of for his tall height and lanky knees. Somehow, his muscle from farm work refused to show up, so he looked like a skinny boy. He wasn’t an expert in fighting either, not that he’d try since he knew it would get him suspended from school. Thus, he was forced to suck it up and sit through the torture as a boy. He knew someday it would pay off.
It started paying off just before high school. That summer he was determined to look fit. Therefore, every morning he’d run around his farm twice, do pull ups, pushups, crunches, lunges, you name it. He ate more meat than ever before, and anything else that would give him an ounce of protein. He gained sixty pounds, but it was all in muscle. Ninth grade year he was 5’7”, and 165 pounds. Tenth grade he was 5’11”, and 175. Junior year he stopped growing, ending at 6’ 3”, and 187 pounds. No one made fun of him anymore. Not that they were scared of him; he laughed instead of punched people. But instead, the guys wanted to be him and the girls wanted to date him. The coaches all begged him to join their team, but he had a job, homework, and a farm to work. Coy had no time for sports, no time for girls, no time for anything that could take his mind from his goal. Instead, he used his determination to buy himself a red Chevy junior year, and win a few thousand in writing competitions for college.
Finally, he graduated as top of his class. For the next three years, he took extra shifts at work and worked longer on the farm to make his dad happy. He had his first relationship, which lasted about two years before she realized he just wasn’t interested in being romantic. To sooth his heartache, he picked up another job at the bar, which soon completely distracted the boy from any girl that he used to like. Now, after working the bar for a year, he’s almost pulled himself away from the annoying Dale legacy and almost has saved up enough for college. .::ElaineeNicolee::.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:59 pm
S h a u n a ’ s C h a r a c t e r s ~ .::Cassandra Raylene Talbot::.  b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n I Have Been on this Earth for About
I am of the
c o l o r m e p r e t t y
How I Look
Cassandra likes to change her hair color every so often, tending to stick to either a bright red, or a more subdued auburn color. Either way, there's red in it, even if it is just a hint. Her eyes are a hazel color and depending on the day, they look either more green, brown, or a mix of the two, that at first glance, could be mistaken for grey. When she does wear makeup, she tends to go with darker colors around her eyes to make them stand out and a light shade of blush to add some color to her cheeks.Her height isn't something that makes her stick out. She is neither too tall or too short, seeing as she falls at a comfortable height of five foot five.
As for clothing, she tends to stick to jeans and shorts on every single day besides Sundays. Those are the only days she will get all dolled up in dresses and skirts, seeing as she does attend church. Her shorts tend to be cutoffs of old worn out jeans, thus being dubbed daisy dukes. A various array of different types of shirts may be paired with her selection of bottoms. Usually she wears t-shirts or button-ups, or anything she deems appropriate. The brands are usually Ocean Pacific or l.e.i. from Walmart. She doesn't mind. They're actually cute, and aren't that expensive. After all, she is trying to save up money. Also, Cassandra has one pair of cowgirl boots that she's fond of, but they're wearing out, so she tends to reserve them for special occasions or when she just really just needs to wear them.
y o u o u g h t t o k n o w
How I am
It is well known that Cassandra doesn't like being trapped. Since that's basically what she is right now, she's kinda miserable on the inside. She is kind to everyone else, unless they just get under her skin. She has no problem speaking her mind when the situation calls for it. True, you aren't supposed to say anything if you can't say anything nice, but Cassandra firmly believes that there are exceptions to that rule. She takes her liberties with that belief.
However, in her heart, she's a southern belle, quite charming when she wants to be. She feels her personality is too big for her little home town to handle, and so do a lot of others. It doesn't bother her one bit. She's not afraid to call attention to herself or get in a fight if she believes she's in the right or if it's for something she believes in. She's gotta be red-headed for a reason. Also, she's determined. She's gonna get out of that small southern town if it's the last thing she does. So, she works as much as she can at the town's bar, saving up as much of her paycheck as possible. It's really the only reason why she puts up with her boss, Jed Foley. The knowledge of the paycheck and tips every week keeps her going, that and her friend, Coy.
Cassandra really doesn't have specific plans as to what she's gonna do after she gets out of Tiptonville, but it doesn't really matter to her. Out is out, that's the way she see's it, and one one could really get that mindset out of her brain. If nothing else, she can continue bar-tending due to the fact that people still turn to the drink, especially in economic hard times, so she's got that.
Sure, since she works at a bar, she can't avoid drinking. Customers buy her drinks, and she doesn't refuse. She doesn't really like it when they hit on her, but it comes with the job. However, that doesn't prevent her from smashing a beer bottle over a patron's head if he gets too forward. She also has a permit to carry a gun, but she cannot bring it into the bar, Jed's orders. Though, she only suspects that that's the case because he's paranoid that she might have reason to point it at him. (Which is the case at times.) Her language tends to turn towards the inappropriate side after she's had a shot or two. As long as it ain't in church, she doesn't really care.
How I came to be
Cassandra was born to the Talbots. Her father was newly appointed youth pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Tiptonville, Tennessee. A rather small church, indeed, however, all the farmer's children needed a cool, hip, and young youth pastor, and Charles Talbot was the man for the job. Now, you keep in mind that they already had a three year old son, Spencer, to take care of, and they knew it was going to be tough. However, they didn't know that out of their eventual three kids ( they had another daughter later on, Rose-Marie) that Cassandra was going to be the handful.
