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 Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:14 pm
Natasha walked down the street, pulling out her wallet and thumbing through the contents. She had her driver's license (well, her beginners anyways), the card her parents had given her for emergencies, school ID, and an assortment of other odds and ends. She sighed, staring at the debit card.
The money was to be used for things like food, and school supplies. Her mother had strictly informed her that it was simply not for frivolous activities. In other words. She couldn't do anything fun with it.
But snorkeling wasn't really a frivolous activity to the young girl. It was a hobby! Plus it kept her in shape for the swim team at school, right?
"Yeah right." she mumbled out loud to herself. Like her mother would ever let her get away with that for an excuse. Dad? Maybe. Mom, no way!
That mask she'd been eying there the other day with Pierrette though, had been such a nice mask. It bothered her that her mom didn't get that. The idea of picking up a part time job had crossed her mind, but it was a fleeting fancy. Between school, studies, and practices, there just wasn't enough hours in the day.
Forget the fact she was wandering around the city, lost in thought, debating whether it'd be worth her time to try to explain to her mother that she wanted a new snorkel mask.
Ugh.
Well, thinking about it was a complete waste of time. Really though. What good was that gonna do her? The card was there, the shop some blocks away, and she was facing that direction anyways, right? She'd figure out something to blather off at her mother then. At this point, it didn't really matter.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:24 pm
Alexander was bored. Bored, bored, bored. Classes came and went in their usual fashion, with and without headstrong boys arguing against an equally headstrong teacher. Gym class was a suppressed memory, his studying could wait until right before he went to bed... He jingled his pockets, disappointed that the answering jingle of quarters was absent. No arcade today, it seemed!
All there was left to do was wander around. Some idiot set off a stink bomb earlier in the dorms, so hanging out there and playing video games... ugh. Alex liked his games, but not enough to the point to suffer through that! Since he was out, though... ooh?
Alex stopped, turning to look into a store. A sports shop? Well, Alex wasn't one for sports, really... But some of those things looked pretty cool! He wondered if it was possible to contact his friends and see if they'd be interested in getting some football pads and rollerblades, just to stage a modern jousting tournament. It'd be fun! Really! With a grin, he pulled the door to the shop open and entered.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:30 pm
Closing in on the shop, Natasha rounded her last corner. She was going at the pace of a light jog when she slowed down to noticed a boy who looked, well, roughly her age anyways. You could never be quite sure with the people around here though.
He seemed to be staring at the items inside the shop. This made it obvious to Natasha, that he was into some sort of sports anyways. Likely on some team at whatever school he was in. She didn't recognize him from Meadow View. Not that it meant a lot, she didn't recognize a lot of people from there. So many new transfers in all the time.
"Hey." she called out to the strange boy, trotting up to him. Momentarily her reasoning for being out here slipping her mind. She liked meeting new people. Specifically ones who shared common interests anyways.
Though she suddenly had to wonder. What was that hint of strange odour? Oh well.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:11 pm
Alex nearly stumbled as he stopped, looking back as Natasha addressed him. "Oh! Um, hi there," he squeaked, moving to hold the door open as wide as it could in order to let her pass before him. She was going in, right? He hoped so, otherwise he'd look like a fool, propping the door open. "What's up? Come to check out the sporting goods?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:21 pm
Did he seriously make that squeaky tone? She eyed the boy for a moment, deciding what to make of him. He was polite, to say the least. Little strange for most guys their age.
"Pretty much. Here to pick up a snorkel mask I was lookin' at the other day. How 'bout yourself?" she took a step into the store, giving a nod of thanks to him holding it for her.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:25 pm
"Just looking," he replied, stepping in after her. He had a feeling that revealing his Great Plan for him and his typical teenager friends wasn't a good idea, considering baseball bats in the hands of non-baseball players was often a bad idea. Moreso when mailboxes were involved!
"A snorkel mask? Going swimming anytime soon?" Alex asked, curious. He didn't have much to do with the water, but he did enjoy a good water level every now and then.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:44 pm
"Suppose there's no harm in lookin'." Natasha grinned. "And yeah, was planning on it. I like to get out whenever time dictates." she shrugged. "My old mask is a little worse for wear though, and I've never been a real fan of just opening up my eyes underwater..." her voice trailed off as she peeked towards the back of the shop.
Sitting, in what could only be the new arrivals section, was a large white Jet Ski. It had blue trimming, and some other colourful decals. "Wow. I didn't know they sold those here." she motioned with her head towards to machine.
"Those things are awesome."
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:37 pm
"Oh?" He asked, perking up. Alexander personally preferred simple goggles that were just... goggles. He wasn't much for the snorkeling gear or any real water activities since he discovered his love for the Internet. Besides, electronics and water didn't go well together. The most he did with water now aside from drinking it was bathe in it.
Alex stared as Natasha noticed the jet-ski. He let out a low whistle and walked towards it, grinning. "A jet-ski! Man! This is awesome! Just look at it! I wonder how fast this one goes?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:44 pm
"I dunno. I'd have to see the model, but I bet it moves fast. It's some slick looking." Natasha crooned, following after Alex. Reaching up, she ran her hand along the handle bars, grinning from ear to ear.
