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 Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:31 pm
Johnny shook his head and sighed.
"You see why I didn't shake on that? You'll win regardless," he chuckled, "Unless, of course, your intention is to ask me out." The look that followed was meant only for pretty ladies, clearly. He seemed amused when she took her jacket off, though, and laughed yet again. "No problem! 'Heavenly', huh? ... I think I'll take you up on that offer, if we can go over the rules. I can't directly ask for your name from any of these fine gentleman, and you won't tell me, right? Everything else is fair game?"
Having apparently done a 180 when it came to his plans, the man offered his hand over the bar.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:46 pm
"You can't ask anyone in this bar directly what my name is. Nice try, Soldier boy.." She grinned and leaned against the bar, looking him right in the eyes. She laughed and shrugged some. "And if it is?" She winked at him and stretched. "Heavenly" is the meaning of my name. Google is considered a cheater's move, but entirely plausible. But you won't get dessert." She winked at him, amused.
She took his hand and shook it. "It's a pleasure to take your money, good sir." She grinned and stretched some. "So.. start investigating Nurse Johnnyboy. You've got three hours." She grinned and blew him a kiss. "For good luck."
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:49 pm
At the last minute, Johnny removed his hand.
"Oooohoho, cheap move. Can I still buy dessert, if it comes down to that?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:00 pm
Cel laughed some and shrugged her shoulders. "Of course YOU can, but it wouldn't be nearly as fun if you have to take care of your own dessert now is it? And besides.. I know this cute little place that might just be right up your alley that just opened up. An 'American' food place. It's got like... a variety of crazy American dishes even though you've ripped half of them off from other countries!" She grinned at him and put her hands on her hips. "So are we going to shake on it or not? Cause I've got things to do and people to intoxicate.." She winked at him. "And if you get the normal version of my name right, I'll cut you a little slack."
In the air around him there was a buzz. Somehow the knowledge of the bet, probably a more fluent English speaker heard the conversation, made it's way around the nice sized bar. They were all looking, some with envy, some contempt, and some flat out hatred. There were murmurs followed by a sudden shushing. They weren't to say her name, but little hints were muttered. While they might not of liked him right then because he was flirting with Cel, they wanted him to win. Just so they could live vicariously through him.
Cel gave them all looks before looking back at him. "Remember, my name means 'heavenly'." She grinned at him. "Are you gonna do it? Huh? Shake my hand... you could win a free dinner~" She grinned at him, amused with this turn of events. She had walked into this night thinking it would be a normal night, but it had been anything but. She moved towards the other side of the bar. "Someone help this poor man out!"
There was more muttering, as eyes focused on him. She grinned and hopped up on the bar. She made little wing motions towards him and fluttered her eyes at him. That seemingly got the crowd laughing. She laughed too and kicked her feet. There was quite a lot of talk, randomly, about the legends of the celestial maidens of the area and an argument over whether they had made their stops in Shimoka or in Kanaiishi itself.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:17 pm
"Oh, God," Johnny laughed, "Japanese American food scares the s**t out of me. One condition on my end? Not a date."
Why he'd say that might be beyond the understanding of the other patrons, but it was set and he shook the bar tender's hand. By now he has realized that the suddenly-chatty men were trying to help him along or else they wanted him to fail miserably. More than once he had heard the mention of 'heavenly maidens', but he highly doubted that a Romanian girl would have a Japanese name. So it came down to synonyms, did it?
Heavenly. Lani. Angels?
"Not Angelica...?" It was posed half as a question and half as a guess.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:22 pm
Cel laughed some and shook her head. "What, you don't feel adventurous today?" She laughed again and shook her head. She tilted her head and eyed him. "What is it then, if not a date? What, vaginas aren't your thing? Goth chicks aren't your thing? Amusing and witty women scare you?" She grinned at him and put her face on her chin and watched him innocently.
She laughed and shruged some. "Not like that. I think they're giving it up to you, but technically it isn't my name. You should listen more carefully to them. Is your Japanese so bad?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:29 pm
Johnny just laughed at the insinuations, and then pointed at the woman and began speaking in Japanese.
"My Japanese is perfect! 'Ten, ten', your name isn't 'ten'!" he laughed again and looked down to think, licking his lips, eyes flickering across the bar.