Sure, she was always a good kid, loved attending church, stayed out of trouble. It wasn't until she reached the teen years that they realized that she had an unbreakable spirit. Once her older brother was out of school and out of town at college (he was studying to become a doctor so he could come back home and open up his own practice) she really started acting out. She partied and drank a lot. No matter how disappointing that was to her parents, she knew she didn't want to follow in her older brother's footsteps. Her little sister had no intention of following her lead, so it wasn't like she was being a bad role model.
Cassandra still attended church on a regular basis, not daring to miss a single service, knowing what that would do to her parents. She took the 'I'm praying for you, dearie's in stride. Charles and Emilee Talbot were thankful that Cassandra was at least sticking to her 'waiting til marriage' promise she made ages ago, so they still had hope for her. By the end of her sophomore year, she had grown tired of the drinking. However, that only made her stop consuming alcoholic beverages. Things chilled out for a bit, her parents thought she had finally gotten the rebellious streak out of her. For that, they were grateful.
That summer, when she was sixteen, she got in her first serious relationship with Hunter Murphy, the son of the Associate Pastor at Mt.Zion, and boy, were her parents thrilled. They thought this was a definite sign that Cassandra was done with her rebellious ways. The two stayed together for the rest of their high school days. (which, for Cassandra, was two years. Hunter is a year older than her.) She graduated in the top twenty of her class. (Oh yes, despite her partying phase, she kept her grades up. No way was she gonna ruin her gpa.)
Now, about a month after she graduated, Hunter took her out to the nearby Reelfoot Lake and spent a day out on his father's boat. As the day came to a close, and he was bringing them back to shore, he pulled into a little cove on the lake, and as the sun was setting, he proposed to her. That brought Cassandra's world to a screeching halt. She looked at him for a moment, blinked her eyes a couple of times, and thought. Hunter, on the other hand, was beginning to panic on the inside, she could tell by his eyes. After eyeing him for a minute or so more (it must have seemed like forever to the poor boy), she spoke. "I don't think I can...." Was what came out of her mouth.
It hurt her to say it nearly as much as she hurt him. She did care about him and love him, after all, he was her first love. However, there was something stronger telling her no. She knew that if she agreed to marry Hunter, that she'd be stuck in little 'ole Tiptonville for the rest of her days, and that really wasn't something that appealed to her. That night, before he dropped her off at her house, she thanked him. She thanked Hunter for making her realize that she didn't want to stay in her little home town, for making her see that she wanted out more than anything.
As soon as she walked into the door that night, her mom rushed up to her and asked to see the ring. It confused her parents greatly as to why she'd turn down 'such a nice boy', repeating over and over on how perfect they would be together. They still try and convince her that she should be with Hunter. As if that wasn't enough, Hunter still isn't over her, and he wants her back.
After that fateful day, she got any job that she could to start saving up money. When she was old enough, she managed to snag a job at Jed Foley's bar on the outskirts of town. Her parents weren't too fond of that career choice, seeing as they feared she's turn back to her old habits or meet a drunk and run off with him. Cassandra, on the other hand, had bigger fish to fry. So, she bites her tongue at work and puts up with her boss' advances cause she knows she's earning good money. She'll do just about anything to get out of Tiptonville.
Her relationship with her parents is strained. They want her to be happy, they don't want her to leave town, and they'd like her to get a decent job. They don't realize that only two of those three are possible. She is leaving town, one way or another. Her brother, Spencer, understands why she wants to get out. He doesn't blame her, but he does have her best interests in mind. They keep in contact on a regular basis. Her little sister, however, has no idea as to why Cassandra would want to leave. Well, it's understandable as to why Rose-Marie's views are that way. She's a cheerleader at the high school, in her sophomore year, and has a football player for a boyfriend. Of course the youngest Talbot would think that her life is perfect in the small town. Needless to say, the two sisters don't see eye to eye, but they try to respect the other's opinions on the small town living.
.::shauna_marie::. For when I get around to making him... .::Jed Foley::.
b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n
I Have Been on this Earth for About
I am of the
c o l o r m e p r e t t y
How I Look
y o u o u g h t t o k n o w
How I am
How I came to be
.::shauna_marie::.
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:26 pm
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:50 pm
 
“Wait, you want to move where?”
Her disbelief filled the line just as deeply as her southern drawl. The whole conversation left the woman in shock. Marissa Dunn was the finest realtor Tennessee had to offer. However, the last thing she expected was to receive a call from Cleveland, Ohio. Even more so, she wouldn’t expect to hear the strong Brooklyn accent streaming through the phone. With every ‘a’ and ‘o’ his voice dropped, she seemed to let out a breath of surprise. In her whole life, she probably never met a New Yorker, never talked to someone from a city, none of that. Yet, most of all was she was now selling him an apartment in a city that lacked more than a million people the boy was used to.
“Now, are you sure you want to live here?”
“Of course.”
Two weeks later, Noah was driving through the small town roads. On his bike, he only had a few pairs of clothing packed in the saddle bags. Everything else, which wasn’t much, was sent ahead in only four or so packages. The apartment was already fully furnished, his life already set. He wasn’t much for sentiment, and thus it didn’t bother him to start over. He needed it.
It wasn’t hard to navigate through the streets once he reached the town. Many of the roads were paved now, though it was an ageing gray and had some pot holes here and there. All of the buildings seemed old themselves, all made of wood or some insufficient brick. Most of the businesses seemed to be circled around each other in one spot of town, and surrounding were homes. They all seemed to have a front porch, all made of wood, and all were falling apart in one place or another. The largeness of their front yards blew the city boy away, as did the gardens and tire swings. He passed a good bit of homes until he came to the one that was supposed to be his.
