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 Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:35 pm
A career in cooking... "Miss Lee, perhaps you should looking into such a field." Lee tossed him a quick glare before finishing the cheesecake on her plate and pushing it forward. "I guess I should ask if you had fun." Lee rubbed her neck and smiled a bit as she addressed Ellandra, just now remembering their age difference. She felt a bit guilty, thinking back and realizing she'd completely forgotten her position as hostess. If her mother had seen this...
As if called upon by evil spirits from below, Lee's mother -- and father, of course -- waltzed into the entrance, multiple shopping bags dangling from their arms and laughing about some piece of gossip they'd shared on their way in. As if on cue, they stopped in their tracks at the sight of the three in the dining room; Lee with company was highly unusual. A forced and uncomfortable smile spread across Mrs. Katan's face as she handed her bags over to the Mister. "Hello, Miss." The woman stuck one of her hands out while primping her hair with the other and heading over to the group. "Lee, why didn't you tell me you'd be having guests over today?" Her smile never faded as she discreetly scolded her daughter.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:56 pm
Ellandra was about to answer Lee's question when the people who were obviously her parents showed up - and immediately the brunette was on the defensive. Not for her own sake, but she hadn't missed the scolding tone in Mrs. Katan's voice or her way of looking at her daughter. Ellandra took the strange woman's hand as an unexpectedly calculating thought shot through her mind. "Oh, it's not Miss Lee's fault, Mrs. Katan, I'm afraid I caught her a bit by surprise. I'm with Life Essentials - Essential Biotics, Inc.? You see, Duke DeLonghy sent me here on a somewhat surprise-inspection - to check on young Lauss and see how he is accomplishing his purpose. What I've seen so far is very promising; he's going above and beyond his duties to Miss Lee, and I hope you're pleased with his accomplishments as well - he's even going insofar as to improve her tastes in dessert to the, shall we say, higher-class?"
Ellandra had never been a good liar, but a storyteller she was, and that was all this was to her - almost like stepping into a character of one of her books, like she had when she was young and needed the courage to ask her father for flute lessons without explaining that she'd snuck into the old master bedroom and found her mother's flute. . . oh, these people were terrifying, in a shallow sort of way, but the writer was on a roll now, spinning the tale of the century.
"I am sorry about the unexpectedness of the situation, but I'm afraid an unscheduled visit is usually best to see exactly what sort of progress has been made. If you don't mind, I just need a few more moments with Miss Lee and Lauss in private to wrap things up, and I'll take my leave," she said in her best imitation of a professiional who is polite but pressed for time. "I assure you that I have only the best of praise regarding the situation here to report to Duke DeLonghy, I'm sure he'll be quite pleased with the Katan family," she added, curtseying politely and taking Lauss by the hand, beginning to lead him away and secretly gesturing for Lee to follow. Hopefully the teenager would understand - she doubted Lauss would at all.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:17 pm
"Oh, I see! I hope she wasn't too much of a hassle. Her grades have already gone up, albeit only slightly. She has such a long way to go if she wants to get into that 'school of choice.'" Mrs. Katan laughed a bit, and was about to go on about her daughter and college when Ellandra mentioned they had just a bit more to do before she'd be on her way. The woman put a hand to her chest and nodded. "Oh, I imagine you must be very busy. We ought to get settled anyway, you just go on about your business, then." She nodded and smiled at her daughter, proud to see her working hard and being semi-social. Mr. Katan watched from the sidelines, beaming over little Lauss' performance. As the woman of the house made her way back to her husband he whispered a low, "Money well spent." Apparently neither realized they'd never actually paid for the essentic. They treated both Lee and Lauss similarly; not getting too involved and just keeping a distant eye on them at all times.
Lauss paid little attention to Ellandra's half-truth, not really noticing that she'd said she was from Life Essentials. Instead, he focused on her comments on him. He lifted his head high as she told Mrs. Katan of his great accomplishments. He was doing an outstanding job, wasn't he? He allowed Ellandra to tug him along, unsure of where they were going or why they were going there, but resisting the urge to tug against her to clean up the plates from the table.
