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 Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:53 pm
The whisper, while tiny, was different enough from the movie's dialogue and sound effects that it managed to get Tara's attention. With a slow turn of her head, she looked at Yvette. There was no recognition on her face; her mind was still stuck in the glut of memories she was unable to sift through. For a moment, she was out in space, holding the line.
Then she blinked, as if waking from a dream, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," she whispered back. "I must have dozed off." Anyone who knew Tara knew that her falling asleep during Star Wars would only happen if she was drugged or hit over the head, but it was easier to say that and hope Yvette would go along with it than to stumble over some weird excuse. The truth was, in this case, out of the question.
Her attention returned to the screen, and she squealed as she saw the heroes wandering around the maze of the Death Star. "Ooooh, watch! Look look! It's about to get really awesome."
As long as she didn't think too hard, she could enjoy the movie as usual. Tara took another sip of cocoa, now cool, and nodded to herself. The rest could wait. Now was Star Wars time.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 1:07 pm
Yvette was still new enough to the wonderment that was Tara that she 110% believed her when she said she had dozed off. The girl's thoughts quickly went from concern to blaming herself for the brief situation. Tara had been doing this for Yvette's benefit, whether or not she wanted to watch the movie herself. She would have felt bad and probably sunk down to feeling worse, if Tara had not successfully deployed the distraction tactic.
Obediently, her deep purple eyes flickered back towards the screen. It took about 30 seconds, but after the time had passed, you could tell the shy girl was hooked again. She had once again begun popping candies into her mouth, signaling that for the moment, all was right in the world. Tara had been right, Yvette had missed a lot by not seeing Star Wars.
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 1:05 am
It didn't take long for Tara to forget her worries and get sucked back into the movie. Sometimes- mostly in school- it sucked to be so easily derailed. But most of the time she was derailed by fun things, so she didn't mind too much. If anything, she considered it a gift.
When the lightsaber battle started, Tara could barely contain her excitement. Her arms were held in front of her, as if holding an imaginary lightsaber of her own, and moved in time with Obi-Wan Kenobi's sword strokes. Of course she had this part of the movie memorized as well. She accidentally elbowed Yvette a couple of times, but barely even noticed. Part of watching the movies was practicing the choreography.
As that scene ended and the movie progressed towards the final climax, she relaxed back into the couch and nibbled on a couple stray pieces of popcorn, feeling exhausted already. "It's almost over," she whispered, in case Yvette was wondering. "Just the final battle here. Except it's not really fi- well, you'll see," she said hastily, catching herself just in time. What was she doing, spoiling the end?
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:59 am
Tara might have gone unnoticed by her guest with her swordplay if it weren't for one thing. Yvette had good peripheral sight. It wasn't really a gift in any sense, since it usually served as a distraction more than anything. It was especially annoying when she was trying to sew. She'd be at her sewing machine when either her mother or father entered her bedroom, got in her peripheral view, and somehow make a mistake with whatever she was working on due to the distraction.
Her eyes should have remained on the TV screen, but Tara's motions were hitting the very edges of her vision, blurring in and out of her sight. It would have been dismissible if it weren't for the elbowing she got poked into her side. The natural Yvette reaction was the tiny squeak of surprise she let out. Her eyes were jolted from the screen to watch Tara for a bit.
"Oh... um..." She really didn't know what to say. In all honesty, she couldn't help but wonder if this was normal behavior for a Star Wars fan or not? It was an interesting movie, but she did not think she had the moxie to do something so strange. Her schoolmate eventually ceased her play and whispered to her. For a moment, she couldn't understand the words that were coming out of her mouth. She only heard something about a final battle.
"Oh! Okay!" Her eyes wandered back to the screen, almost as if Tara had commanded it of her and she was obediently obeying. The dark-haired girl was hopeless.
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:40 pm
If Tara knew how she was tearing Yvette from the movie, she would have apologized and tried to keep a lid on it. Most of the time she didn't care if she was distracting- in fact, she enjoyed it- but this was Star Wars. This was sacred. She couldn't help be excited, but she could try harder.
But as usually was the case, she was so into it that she didn't even notice. As the rebels set off towards the Death Star, she snuggled deep into the quilt. The last battle didn't have lightsabers, so it wasn't as interesting to her, but it was exciting in its own way.
A loud click suddenly issued from the front door, which creaked slightly as it opened. A strong male voice called from the entry hallway, its tone light. "Anyone home?"
"Not now!" Tara called back, gripping the edge of the popcorn bowl tightly. "Star Wars. Over in ten."
There was a sigh, then a laugh as the owner of the voice seemed to be moving things in the hallway. "Very well, young padawan."
"Ignore him," Tara whispered to Yvette. "Keep watching, or you'll miss the good stuff."