It was an apartment: or at least the country attempt at one. It was more like a house, though a tad wider than rest, split in half. There were two driveways and two mailboxes. The house even had the same front porch as all the other homes had, though this one sported two doors. Noah looked at his door, on the left, and admired the porch swing right on his part of the split property. Even more to his amusement, there was a nice oak tree between the odd houses. In all, there were three of these houses; all designed the same with two driveways, a front porch, and two doors. Noah’s was the one in the middle. It seemed as if the property was welcoming him to his new home. He welcomed it back by parking his bike into his driveway, grabbing his key from the mailbox (as the realtor promised) and walking in.
He took one quick tour of the small apartment. All the walls were white, though stained with time and something Noah guessed was tobacco. The floor was equally old, shown by the hardwood floor being scuffed. He told the realtor specifically that he didn’t want carpet, and as he passed a few rooms, there seemed to be stray pieces of torn string as if it was removed just for him. These areas were more polished, while other looked like someone with nice cowboy boots made sure to scratch the floor. Still, nothing was seriously damaged.
He entered in through a small foyer that opened up to the living room. Before the opening, there was a small kitchen on the left, connected to the living room by an open window that on the living room ride had a counter and bar stools. The kitchen was thin, with white tile floors and white walls. All the appliances looked slightly worn, and the fridge’s door even seemed to fall a bit off the hedges when it was opened. Over the sink, there was a window that over looked the front porch, and on the far wall there was a window that looked at the oak tree. The living room, unlike the kitchen, was a lot more spacious. Here he could tell the floor was originally carpeted, since the floor shined. There was one couch, leather and wide. In front of it stood a long wood coffee table and a fairly nice widescreen TV on the far wall, right beside the bar stools. Behind the couch was a large window. It looked out to a large back yard filled with trees. To his amusement, there was a trampoline that seemed to belong to his neighbor on the right. On the left, the area had a small swing set, which a small girl was swinging on.
After a few moments, she seemed to notice him and ran inside. Laughing, he continued on, going through another door on the right. On one end of the hall, there was a bedroom. It was decorated with white walls, and hardwood floor as the rest. There was a large bed, a dresser, and a small closet. Next to it was another room, which was decorated with a desk and some couches. At the end was a bathroom, which looked just as worn as the kitchen.
After a good walk through, he decided the place suited him fine. He walked out to grab his few belongings he brought with him, when a deep southern accent greeted him.
“Hey neighbor.”
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:21 pm
  “Coy! Wake up, wake up!”
Not that it’d be possible to sleep, with the constant banging on the man’s back door. He forced himself out of bed, nearly falling asleep on the floor on his was, then slugged towards the door. He had to lean on the frame to hold him up as he opened it.
Of course, Little Chloe came storming in. Her face was a startling red, all the way to her bangs. Even her braids seemed to show the expression of anger, with little stray hairs flying around. Once she made a show of plopping herself down on the couch, Coy shut the door behind her, making a much quieter noise than the slamming earlier.
“There’s a weirdguy in the house nextdoor and he was lookingatme through thewindow. Mommy doesn’t know; soshetoldmetoaskyou.”
She zoomed through the words so fast that some of them seemed to stick together, forcing the sleepy gentlemen to think a tad harder than he was capable. He slurred out a ‘huh’, and she repeated it again at a slightly slower page. He peered up at her, noticing that the words seemed to lighten her face, as if she had been red from needing to explode, and the words had let the fumes out. For the sake of calming her down the rest of the way, he focused on why a strange man would be in the house next door.
Of course, the new guy. Coy knew the details well because the realtor asked him to help her remove the carpet. Apparently, he was a man from some city, and she wanted to impress him by offering the best apartment she could. Unfortunately, there weren’t many apartments in the town and more unfortunately, the only good one had carpet. She spent all last week removing the carpet and cleaning the house to her very best ability. Coy helped as best he could and gathered all the extra cash she would spare. The money was already safely stored in the bank.
“A new guy moved in, he was probably looking around his new house.” Coy mumbled as he got up and walked to the kitchen to peer out in the driveway. In the place Cass usually parked her car, a shiny bike stood. A Harley too, nice. He was only looking out there a minute when Chloe was tugging on his shirt.
“Mr. Coy,” she only called him that when she wanted something, “will you help me make cupcakes for the neighbor?”
“Even though you think he’s weird?”
He said this while picking her up and placing her by the counter next to the sink. It was her claimed spot, where she sat every time her mom allowed her over for dinner or some baking adventure. She hardly reacted to the sudden movement, and began playing with her hair. “He can’t be that weird….” Thus, it was decided, they were going to make cupcakes for the new neighbor. The flavor would be chocolate, and they would make him plenty so that he could snack on them for weeks or overnight if he so happened to be fat. After a few giggle fits, Chloe was satisfied with her visit and rushed outside.
Which left Coy to get ready for work. He walked to his bed room and jumped in a pair of lee blue jeans, slipping his nice brown boots over the denim. He slipped on a white tank top and then a grey plaid button up. Once fully dressed, he started walking out the door while running his hands through his hair and grabbing keys from the table. In this small town, he didn’t worry about locking the door, so he walked towards his car without a worry. It was pure luck that the new guy came out as well. “Hey neighbor.”
The guy turned around, and seemed to shun at the human contact. Coy noted that the guy, though no older than thirty, looked aged and stressed. He seemed like a guy running from the world, and Coy brought the bit of the world he wanted to run from. Still, the guy looked at Coy and greeted himself.
