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 Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 11:10 am
Andrea grinned and nodded, then nodded again as she amended her statement. "I hear roses are a lot of work," he commented. "Makes them more rewarding, though, I guess."
He shrugged a little when she asked him about the sort of dancing he did, and told her, "Ballet." But enough about him. "How many rose plants does your dad have? How long as he been growing them?" His mom had told him a few times that she wanted to try growing roses, but would have to wait until she retired. Asking if Tallulah's dad was retired seemed a little awkward, having just met her. But then he also supposed that most people's parents spent more time at home than his mother did, what with her various business trips.
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 6:44 am
"Um... just a few," replied Tallulah. She could never remember if it was four or five, just that they lined the side of the house and were a b***h to climb over to get into the first floor windows. Which she supposed was the point because you didn't want burglars climbing into your daughter's bedroom, but it sure made it hard for said daughter to climb back in!
"Along the side of the house. We live in that historic townhouse area by the park - if you've ever been down around Park Street, you'll know the yards are tiny."
A couple rose bushes, a patch of grass, and maybe a tall straight tree was about all there was room for. "He's had them forever. Mom likes them."
She'd have to ask Angus if Nellie had any sway in his decision to plant roses. That would be adorable.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 8:31 pm
Andrea stopped working for a moment as she described the location, looking upward as he tried to remember. "Aah yeeeeah," he said slowly. "I think I've been by the place a few times, but no too often. I have seen it, though." Then, shaking his head slowly as he started on the next flower, he added, "I don't remember if I saw any roses, though, sorry."
He was quiet for a few moments, then asked, "Did you do this campus cleanup last year? I don't think I remember hearing about it last year, but this is pretty fun. I'll have to come back next year."
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 5:49 am
"I was in a coma last year," said Tallulah, matter-of-factly. She'd gotten past it with her GPA intact, but it wasn't something she liked to talk about because it made her remember the months spent in a burnt-out dreamscape and the slow rehabilitation afterwards. "But I think it's a regular thing. National Honor Society hours and such."
Half the people here were in a mad scramble to get their hours in before graduation, Tallulah bet.
"Make me a promise, Andrea," she said, looking him in the eye. "When you're a senior and you have to get your service hours done for National Honor Society, do not wait until the very last second."
In the eyes of Tallulah Cowden, every time you procrastinated, god killed a kitten. And that was Bad.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 11:53 am
"Oh," Andrea replied soberly at the mention of being in a coma. He had avoided that part of that ordeal, but half of his family had not. Maybe he had been trying not to think about all of that, and that was why campus cleanup had slipped from his memory.
But his smile returned a moment later as he nodded. "I promise," he told her. "I was going to see if I could count some of my work at the dance studio for hours, or at least for some of them. And then there's always this, and it seems like a lot of the other clubs do volunteer things, too." He thought of Math Team, and laughed a little. Not that he was entirely a willing participant in that, but they did candy sales sometimes after school; if his math grades still needed the extra credit boost by senior year, or if, by some freak circumstances, he got good at the Math Team challenges, he might still be around to help with those, as well.
"And as long as these keep going," the boy gestured with his trowel to the flowers and mulch, "That'll help, too, I guess." He was not one to procrastinate, either, fortunately. Andrea would have been happiest working his volunteer hours into his senior year schedule right now, if he could, but obviously he did not even know what classes he would be taking yet, and how dance would work in a year and all that....
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Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:37 pm
Tallulah shoveled with renewed vigor. "It probably would," she answered. "Count, I mean. Honestly, it's not like they make it hard to do." Which explained why everyone wound up scrambling for them three weeks before graduation, right? If Tallulah had her way, there'd be even more incentive to do them - people only cared about getting it done by graduation because their parents were riding their asses over National Honor Society dues.
"If we threatened prom, I mean, that would make people do them on time," she said, flashing a wicked grin at Andrea as she plonked a pansy into the ground. The rows were starting to take form. She was happy with their work - it would look nice for the rest of the summer, at least.