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:36 am
Yvette was the type to squeak when surprised. The sudden sounds of another in the apartment most definitely caught the girl by surprise, and so she let out a squeak resembling the squeak of a hamster. To make matters worse, her hand had been in the candy bowl again, and with the sudden squeaking, she jolted back, spilling many of the colorful treats on the floor.
Of course, the direct order to ignore "him" (whoever him was, probably her father?) came a bit too late, and now the girl looked almost like a puppy who needed to take care of business. That business being cleaning in this case. Her voice managed to tremble out an uncertain "...B-b-but... th-the candies..." A small guilty frown weighed down Yvette's face as her eyes darted from Tara to the floor to the TV and back to the floor again.
Why was she always messing everything up? This was supposed to be a simple movie viewing experience. How come she had turned it from a simple movie viewing into a mess? Her nose sniffled slightly, as if threatening to push her into water works.
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:08 am
"Is everything okay?"
"Fine, fine," Tara called back hastily, sliding off the couch and onto the floor. "I'll get it. You keep watching." Her other statements had been meant as suggestions, but this was an order. If Yvette's attention wavered now, they'd have to watch the whole movie again. And while Tara wouldn't mind that, it would mean that the First Viewing, a special event that could only happen once, had failed. She had watched before, she could miss a few minutes.
Still, as she scooped M&Ms up and plunked them in the first bowl she could find- the popcorn bowl, as it happened. More than a few went into her mouth, but that, Tara reasoned, was just part of effectively cleaning.
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:32 am
"k-kay!" She lifted her head up so she could see the TV screen again and resumed her attentive viewing of the movie. She fought off the desire to dip her fingers back into the candy bowl, hoping to avoid messing everything up again. She could wait ten minutes to nibble on more sweets.
At least she'd be able to see the end of the movie now. Her tiny frown righted itself into a tiny smile again as she watched the ending. If anything, the long haired girl was a very calm movie goer.
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:57 am
As the screen faded to black, Tara let out a sigh of contentment. "It never gets old. I mean, it's dated and the effects are borderline silly, but it still looks good! And the premise, the story... you can watch it a hundred times and get caught up in it on the hundred and first."
It was clear that Tara liked the movie. She realized that she was talking again and shook her head at herself. "This is about you, though. So tell me, what did you think?"
"Is the coast clear?" Without waiting for an answer, the owner of the voice poked his head into the living room, followed by the rest of him. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties, and was quite tall, with black hair and blue eyes. He slung his suit jacket over the arm of the couch and leaned over. "Episode Four?" he asked, eying the rolling credits.
Tara nodded, picking herself and the popcorn bowl up off the floor. "This is Yvette. I'm starting her education, remember?"
"I remember." He rubbed Tara's hair, chuckling as she hurried to neaten it again, and held his hand out to Yvette. "Kent Kavanaugh. Tara tells me you were part of the... experience?"
Rolling her eyes, Tara nudged Yvette gently. "That's his way of asking if you were kidnapped by organ traders, in case the subtlety was too much."
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:43 am
A small gerbil-like sound escaped the girl, signaling she found something amusing. "Tara, you really like this movie, don't you?" Another soft sound of giggling which mimicked the sound of a rodent escaped her before she was about to offer her opinion.
Unfortunately, her opinion was hushed for a moment as another as a tall young man interjected. Poor 5'2" Yvette couldn't help but feel really short once again. Then again, she never really stopped feeling short, thanks to the constant presence of her Daddy at home. Having full manners, her deep purple eyes glanced up to his blue ones. Her lips managed to quiver into a shy smile as her cheeks grew rosy. When she finally got a moment to speak, she spoke in her usual quiet tone. Curse her naturally soft voice yet again! "It is nice to meet you, Kent!" At the mention of Barren Pines, her voice once again hushed. Her smile fell, as did her eyes.
So much for a good greeting. Her head did bob up and down slightly to give an answer to the question, but her voice no longer wanted to cooperate in this particular conversation. It wasn't like there was much to say. She had been a stupid kid who had been conned into an organ trafficking ring.
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 3:14 am
"Heck yeah- I mean no. I mean yes, but that's not what I asked you. It's obvious what I think. What did you think?" Tara was curious as to whether the magic had sunk in yet. Was Yvette already pulled into the wonders of the Star Wars universe, or would it take another screening to seal the deal?
Her smile faded as she watched Yvette droop. She and Kent exchanged guilty looks as they wondered whose fault it was, Kent's for bringing up the subject, or Tara's for stating it so bluntly. It was a delicate subject, and they had been careless.
Tara leaned in and squeezed Yvette's arm gently. "It's over now," she said softly. "We made it, right? We're okay. So you don't have to worry about it anymore." Then, taking one of the couch pillows in both hands, she brought it down on Kent's head with a fluffy thwap. "Some host you are," she scolded.