“Hey, name’s Noah.”
“Coy”
“Nice to meet you.”
Noah grabbed some bags from the saddle bags in his bike, and then turned back around towards his apartment. Coy started to get in his truck, knowing that it was already six and if he didn’t leave, he’d probably be late. Six year olds seemed to take up quite a bit of time. He was already pulling out of the driveway when Noah came out, trying to get his attention. “Hey, um, where’s the post office…”
“Oh, right ‘round the center of town, near Fred’s pharmacy.”
Noah nodded, he probably saw it on his way in.
“You pickin’ something up, or sendin’ something out?”
To answer, Noah lifted up a yellow slip. “Just some packages…”
Coy nodded and offered the guy a ride. There was no way he could carry the packages on his bike, and regardless it was good to offer some help. The drive was only a minute; in fact, Noah probably could’ve walked himself. Still, it gave Coy some time to tell about the town. They were talking about jobs just when they pulled into the post office.
“So, how are jobs around here?” Noah asked while getting out. Coy hopped out too and headed in; apparently, there were multiple packages, and it was his job as a southern gentleman to help. They gathered the packages and brought ‘em to the car as Coy explained each job available that he knew of. ‘Well, the Brooks always need help on the farm, they’re kids moved away, and they’re gettin’ old. Yeah know, its typical farm work; helpin’ with the horses, Mr. Brooks likes to race ‘em; workin’ the fields, they grow corn n’ a ton of other vegetables; and sometimes fixin’ up the place… I think Bob Wheeler is lookin’ for some help in his plummin’ business. Still, wouldn’t work for him, he’s mighty rude and the pay sucks. There’s always some help needed for the mayor, though…”
Noah was a good listener and even laughed in a few spots. From time to time, he’d put some input in as well. From a little bit of talking, Coy learned that he was from Brooklyn and worked for a newspaper in Cleveland. “I wanted to live somewhere where the news was less colorful.” He said in a deep accent, while looking at the graying roads. In Coy’s opinion, he made the right choice when it came to the color scale.
“Ya know, we should drink to ya bein’ here, musta been a hard drive n’ all... I work at the bar, n’ I can guarantee drinks will be on the house.”
With a nod for an answer, Coy pulled into the small bar. The outside looked a little beat up, and inside it wasn’t much better. Still, the drinks were good and the bartenders were fun. Especially since Jed wasn’t working until late night. Coy opened the door, walking in first to save the newcomer from any bottles Cass might’ve decided to throw, since he was late. Calling out a greeting, he walked back towards the bar with caution.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:41 pm
  Cassandra's day had started off fairly uneventful, something she expected due to the simple fact that she lived in a small, rather boring town. She woke up around ten a.m., knowing she didn't have to be in to work until noon. Quietly she had made her way into the small kitchen to make her some breakfast, a bowl of Captain Crunch, which she finished quickly. Once the most important meal of the day was out of the way, Cass made her way to the bathroom after grabbing a clean change of comfy clothes to take a shower. It wasn't long before she emerged, all fresh and clean. Sure, she may not have been in a rush to get to work, but she still had things to do before leaving her apartment which she shared with her friend and fellow co-worker, Coy Dale.
First thing on the list was laundry. It was laundry day, and she wasn't going to wait til after work to get it started, for quite frankly, she'd be too tired and lazy to do so. So, she headed to her room and tugged the laundry basket that was laden with dirty clothes out into the hall, pausing in front of Coy's bedroom door. She knocked softly, not getting an answer cause he was still asleep, before opening the door. As usual, his dirty laundry was scattered about the floor. Even after Cass had bought him a laundry hamper, he still rarely took the time to actually use it. She picked up the hamper, finding a couple of articles of clothing in it before she began plucking the disheveled apparel up off the floor and tossing it into the container, making use of it. It took her a moment to realize the opportunity she had at the moment. Setting the hamper down, she picked up a spare pillow that had fallen to the floor during Coy's slumber and acted as if she was going to pelt it at him. After a moment, she laughed softly before setting the pillow back up on the bed gently, sticking her tongue out at the sleeping figure before she took the hamper and made her way out of the room.
Now, since their apartments didn't have much room inside them for individual laundry rooms, each 'house' had one laundry room to share. It was strategically placed at the back of each apartment, only accessible if one went outside and went to the next door. It was a small laundry room, but it did the job. You did have to be careful with the dryer vent, though. The extra lint tended to accumulate in the tube that led outside, and if it wasn't kept clear, it took forever to dry your clothes and posed as a fire hazard. Stepping inside the small room, she started up the washer, added the Gain detergent and began tossing the darks from both of their baskets into the washer. Once it was full, she added the liquid fabric softener and closed the lid. The combined lights and whites were enough for another load, which was normal for a week's worth of wear from the two of them.
With that started, she headed back inside to wash the small amount of dishes left in the sink from their last meal. Cass knew that if she didn't take care of them, the dishes would magically multiply, and it'd take forever to clean them all later. Not like it took her long to wash what was there anyways. She didn't really like the fact that she was cleaning, but it did have to be done, and if she didn't do it...well, let's just say that she wasn't very confident that Coy would take up cleaning the little stuff without being prodded. After all, he couldn't even put his dirty clothes inside a hamper. Speaking of which, before she knew it, it was time to switch over the dark's into the dryer and begin the last load.