Heavenly. Lani. Not angels. Heaven itself. In the sky, in the stars... HAH. He pointed to the girl again, narrowing his eyes. He turned to an American accent and English again.
"Celeste? Celestia." He seemed somewhat sure, and honestly it was his only honest guess. If he was wrong now, he owed a pretty lady dinner. Not a date, though. They had, at the very least, agreed upon that.
"Honestly, if I'm not close then I don't have anything."
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:32 pm
"Ding ding ding! I owe you dinner." She grinned and tapped his nose. "My name is Celestina. I prefer Cel, Blue, or Woman of my Dreams." She grinned at him and winked. "So tonight? You choose. I won't make you eat Japanese American food." She laughed at him and winked. "Just let me finish my shift? I have so many needy customers and I need to feed you a decent meal tonight!"
She smirked. "And since you don't want to date me, I'll suppose we'll both buy our own desserts... so we can both be completely satisfied.." She laughed and shook her head, amused with herself. "If you want to stay here, you can, or meet me abck here. I don't mind."
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:02 pm
Johnny shook his head and laughed, tipping his beer back.
"Are you kicking me out? All that and you're kicking me out," he tutted, taking another swig. "I figure you won't poison me, Japanese American is just fine. When do you get off?"
If it was late enough, he may have to take a rain check for a night when Cel was off. A part of him felt like a jackass for shutting her down so quickly, but it was rare to find women like her. She had taken him entirely by surprise. Even better? She had taken it like a champ, joked about it, and continued the bet... which they both probably knew he was going to win.
"Should have just Googled it, have to pay for my own dessert..." he might have seemed serious at first but quickly dissolved into soft amused laughter. He happened to look down the bar, though, and pointed to one of the smaller tables. "Um. You got a... ..."
The man sitting at the table was drifting in and out of consciousness, his head lolling as he snored and startled himself awake. It was like watching a tired puppy. "I mean, not my place? but he might need a cab."
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 6:47 pm
"If I were kicking you out, you'd know it, Johnny~" She laughed some and shrugged. "I figured you'd want a little piece of home. I also know a really awesome noodle shop down the way. There's the tofu place.. I can eat at a lot of places so don't feel like you have to bend to my particular inabilities.." She grinned at him and looked at her watch. "An hour or so? I could go now if I needed to." She shrugged some. It didn't bother her much.
She eyed him and laughed. "Yea yea.. you should of googled it. And here I was talking about sex." She sighed dramatically then looked towards where he was pointing. She sighed some.
It was a man she had seen before. He had a bad habit of drinking himself stupid in the bar then sleeping under one of the tables. He wasn't homeless. He apparently had the bitchiest wife ever. She nodded and murmured. "I can handle this. She grabbed the sprayer and hopped on top of the bar before hopping over with ease. She tested the length of the sprayer and was able to take one more step. She took aim and...
SPRITZ.
She sprayed the man until he woke up. She let the line sag and when he attempted to go back to sleep, she sprayed him again. She was forced into her heavily accented Japanese. "Hey! You! Quit sleeping and go home to your wife! I've called you a cab already! Wake up!" She took a moment and considered before spraying the back of Johnny's head just a little before scrabbling back over the bar to the safety of behind. She gave him what could only be described as a |3 face and set the sprayer back.
The man woke up and waved a few times, offered his apologies and sloppily left. "He'll sit outside and fall asleep again and I'll tell the cab driver to wake him up when he gets here." She picked up the bar phone and dialed the number, speaking into it. "Got another drunk for you. Charge this one triple since he likes to use the bar as his apartment."
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:36 pm
Johnny burst out laughing with such force that he startled one of the men at the bar and needed to clap his hand over his mouth to stifle it. He had himself under control in moments and just casually went back to leaning on the bar, although his strained smile showed that he was still fighting his glee. The wet burst to the back of his head came as a surprise, but he could only laugh again and shake his head at Cel as she returned.
"Do you have a napkin you can loan me, Cel, my dear?" he asked, giving Cel a glare that said this wasn't over, but perched above a wide grin it was perhaps less threatening. He liked her. She was... spicy. In a world where effeminacy was programmed into the minds of every child lest they grow up and become 'the nail that sticks out.' He much preferred a little upset in a rigid society... not too much. Just enough. Miss Blue seemed to have that.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:01 pm
Please note. Cake and I worked out a bit of this on IM. I am not godmodding. Thank you.