Lee's eyes widened at Ellandra's tale. This woman was frighteningly good at coming up with stories on the spot. She tried her best to keep her surprise from showing on her face as the girl's eyes darted back and forth from Ellandra to her parents. She watched the woman take Lauss away and figured she should follow. The three passed by Lee's parents, and Lee avoided eye contact with them, as she knew her face would give the whole thing away. The girl figured Ellandra didn't really know where exactly she was going, and led the group back into the study they'd been in before, closing the door behind her. Lee didn't sit down, and just stared at Ellandra, at a loss for words.
"What further studies do you need to do, Miss Ellandra?" Leave it to Lauss to break the silence.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:25 pm
When they reached the study and were "safe" again, Ellandra collapsed to the floor, her face in flames as she his her face in her hands and trembled. "O-oh my..... I don't........ how did I ever do that....?" She murmured, more to herself than to her companions, completely and utterly shocked by her own behavior. How had she done that - why had she done that? What in the world was happening to her lately? This was all so strange........ Her hair fell down around her shoulder as she shook, further concealing her features from view as she sat hudddled on the floor in the puddle of cloth her skirt created. "O-oh my....... ohhh....."
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:45 pm
The sight of the poor woman collapsing and blushing, it was almost too much for Lee. There was the woman she'd gotten to know. Lee didn't know why, but it was just... really funny. She put her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh, though it didn't keep it from intensifying. Lauss tilted his head; this was... unusual for Lee. Laughing and smiling and generally being a happy girl was very out of character. The girls laughter died down a bit, and she crouched down to Ellandra's level. She didn't want it to seem like she'd been laughing at her expense. "That was... really cool," Lee smiled at Ellandra as she spoke between fits of giggles. "Cool" wasn't the word she wanted to use, but her vocabulary was pretty limited, and meant more along the lines of "impressive". Seeing Ellandra so embarrassed made Lee feel they were the same age again.
Lauss' attention was on Ellandra again, and he glided down to get a better look at her. Her distress was quite obvious to anyone with any social skill, but Lauss had just barely noticed that she wasn't happy. "Are you hurt, Miss Ellandra?" If Lee hadn't been too busy laughing, she'd have been shocked to see Lauss care about another.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:58 pm
Ellandra managed to lift her head up and blink at Lee and Lauss around an extremely intense blush. "W-was it? I - I don't................. I don't even know where that came from," she said shakily to the teenager, before turning to Lauss and gently toughing ne of his band-aid covered hands. "A-and I'm all right, Lauss, thank you - I just - just need a - a mment to....... regather myself...." Well, that was one way to put it. More like she needed a week to pull herself together enough that she didn't faint as soon as she tried to stand up. She had absolutely no idea what had posessed her back in that dining room - where had all of that temporary assurance, confidence and just-plain trickery come from?!?
....................... She'd been spending much too much time with Faolan, perhaps. Or just Farstep itself. Or..... well, really she had no explanation for it - and - and it was....... sort of funny, wasn't it?
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:48 pm
Lee tugged at the ends of her hair, still smiling but the laughing had faded. "Me neither. I wouldnta been able to do that." She chuckled again for a second and scooted over to Ellandra's side. "Um... when you get an essentic... You should come over again. Lauss should meet it, ya know?" She twiddled her thumbs and looked at her lap as she invited Ellandra to come over in the future. She worried that Ellandra would think she was a loser or something; she probably didn't have the greatest time here today, why would she want to come back? Lee's face now matched Ellandra's.
Lauss flinched at Ellandra's soft grasp. It stung a bit, but more importantly, kind and seemingly useless gestures were unusual to the proto. "You may use one of these if you need one." He wiggled his fingers with the band aids on them, tilting his head to the side.