Once the laundry was switched over, she headed back to her room to get ready for her shift at the bar. She sighed at the thought. Sure, she needed the job, but she could do without interaction with her boss. Jed Foley wasn't the most pleasant of people. Even more so, he was someone Cassandra wished could take a hint. She wasn't interested in him in the slightest. She was interested in the job. That job would help her get out of Tiptonville. After rummaging through her drawers, she pulled out a pair of almost 'daisy-dukes' and pulled them on. Next was the deep blue Ocean Pacific t-shirt she had bought from Walmart a few weeks ago. Instead of slipping her socked feet into her favorite pair of boots, she stuffed them into her pair of tennis shoes. After all, flip-flops were not an option when you worked at a bar. If any bottles broke (which in Jed's bar, they frequently did), your feet were bound to get scratched up if you were wearing flip-flops. Last, but not least, she applied her makeup after brushing through her hair.
She glanced at her alarm clock after faintly hearing the buzzer go off for the dryer. She didnt' want to let the second load sit in the washer all day, for they could sour, so, with the ten minutes she had left before she had to be at the bar, she rushed out and dumped the clean laundry into her empty laundry basket and took the clothes out of the washer, put them into the dryer, cleaned off the filter, and started the dryer back up. She toted the baskets back into the house and began quickly folding the warm, dry, clothing, sorting them into two piles. Hers, and then Coy's. Once that was accomplished, she made her way out the door, grabbing her small purse and not bothering with the lock. She made her way into her VW Bug that occupied, at the moment, the otherwise vacant driveway that belonged to her to-be neighbor.
Cassandra knew there was a 'to-be' neighbor due to the fact that Coy had earned a few extra bucks helping out the realtor by getting the next door apartment suitable to the tenant's wishes. It was a bit of a frustrating fact that She'd be losing her parking spot at any time, but she'd get over it. She had bigger and more important things to concern herself with. Jed was leaving his establishment nearly as soon as she pulled into the parking lot. He mentioned something about running errands and that he'd be gone until his next shift. Not like she cared that he'd be gone, really, that was a good thing. She quickly took her place behind the bar, tending to the few patrons that were there. There were an unwise few that decided to snag a drink or two during their lunch break, but hey, their stupid choice, not hers.
The time flew, and with it came more customers. Things really started picking up during the five o'clock mark. Those who could stopped by for a drink, or more, after they got off of work. It wasn't anything that Cassandra couldn't handle. However, things grew more strained as more people showed up. Before six, she had already thrown out three men for fighting and had warned a few others that they'd be next if they kept it up. They valued their drink too much to try and test her patience. When patrons left, she went behind them, taking care of their mess. She'd put the dishes into the old steam dishwasher and let it run when it got full. Cass tossed the empty beer bottles into a recyclable bin that she got Coy to drive to the nearest recycling plant every two weeks (due to the fact he had a truck and she didn't). It was all an efficient routine that revolved around the orders she'd get.
At 6:15, she expected to see Coy walk through the front door to start his shift, joining her behind the counter. However, when he didn't show up, Cass brushed it off for the moment. She didn't allow herself to actually get upset until he didn't show up before six-twenty. Things were really busy and it grew more challenging for Cass to keep things running smoothly. That's why Coy was supposed to be there. She didn't have time to call him and ask him where the hell he was cause she was too busy trying to keep the customers happy while she tried to look in a good mood. The only thing that kept her from snapping on a few of the rude patrons was the fact that some of the regulars, like Old Man Jensen (who was really only in his fifties, not that old), realized that she was working alone at the current time and they cut her some slack, for which she was grateful.
At six thirty, when the door opened and revealed a familiar figure, she allowed herself to scowl. "It's about damn time...." She called out to her friend. Cass contemplated a brief moment on whether or not she should demonstrate her frustrations for Coy to see. With out much thought, she turned and snatched up one of the bottles that had been destined to head to the recycling plant and chucked it at him. "Think fast!" She said quickly, with a small laugh, as she let the bottle fly from her hand. It wasn't the first time she'd used one of those beer bottles in a dangerous manner. Besides, she knew that if he was paying attention, Coy'd be able to eitehr dodge or catch said bottle.
"And this is tha thanks I get for doin' your laundry. Or did ya miss the pile of your folded clothes on the couch? Either way, that's the last time I clean your dirty underwear, Coy Nathanial Dale!..." It was then that she realized that the figure that had entered behind coy was a new one, and unknown one. "Who's the new guy?" She asked before turning her gaze fully to the stranger. he couldn't be more than ten years older than herself and it seemed as if he'd been through a lot for someone so young, he seemed a bit guarded as well. "Before you ask, no, I'm not his girlfriend. I'm his roommate and his friend, that's it..."
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:32 pm
Unfortunately, the bar was a bit more colorful than the man expected. Throughout the whole conversation, Coy failed to warn about his co-worker, which was probably a bad idea. Luckily, Noah got his warning in a form of some yelling. The southern gentleman moved over, successfully avoiding the bottle. However, that left it flying towards Noah’s head. He caught it, mostly out of a protective instinct he developed from years of baseball. Then, his eyes trailed up to the culprit.
If his first encounter with her had been a tad nicer, Noah would have assumed she couldn’t throw to save her life. Her limbs were skin and bone, and he suspected a rib or two showed under her shirt. Thus, there was no ounce of athletic ability showing. However, she seemed to be one with a temper, which he would assume from her dark makeup, and already proved from her yells. Her shorts (which were far too short to be modest) helped him understand that she was no Shirley Temple. The fact that she was sharing a house with a guy and working at a bar added to that. As he walked into the building, he made a note not to piss the girl off. However, he had a feeling that wouldn’t be very easy.