Cel had given him a napkin and watched him make friends with some of her regulars. She had to smile a little about that. It was nice to see him, a stranger, fitting in so well with her regulars. They, like most Japanese, were wary of outsiders let alone Americans, but they behaved themselves and even began joking with him. She was thankful for that as she moved around, pouring more and more and then finally collecting the money. By the end of the night, Johnny hadn't paid for a dime of his alcohol, her regulars made it their 'welcome to the bar' gift.
Strange as that was, what was stranger was the conversation they got into on the way to the bar. Cel didn't know how, but the stranger had disarmed her enough to want to play a game that she had often played with drunk people. They told her all their woes and she got off pretty much scott free. She figured that if he asked something that probed too deep, she'd like as she did with the regulars. She wrapped her arm around his and he had gladly accepted.
For some reason, this gesture made her feel rather safe. She leaned against him and continued her flirting, enjoying his presence. She decided that she'd befriend this one. He'd make a positive impact on her life. The fact that she was willing to give answers proved that to her. She knew that she had to guard herself, however. She wouldn't ever let anyone as close as she had let him. That had hurt far too much.
She guided him to the Japanese American place and sat him at a table. She settled in and looked at him very seriously, though her eyes danced with amusement. "Are you sure you want to play this game, Johnny? I go for the throat and I expect nothing less. No getting upset over a question, no avoiding a question. All must be answered honestly and to the best of your ability. Agreed?" She offered her hand as if this were a solemn oath.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:34 pm
Honestly, Johnny was having fun. The mature adult in him said that he should be home studying or sleeping, but the deliveryman in him had been kicked off of his routine and was more than willing to go out for a night on the town. He didn't get out with friends nearly often enough, and while he really didn't know this girl they certainly got along well. He treated her like any other, kind and calm and flirtatious, but she had reacted in all kinds of different ways. Really, who else would feel comfortable making so many gay jokes on a first meeting, and then proceed to do it in a totally acceptable way?
The regulars as well had accepted him a little more readily than he had imagined as well. Earlier they had been sizing him up, and now they had apparently paid his tab. Whether it was the fact that someone was getting through to Cel or for his flawless Japanese he wasn't sure, but he'd take what he could get! People... they were the spice of life, weren't they? Everyone had their own stories, and with the bartender's input he had certainly begun to appreciate even the tipsy, possessive middle-aged businessman. Mister Yamauchi had been a favorite, talking about his 30-year-old son like a toddler and his wife like a casual girlfriend. It was probably the sauce, but he had told Johnny that he'd make it far before stumbling out the door.
The young man walked arm-in-arm with Cel to the restaurant, laughing the whole way and content with their no-date policy. He had agreed to 20 Questions simply out of novelty; he hadn't played since early high school and he and the girl were getting along fine. He'd like to know some more about her as well, but it was only fair to offer reciprocation. If she delved too deep, he'd just be vague or call it off. They were adults, it was allowed.
"Getting upset is subjective. We can pass on one question, out of respect," he said, offering out his own hand, but not shaking Cel's for the risk of accidentally agreeing to her version of the situation. God willing, they'd have a great time and the food wouldn't be bare approximations built from American photographs.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:49 pm
Cel listened to his proposal and considered it. "But only one question." She leaned up and shook his hand with a smirk. "This is going to be fun, but being a noble gentlelady, I will allow you to go first since you're the newbie in this situation." She grinned and leaned back. She ordered a beer for herself with a single wave of her finger. Apparently they knew her well. "Do you want one as well? A beer that is?"
She was curious as to what he'd ask, but then again, she had no clue what she'd ask. She'd ask things that wouldn't be related to what she was tense about to hopefully avoid the situation.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:08 pm
Johnny shook Cel's hand with a punctuated nod. It may not be the most serious situation, but it was something to be respected.
"I might need it," he sighed at her question, and then gently signaled for the waiter to bring another beer. He was still grinning somehow, even knowing that this may lead into darker territory before the questions hit double digits. What to start with, though? Something simple.
"Alright. One. What year were you born?"
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