"If you'd told me we were having guests, I'd be better prepared," Kent returned. His smile was a bit forced, but he seemed relaxed as he took the popcorn bowl from Tara and put it in the kitchen, eyebrows raised at whatever he found inside. He looked at Tara. No words were exchanged, but Tara rolled her eyes and, squeezing Yvette's arm once more, went to deal with the mess she'd left.
Which left Kent to sit on the arm of the couch, on top of his jacket. "Did you want to stay for dinner, Yvette? We're having pasta alfredo, and you're welcome if you like."
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:01 pm
One way to guarantee that Yvette's face would turn redder than a tomato was to initiate some sort of physical contact without her initial consent. Even with her consent, she still tended to turn quite pink as all the blood rushed to her cheeks. So as Tara dared to touch her arm, the girl's face instantly turned the color of a cherry tomato. Her eyes slowly, but surely began to trail back to Tara's. The girl was getting a vague sense of comfort from her words, but even her deep purple eyes couldn't hide her sadness. She never wanted to see Mommy and Daddy that sad again. Ever again!
She offered a tiny nod to Tara before the other girl beat Kent over the head with a pillow. As if it had been her who got beaten with the pillow, she winced slightly. It probably didn't hurt, but for one like Yvette, it was a natural reaction. Before Tara fled to the kitchen, the girl's voice finally recovered, and the first thing it said was "I liked it." "It" being the movie. No, she wasn't a super huge fangirl shouting in the stands. And she wasn't the type to gush. In all honesty, she probably would have liked any movie, since it was such a rarity to watch one.
When Tara dismissed herself to the kitchen, the shy girl's cheeks had cooled to a rosy pink color. At the mention of dinner, Yvette's face seemed to burn once again, as if she had been caught off guard by the invitation. Though her voice was tiny, it sounded extremely flustered as she attempted to piece together an answer.
"I... I um... " There was a pause so she could shake her head from side to side. "I pr-promised Mommy I-I'd be home for d-dinner. O-otherwise, she'd b-be eating all b-by herself. D-daddy leaves for work in the early afternoon." Her eyes peered up to Kent's blue ones, almost like a puppy dog that knew it had done something wrong.
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:53 pm
"Of course she liked it!" Tara called from the kitchen, triumphant. She was rushing through the cleaning, straining her ears to make sure she didn't miss anything. Not that she didn't trust Kent to act like a gentleman- which was part of the problem sometimes- but she was curious. Tara rarely hid her feelings and interests, but sometimes it took a while for her to realize that other people weren't like that.
Kent rolled his eyes. "Does this mean we'll be seeing you again? Knowing Tara, she won't let you go until you've watched everything to do with Star Wars. And maybe some Star Trek and E.T. and a few episodes of the Jetsons for good measure. Tara never does anything by halves."
"You can never have too much of a good thing!"
"Tell that to any hurricane survivor," Kent retorted. He smiled gently at Yvette, a bit worried that he'd somehow upset her. "It's okay. I wouldn't want you to leave your mother by herself. We'll take a rain check, then?"
Tara emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands on a damp blue dishtowel. "Next time we'll do pizza, okay? Whatever kind you like." As long as it had tomato sauce and cheese on a crust, Tara would happily eat it, but letting someone else make the decision was a statement of its own. Even though it seemed small, it meant that Yvette was pretty cool in her book.
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:23 pm
She watched and listened at the banter. Her eyes seemed to grow a bit wider at the mention of other things she'd be forced to watch in the future. A couple of the titles were misses with her. Her eyes blinked blankly at the unfamiliar titles. At least her puppy eyes had managed to vanish.
Quietly, without a word, she nodded her head at Kent's comment. This time would be warning enough for her to be prepared to stay out longer next time. If Mommy knew ahead of time, then she wouldn't be worried. The mention of pizza managed to get Yvette's attention. It was not something she got to eat very often. When her family got pizza, it would always be a cheese pizza, and Daddy would always have a beer with it. Daddy said pizza always had to have beer with it.
Shyly, she let her school mate know her only preference dealing with any possible pizza. "Anything is fine, as long as there's no onions." She paused before adding "Garlic is okay though." Her cheeks flushed slightly and her eyes found their way to her lap. She knew how silly she was for hating onions as much as she did. They tasted icky.
"If... if that's okay..."
Really, Yvette had confidence. It was there somewhere.
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:36 pm
"Garlic it is," Tara said. And that was that.
Kent grinned and nodded at Yvette. "I should start that pasta. It was nice to meet you, Yvette. You're welcome anytime- if you don't get tired of her nonsense, anyway." While Kent joked, it was evident that he was quite fond of Tara and pleased that she was making new friends.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Tara asked, her tone genuinely curious. "After all, so much of my influence is from a certain older brother-"
"If your guest is leaving, you should walk her out," Kent said firmly, retreating to the kitchen.
Tara sighed, but she wasn't really upset. "Do you need anything before you go? Water? Bathroom? Want me to walk you to the bus?"
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