“I think this is yours.” He said while placing the bottle down on the counter and taking a seat in one of the stools.
“God Cass, why don’t ya throw a bottle at the neighbor! N’, I was showin’ him some hospitality, somethin’ you’ve obviously never heard of! First time I’m late in what, ever, and you flip! God damn, and you’d thank your daddy raised you a little better, silly preacher kid!”
He yelled all the words while walking in the bar, even grabbing a few drinks from some guys to give them refills. He wasn’t done yelling until he filled all the drinks and placed them back with their owners. Then, he looked over at Noah, talking with a much nicer tone of voice.
“Now, Noah, what would you like to drink?”
Noah mumbled his answer and was handed a nice cold beer.
“See, ya hand the fella a drink, not toss it at him.” He said while ruffling the girl’s hair, and then muttering something about her loving to fold his underwear. Noah stifled his laughter by taking a drink, and continued to watch the interaction. He wasn’t so sure how the guy could talk so much, and it was slightly amusing to see him tease Cass. However, he had a feeling that he moved in the wrong house, since he wanted the smooth southern living, not the loud rambunctious one.
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:56 pm
Then Coy began ranting and raving, which, honestly, he had no right to. He was the one who came in late, who caused her to stress out in his absence."You have the nerve to tell me that I'm not being hospitable...How was I supposed to know he was there, behind your towering figure..." She scoffed in response as she headed back to the kitchen to take the clean dishes out of the dishwasher and start the next load. It didn't take long before she came back out with more retorts.
"And, obviously, I was throwing the bottle at you. You were just taking the easy way out, not even attempting to catch it. Luckily our neighbor has quick reflexes, else I'd be takin him to the hospital right now for a broken nose....Leavin you here to deal with the rowdy customers...AND, don't even get me started about you being late. My daddy might've shrugged it off when you came into youth group late, back in the day, but I don't have the attitude of 'as long as you're here, that's all that matters'. If you're scheduled to be here at a certain time, you'd better be here if it's me that stuck all alone..."She scolded her friend once more.
Cass narrowed her eyes as Coy ruffled up her hair. Really, the kid knew better than to keep her going, to fuel the fire. "Once again, I tossed the bottle at your thick skull...and like hell do I like foldin your underwear...Like I wanna know what you wear to cover up your stuff...please...don't flatter yourself..." And with that, she was off, taking orders of those who were sitting at tables in the back of the bar. She just needed to walk away from Coy, before she started fussing at him again. Well, temporarily. It was going to happen. As soon as she got back to the bar, she began filling the orders before poking Coy in the side.
"And you wanna tell me off about manners and hospitality. You haven't even introduced me to our dearest neighbor who has, undoubtedly, taken over my parking spot." She looked back at him again, this time with a smile, putting on a hostess face of sorts. "My name's Cassandra...but feel free to shorten it...Nearly everyone else does." Clearly, she'd have to introduce herself to their next door neighbor.
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:46 pm
Unfortunately, for Coy’s sake, that probably meant more harm than anything. If Noah were sent to the hospital with a broken nose, she’d be apologizing left and right. It might benefit Noah in the long run! Now, there was no reason for Cass to pity the newcomer, and he was most defiantly going to be in her line of fire. Poor kid.
Though, maybe Coy was the poor kid, since he was in the line of fire. She was even going on about church! That was below the belt. Cass knew darn well that he was always late on Sundays because he had to work on his parent’s farm. Then, because he wanted to make up for being late, he strived to look his Sunday best. Those combined equaled to him entering the church long past the grace period. At least he showed up! Nevertheless, he kept the thoughts to himself as he asked some older men coming in what they would like. It was best to keep his comments to himself anyways, that way she could relax a bit.
When she finally started to simmer down, Coy walked over to the bar to put some effort into an apology. “Look, I’m sorry for being late, okay? Still, you can take care of yourself, god knows you can throw a bottle if things go wrong.” He mumbled this as he filled up the drinks. He was focusing on the drink when she poked him in the side, suddenly in a better mood.
“Introduce ya? Now, he here should be avoidin' you.” He said between laughs, and poked Cass right back in her side. Still, the new guy introduced himself too, his quiet voice filled with his Brooklyn accent.
“Name’s Noah.”
Coy took a second to observe him. The man said the words with a slight smile, then immediately took a drink as if it could stop himself from saying more. Not that he seemed to have trouble not talking, but more, that he wanted to stop people from making him talk. In fact, now that Coy thought about it, he didn’t talk at all during the drive here.
He took the drinks to their owners while pondering it. The guy had class, style, and all that jazz. Yet, his comments were always quick enough to keep his mouth shut and the other person talking. It seemed almost as he was practiced in it…. Then again, who’d be that much of a hermit? Coy shrugged it off as he took orders from a guy that seemed he was getting too much to drink already. This wasn’t a surprise though, being the man was the classic drunk. Two more drinks and Cass would be throwing the guy out.
After getting the order, he came to Cass and asked her to make it, since everyone knew that the old man only liked Cass to make his drinks. The guy already memorized her work schedule, and he wasn’t the only one. Quite a few guys came to see Cass, hoping that through their drunken slurs they’d manage to get her hooked. No one could hook the girl, not any southern man anyways.