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Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:09 am
Still blushing, Ellandra lightly tapped one of the band-aids on Lauss' hands and shook her head. "N-no thank you, Lauss - these band-aids are only meant for one-time use, and I don't need any, anyway. It's very kind of - of you to offer, though..." Shyly, all of her confidence and collectedness thrown to the wins after her performance for the Katan parents because, really, that was all it had been - a performance), she turned to Lee and smiled. "I would be more than happy o come again, whether or not I ever get an Essentic - but if I do, I'll be sure to find a way to visit - but you need to promise me to try and go to Farstep Carnival sometime; going there has - has helped me so very much, I think it would be a good experience for both you and Lauss. . ."
Not that she actually expected the teenager to go, at least not anytime soon. There would probably be a time for such things in the future, however - and perhaps another, better, more persuasive offer. But she had at least planted the idea in Lee's mind; that was a start. Getting to her feet in a somewhat stumbling manner, Ellandra nodded politely to owner and Essentic, saying, "I probably should be leaving now, though - after all, I told your parents it would only be a few minutes more..."
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Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:05 pm
It seemed silly and wasteful to Lauss that these little bandages could only be used once, but he nodded to her in understanding and left it at that. He continued tugging at them as the others spoke to one another. So constricting...
Lee didn't look up, still embarrassed to have asked, but a small smile spread across her face. "Probably won't be too long before you get one. You get along with them so good, ya know." Lee shrugged her shoulders and turned back to face Ellandra. Go to the carnival? That was very do-able. "You'll be kidnapped and kept there, right? By your boyfriend. Maybe we'll bump into you..." She still didn't understand what that meant, nor did it makes sense that it was a good thing, but it was what it was, and as long as Ellandra was happy to be held hostage, then go right ahead. "I think Lauss would love it." She smiled politely and looked over to the essentic. "Stop picking at those." She swatted at his hands, and his attention shifted away from the band-aids and to the others once more.
"Yeah, right, okay." Lee followed Ellandra's lead and stood up beside her, heading for the door. "Miss Ellandra will be coming back?" His question wasn't directed at any one person, and Lee just shrugged as she lead the group through the entrance and to the front. "I'll keep my promise if you keep yours." She said, pulling open one of the massive doors open for her guest to depart. "Perhaps next time we will be able to do more studying." Lauss was still hopeful as ever.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:04 pm
Ellandra followed Lee and Lauss to the door, her thoughts turning in many different directions - from Essentics to Farstep and Faolan and then back again. "Yes, that's right," she said to Lee. "He promised me he would." Smiling softly, she added for the benefit of both owner and Essentic, "I'll be sure to come back... and perhaps, Lauss. We'll have to see how it works out."
They had reached the door by now, and while Ellandra wasn't really wanting to go, she didn't feel comfortable staying any longer - not when she'd fibbed so blatantly to the Katans, and having told them she'd only be a few minutes longer. When word of this got back to Banning - and she knew it would, the noble probably had his sources nearly everywhere, she didn't know what would happen. Well. . . at least her fibs had been semi-truths. She did, however, look forward to seeing Lauss again. She didn't even lt the thought of getting an Essentic enter fully into her mind. It wasn't really a likely event, after all.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 9:24 pm
"We'll be seeing ya, then, I guess." Lee nodded to the woman, and Lauss bowed to her. "Goodbye, Miss Ellandra. Have a safe walk. Make sure to look in both directions before crossing streets. There are cars here, you know. And if you get lost, just come back here and I will escort you." He turned to Lee, and asked "should I go with her?" "Leave her alone." He bowed once more and kept his mouth shut, and Lee waved a hand to Ellandra as she was about to depart.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 9:46 pm
Ellandra curtsied to Lauss, guessing it would thrill the Victorian-era obsessed Essentic, and smiled to Lee. "It was nice meeting both of you - and i'll be very careful, Lauss, don't be concerned. I hope I'll see you again!" She called, rather cheerfully for such a shy woman, and left, starting the long walk home.
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