"Man, I bet she rides smooth too. These things are pretty awesome. I was out on one over the summer. It was so much fun. Even though I fell off it within the first 20 minutes." she laughed at herself, amused by the memory.
"I haven't even seen this model in any magazines yet. It must be really new." she pulled her hand back, scratching the back of her head.
Then something occurred to her suddenly. This boy she was ogling the jet-ski over with? She had absolutely no idea who he was!
"Yeah so, by the way. I'm Natasha. Nat's fine though." she offered up.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:27 pm
"Weeeell, let's see," Alex said, looking around before locating the ever-present information box. "According to the company, this can go from zero to 50 miles per hour in five seconds! Though considering the build of the machine... mm, it looks like the sort that have bugger-all handling, so if you have a large stretch of water this would be fine." He stood up and moved around the stand, looking at it from another angle. "Aha! Yeah, check this out -- someone bolted it to the dias! Hahaha! It's like they're expecting people to ski this out of the store!"
Alex returned next to her side, reaching out to shamelessly poke the machine. "If it's not in magazines, then they're either releasing it early... or shamed of it to the point that they're not advertising it 'til it sells well. Who knows? I'm Alexander, Nat. Feel free to call me Alex, though."
"How often have you gone jet-skiing?" He asked, curious.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:02 pm
"Decent speed on the bugger." she mused to herself. "You're likely right though. But from the looks of it I'd imagine it's an early release. Unless there are reviews somewhere on it, that say there's something wrong with it." she peered over at the price.
"And for that price, I'd hope it was gonna be a good machine." she laughed.
"Alex is it? Alright. Anyways Alex, I've only been jet-skiing myself a few times. I go out sailing a lot more often. I have a small laser sailboat back at my parents. Dad has a larger boat himself." she paused.
"I have seen a lot of jet-ski's out around when we used to sail in the bay though. So when I did get out on them, they were a lot of fun." she turned to Alex, figuring he must be a big jet-ski enthusiast from the way he was interested in the machine.
"How 'bout yourself?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:34 pm
"Eh, I'd say it's about average," Alex replied, "I've seen some reach up in the 60s and 70s mile per hour. Granted, most of those are for professional racers." He sighed and shook his head. "I guess those are too dangerous for the general public, though I'd love nothing more than tear across the waves on one."
He let the news of her hobby of boating sink in. She had a boat? No, several boats? He looked at her, trying to picture her at Crystalworth. Was she one of those girls? She probably could be. Or maybe she went to Meadowview? It was hard to tell with girls, since if he never seen them at Hillworth then they went to Meadowview. Or were homeschooled. Some suckers were like that.
"Myself? Weeeell," he paused, considering. "I mostly hang out here in the 'City and don't go out that much. The times I do go out, though, usually there aren't any 'skis available, so what I know I've mostly picked up here and there from other people." He shrugged and grinned. "Can't hurt to be in the know-how when the knowledge is right there for the taking, y'know? Steering those things are tricky, especially around obstacles."
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:56 pm
"Yeah I don't think you're gonna find many professional styled Jet-ski's here. This place seems to be more of a general sporting goods store from what I've made of it. You'd have to check out a shop that was likely specifically for that sort of thing. M'pretty sure there's not anything like that here. Sadly."
Nat listened to Alex go on about his 'experience' with jet-ski's. Though he didn't go out much, sounded like he was at least familiar. Sounded like he liked to do tricks, or something. Obstacles? Seriously, all she did was bounce around the bay on a rental. Hah.
"Yeah, they can be a pain. Sounds like you caught on pretty quick though!" Natasha was thrilled to have bumped into someone she could have a conversation about this stuff with. Most people lacked the interest. Water sports didn't seem like a big thing in these parts, really.
"Hey, maybe during school break sometime, we could go hit up a rental somewhere?" she offered somewhat hopefully.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:02 pm
General store? A general store was good news! Usually such stores didn't know the difference between high and low quality, so it was easier to find better deals here than at a specialized store. Or, at least they carried more knock-off brands that fit Alex's piss-poor budget more.
"Yep! Best of the best when it comes to learning new things and nearly screwing up in the attempt," he admitted with pride. "Once you fail, just get back on and try again." You had to be quick with the fake jet-skis at the arcade, too. Take too long and someone else was more than willing to continue where you left off.
And then there was the question. "School break? Um," well, he didn't really go jetskiing for real. Just with quarters. "Maybe? I didn't know there was one here in the city."
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:07 pm
"I'm not a hundred percent sure that there is. But it's something I'll likely check into." she scratched her head again. "I imagine there has to be something like that around here anyways. I just gotta convince my parents that it'd be worth me blowing my weekly allowances on." she laughed.
"They're kinda sticky about my purcha... hey that reminds me!" she interrupted herself. "I came here for a mask." She took a few quick steps away from Alex, peeking down the aisle to see if the mask she'd been looking at previously was still there.
It seemed to be. Which was good.
"My old snorkel mask is getting a lil worn out from use," she explained, "I almost forgot that I'd come here to get a new one."
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