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:19 am
Ah, so their neighbor decided he could tell him her name, instead of waiting for Coy to do so. The bad thing about it was, being someone who was raised at church a lot, the first thing she thought when she heard his name was an old dude with an ark full of every animal known to man. "Noah, eh? A bit biblical, isn't it? Well, nice to meet ya, neighbor. 'Scuse me, I have business to attend to..." And with that, she turned with her tray of drinks and made her way back to the men who ordered them. A few beers and shots were well balanced, and the task of getting them there without being spilled was an easy one for the red-head.
As she passed out the drinks, she ran Noah's accent through her mind a couple of times. It was definitely something that would call attention to him. It was no doubt he came from up north. But why, of all places, would he hang his hat in little 'ole Tiptonville? It was beyond her. Then again, all she wanted was to get out of her hometown. As she made her way back to the bar, her musings were interrupted by Coy telling her that Old Man Jensen was askin for another round, and of course, she'd have to make it. Since, after all, she was the only one he preferred to make his drinks. Odd, yes, especially since Coy was fully capable. However, she shrugged it off, making him his next glass of whiskey (secretly diluting it with a bit of water.) The old man never noticed when she did so. It also helped him from becoming more drunk than need be.
Once that was taken care of, she, once again, made her way back up to the bar, looking at the door as it swung open. Her jaw jutted a bit as she saw who it was that came through the threshold. It was a figure she'd known well. One that she danced with at her Senior and Junior prom, one that she'd spent a few years with, one that belonged to her ex-boyfriend, Hunter. He only ever showed up at the bar for one thing, and there was never a pattern to his visits. The routine was the same. He'd order a coke float, drink about half of it before asking to speak with her.
Cass watched he made his way across the floor and took the bar stool next to Noah. Hunter's black hair was styled neatly, and was a bit flashy compared to the dirty blonde that belonged to Noah. Hunter's face was clean shaven and smooth, contrasting to Noah's stubble. Plus, their neighbor looked like he'd actually been through a lot compared to the youthfulness of Hunter's appearance. It was really odd seeing the two next to each other. "Coke float, I got it..." Cass said sharply as Hunter opened his mouth to speak.
"You got my order down.." Hunter said with a smirk, casting a glance over at the figure beside him. After a second, he realized he had no clue who the man was. Cass caught that look on Hunter's face. The one where he was about to start pelting the guy with a million questions. "Hunter...that's mine and Coy's new neighbor, Noah...He's not much of a talker right now...so, if I were you, I'd hold back from the Q and A session...Alright?" She warned, scooping the vanilla ice cream into the glass. With that, Hunter smiled.
"Well then, I'll keep the talking to a minimum..." He stated, turning to the man with a smile. Cass didn't believe that statement one bit, but whatever. She turned to grab a two liter of coke and poured the liquid over the icecream, causing it to froth up. Once the glass was full, she sat it in front of Hunter with a thunk. She didn't wait to hear another word from him before she headed back into the kitchen to deal with the dishes again. She kept an ear out for Hunter's voice, though, interested in listening to what he'd have to say to Noah.
"Thank's Cassie..." Hunter said before sipping from the straw in his cup. "Now, Noah, since you're new to town, I'd like to welcome you and invite you to come to Mt. Zion Baptist Church for Sunday services. My father is the associate pastor there." That last sentence was stated rather proudly, as if that made him special. Cassandra rolled her eyes safely from Hunter's view. Please. She vaguely listened as he rambled on, not expecting a response from Noah. However, she knew what was coming. Before too long, that drink was half gone, and he called out to her. "Hey, Cassie...Can I talk to you for a minute...In private?" He asked curiously.
"Don't call me that...." Cass snapped back at Hunter. Really, it wasn't her fault. She told him each and every time he'd come to visit at the bar. The name 'Cassie' was what he'd called her while they were going out, and she no longer liked the sound of it. It was too girlish, too goody two-shoes. She turned to her friend and co-worker. "Coy, you think you can handle things for a little bit? This won't be long..." She asked without waiting for a response. The same thing happened every time, and Coy was used to the routine. Cass just wanted to get it done and over with. "Come on..." She said, not looking at Hunter, just leading the way outside and around the corner to where her VW Bug was parked. She sat on the hood as Hunter came around the corner. "Whatcha want?....Like I really need to ask...We've had this talk enough times..."
"Cassie, don't be like that..." Hunter said, a bit hurt. No matter how many times she asked him not to call her that, he still did. Some part of him hoped that by using that name, he'd get her to remember the good times they had while they were dating. He wanted her back. He leaned against a beam supporting the awning that surrounded the bar. "You know I'm gonna keep coming back until you realize that you still want to be with me....I don't like the fact you're working here. Everyone knows how Jed can be. I can't stand that you're working for him...It worries me..."
"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself...Plus, the day I broke up with you was the day you should have stopped worrying about me and started forgetting about me...I don't want you back. You know I don't want to be stuck in this town for forever....Marrying you would be like my prison sentence...It wouldn't last, and I know you don't like divorce...I was saving both of us the trouble..." Cass rambled, not caring if she hurt his feelings. Maybe, if she injured him enough with her words, she'd finally get him to see. She didn't want him anymore, she'd all but murdered her feelings for him that day he proposed.
"Cassie, you know I can't let you go that easily...I still have the ring...It's yours for when you come to your senses...." He said, a bit of a pleading tone in his voice. "Yeah, that'll be when hell freezes over...you know just as well as I how likely that is..."
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:31 am
Now, church wasn’t really Noah’s thing. In fact, he and God weren’t really on good terms. Noah wasn’t even sure if he believed in God. After everything that happened to the guy, that wasn’t much of a surprise. Needless to say, Noah wasn’t planning on attending Mt. Zion Baptist Church anytime soon.