"Are you going to prom?" she asked, after a while. She'd thought she was, but, newly single... she wasn't so sure.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:05 pm
Andrea laughed a little and nodded, dropping another flower carefully into one of his own spots. "I don't know, some kids, I'm sure would be saving it till the last minute anyway no matter what." He shook his head prodding at the soil with the tip of his trowel, gazing off at something somewhere about six inches under the soil; not quite digging just yet, but going through the motions while he thought for a second.
The prom situation was quite complicated on his end, too, to the point that Andrea tensed slightly when Tallulah brought it up.
"Huh?" He was digging, really. Next flower! "Oh, I don't know yet." The boy chuckled a little. "Guess I have to figure it out in the next week or so, though."
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:45 pm
"Oh, same here," groaned Tallulah gratefully. Sometimes it seemed like everyone and their mother had already figured out their prom plans - it was actually really reassuring to know someone else who hadn't. "Can't exactly go to prom with my ex-boyfriend, can I?"
Well, now that she'd said it out loud, it kind of made her angry. She stabbed her trowel into the ground and pulled the flat of pansies along as she moved down the row. "Anyways," she sighed, trying to not let her frustration show (it kind of still showed). "It's too late to find a group and I'd feel dumb going alone. I'd skip it, but I bought my ticket before he dumped me."
It had been a standing date, and life was funny like that, and if she didn't go she'd be out fifteen bucks. And a prom dress. And regardless of whether or not her ex really was as much of a jerk as she was making him sound, Tallulah was not going to let him make her waste her money.
She glanced over at Andrea, a plan forming. "Um," she said, biting her lip. "This is going to sound really forward of me since we just met and all but maybe we should go. Just as friends. But it'll let our parents take nice pictures and tell themselves they haven't raised a pair of social retards."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:59 pm
Andrea winced slightly at the mention of an ex-boyfriend. Well. She had been the one to bring up prom, at least. He could not say that the thoughts of relationships made him particularly excited, either, though. He nodded, listening with sympathy as Talullah set out her problems.
He had not yet purchased a ticket, really not having anyone to go with in the first place. Maybe if he had seen Ladon even just once over the last handful of months, he might have felt comfortable asking the other boy to prom, but it was quite difficult to pursue any sort of relationship with someone who simply was not there. He had struck up that ... whatever it was with Rea, but he was not even completely sure what to call it, let alone try to do something as big as prom with her. Andrea's parents had been telling him not to stress over the dance too much - he was just a sophomore, and even senior year, it would not matter so much - but that had nearly stressed him more.
But the way Talullah brought it up sounded more than reasonable to him. He could get by with all the social maneuvering required for prom (especially because he was a boy - boys had to have dates). And that she was a girl would help as well. Maybe Rea had been the wrong girl, and the green-eyed boy would find that he got along much better with someone like Talullah.
Relief was the primary fuel behind the smile that spread across his lips as he replied, "Sure, that sounds awesome."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:14 pm
Tallulah grinned brightly. That plan had worked surprisingly well! Granted it hadn't even existed until about a minute or two ago, but it had paid off marvelously. "You are a lifesaver," she told him happily as she plunked a plant into the dirt. A sophomore and a very recent acquaintance, but a lifesaver. And hey, maybe there'd be less pressure going to prom with just a friend. All the expectations for prom night went away when things were just platonic with your date, and considering how her last attempts at seduction had gone... this was probably a good thing.
"My dress is turquoise, I'll give you a color swatch on monday," she added, digging another hole with none of her previous frustration. "Who do you have for homeroom? I can track you down and make a big show of it if you want," she joked. She remembered very little about the social dynamics of Sophomore year, save for that having a senior come talk to you about prom plans could give you a boost. Maybe not so much when that senior was Tallulah Cowden, but who was counting? She had a prom date, Nellie could snap pictures to her heart's content, and the world continued to spin.
"So," she added, rocking back on her ankles. "I think the flowers look pretty good! How about you?"
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