“Who does he think he is?” Coy started nagging as Cassandra and Hunter walked out. He was filling up some drinks, rather vulgarly, as he mumbled it. Obviously, Hunter didn’t get along so well with everyone. In fact, Cassandra looked rather annoyed by him. Noah shrugged it off, knowing it really wasn’t his business, and then let out a light comment to make the air a little less tense. “The associate pastor’s son?”
Coy let out a small laugh and turned to Noah. The tone in his voice was lighter, the same as the advice he gave during the drive. However, this advice was actually worth listing to. “You should go Sunday. As long as you go, they’ll stay out of ya business. Miss a Service, and the whole town’s talkin’.”
Noah nodded at the advice, figuring it would be a bit better to sit through a sermon than have someone in his business. After all, if God weren’t real, than Noah wouldn’t have to worry. If he was, well, maybe he could finally get some answers from the big shot. God owed it to him by now. While still pondering if he should go or not, he started to get out of his seat. He looked up at Coy and thanked him for the beer, and turned around to leave.
“No problem, oh and, don’t worry ‘bout the boxes, I’ll have Cass bring ‘em over after her shift ends.”
“All right.” Noah called out as he walked out of the bar. Once he was out, he was greeted by voices. “I still have the ring...It's yours for when you come to your senses…” Obviously, he was walking in towards the end of the conversation. He felt slightly repulsed by Hunter’s cocky voice. He had to force back a laugh when Cassandra turned him down. From the sounds of things, this wasn’t the first time they had this talk. More than likely, it wouldn’t be the last.
Noah walked home with that thought in mind. He was trying to get a grasp on his new neighbors and his new life. One thing for sure, they all talked excessively. In New York, it wasn’t so much that they talked, but instead they were just blunt. From what Noah could tell Tiptonville had both habits. Still, they sure had southern hospitality, which was something completely alien to the Yankee. Where he was from, you were left on your own to fight. The nicest any one was to him was the police who worked out Nathan’s murder case. Still, that wasn’t hospitality: that was pity. Pity was something Noah was used to. He knew how to react to that. He wasn’t sure how to handle this. The whole town seemed like something that would be hard to handle. Cassandra had a temper, Coy seemed a little too caring, and Hunter was far too cocky. Those were the only one’s Noah had met so far, and he was a bit concerned of seeing the rest. Was it such a smart idea to move here?
When he reached him home, he still hadn’t figured out an answer. Thus, he walked in and slammed down on his new couch. It still didn’t feel like home, but then again, nothing ever did.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:45 pm
Cass bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything in response. She, too, heard the soft crunch of gravel that signaled another's departure. However, she didn't bother to try and see who it was, she was still looking at the five in her hand. There was no need for him to give her that much for the simple drink, but hey, she'd keep the tip. It was two-fifty closer to her goal. With that thought, she stood up, stretched a little, and headed back inside. The first thing she noticed was that Noah was gone.
Ah, so that must have been him that she heard leaving. Oh well, she was bound to see him later. "Thanks Coy..." She said, addressing her friend as she walked behind the counter and made change for Hunter's Coke float. She stuffed the 'tip' into her pocket before heading out to take more orders and refill drinks. As she worked, she mused, as she always did after Hunter's visits. Had she known that he'd react that way to their breakup, she probably wouldn't have started dating him in the first place.
It's not like he was bad. No, having the parents he did have ensured he was well raised and well behaved. And, due to that, he tended to get just about everything that he wanted, as long as he was good. Apparently, since he was good to Cassandra, he figured he should still have her and that she should still want him. Well, he'd just have to deal with not getting his way for once.
As time passed, it grew closer to the end of her shift. "Hey, Coy....Next time Hunter show's up...remind me that I decided that I'm not going to go talk with him in private..." Seeing as she had just recently came to the conclusion that the talks were pointless and it'd take much more than words to get that notion through that thick skull of Hunter's. Maybe a good hit with a beer bottle might get her point across. At that thought, she laughed a little. Not like she'd actually do that, no, not unless he deserved it.
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ElaineeNicolee Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:44 pm
Finally, at the end of her work she brought up the topic.
"Hey, Coy....Next time Hunter show's up...remind me that I decided that I'm not going to go talk with him in private..."
He looked at her in awe. Throw him out in the battle line? Hunter was stubborn enough to fight for what he wanted, and he wanted Cass. No man was going to stand in the brat’s way, and Coy wasn’t even going to try.
“Sorry darlin’, but you’re the one whose gotta tell him.”
As he said this, he walked to the counter with a couple of empty glasses. Things were starting to clear out a little now that people we’re heading home for their evening meal. A few drunkards remained, and Coy knew it was going to be that way until ten when some of the younger drinkers started coming in.
“Maybe its time to start being a little meaner to the guy. Ya know, tell him no a little harder, and show him you’ve moved on. Maybe a new guy might help push the guy off… Regardless, I’m tired of seein’ his face comin’ ‘round here, and you’re the one he’s gonna listen to…”
He stopped and gave her a serious look, then went to put the glasses in the kitchen. When he came back in, he gave her a few requests.
“Oh, and can you drive the truck home? Noah has some packages in there that I told him you’d bring to him. He only drives a bike. Can you believe that? Also, on your way home can you go and pick up some chocolate cake batter and some eggs?”
Then, he walked over to her and handed her his keys and shooed her out.
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