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 Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:18 pm
Her deep purple eyes looked over the address one more time. Yvette had never really thought this moment would come, but she had been thankfully proven wrong. Yvette Weaver had been invited to Tara Kavanaugh's house to watch some movies. Yvette Weaver had never been invited to someone's house before to watch movies. Or rather, she had never been invited over and been able to follow through with the plans. Most people forgot ever making such a promise to her, which left the quiet girl feeling rather foolish for getting her hopes up. That was not the case today. Yvette had called on her fabulously ancient looking "new" cellular phone and Tara gave her the okay to stop by. As the dark haired girl had predicted, her classmate's home was 2 blocks down from the public bus stop. The girl never had an issue with walking places, and so for two blocks she walked down the street in one of her favorite dresses with a tiny smile on her lips. Upon arrival, she looked at the address on her paper once more, then up to the house, finding the numbers matching perfectly. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the button to ring the doorbell.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:55 pm
There was a clatter from inside the apartment, the sound of something being dropped, and a voice yelling "I'm coming, I'm coming!" Several seconds later, the door opened and Tara, breathless, waved Yvette in. "Come on, come on! I'm glad you're here."
She was dressed far more casually, in a black shirt with the Star Wars logo emblazoned on the front and the movie cast in the back, paired with jeans and striped socks. "This is going to be great," she said excitedly, leading Yvette down the short entry hallway into the living room. There was a large blue couch in the middle of the room, which faced an average television unit that had seen better days. Several DVD cases were strewn across the coffee table, which was also covered with newspapers and magazines. It was slightly cluttered, but otherwise a pretty normal looking apartment- aside from the DVDs, there was no sign that the residents were into space age at all.
"Sit down, make yourself at home." Tara waved an arm at the furniture and ducked across the hall to the kitchen. "The popcorn should be done in a few minutes. I was looking for something sweet to go with it. The cupcakes are all gone, I think, but do you like M&Ms?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:04 pm
Her eyes couldn't help but widen at the sounds going on inside of the apartment. Yet, when Tara opened the door, she offered the sweetest and most sincere smile to the girl.
In an overly cautious fashion, much like a dog in a new environment, the girl nearly tip-toed in, looking around with wide eyes. There was a lot to take in, especially since the apartment was much nicer than her own house. Quietly, she took a seat on the couch, but her eyes continued to wander around the room. The television was slightly larger than their own at home, but it had a DVD player attached, which meant it was already many times better than her unit at home.
"Th-thank you!" she meekly offered, her eyes trailing along behind her schoolmate. At the mention of treats, she couldn't help but mention "Oh, you didn't have to go out of your way! M&Ms are fine, b-but, you really don't have to worry about me!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 8:54 pm
A sound like rain came from the kitchen as Tara dumped M&Ms into a cereal bowl. She crumpled the bag, tossed it in the trash, and carried the bowl out into the living room along with a steaming mug and a few paper towels. "Help yourself," she said, putting the bowl on the couch. "Can I get you a drink? We've got soda, juice, and iced tea, or I could make some coffee or tea if you'd rather. I've got hot cocoa, I could make that too." She held out her mug, which proclaimed in script letters: 'It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.'
"It's no problem, really," she added, noticing Yvette's uncertainty. "It's one hundred and twenty minutes until we can take a break, so I want you to have everything you need to enjoy it. You can only see something for the first time once."
Clearly, that didn't mean that you couldn't enjoy it after the first time. While she was pleased and proud to introduce her new friend to such a wondrous piece of culture, she was also excited to be watching just for the sake of watching.
"So, last call for requests. Oh, and if you need to use the bathroom, it's the second door on the right." Tara took her movie time seriously and wouldn't stop partway through for anything short of apocalypse or inspiration, so she made sure to get everything done ahead of time. It was only right to offer Yvette the chance to do the same.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:16 pm
If one had no idea how Yvette was with sweets, they would have figured it out shortly after the received permission to have some candy. Quickly, she snatched some of the chocolate candies in her hand, and with her free hand, she plucked out one piece and popped it into her mouth. Of course, her eyes were still wide and on Tara, her eyes almost matching the eyes of a child who just caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
"Oh, um... I guess cocoa wouldn't be bad. The weather is so cold lately, that it might be nice." It was another one of those things her family couldn't afford on a common basis. Water was a staple in her household, since it came from the tap. They already paid for it with the water bill, so her family might as well take advantage of it.
Casually, she popped another piece of candy in her mouth and chewed on it as she listened to the explanation about the length of the movie. Two hours was a long time to go without the bathroom, especially if she was going to have a drink during the movie. "Second door on the right?" she repeated, hopefully confirming she heard the directions correctly. All she needed was a simple nod of the head before she popped up to her feet and trotted in the specified direction. As she went to tend to such business, she uncharacteristically popped all the candy from her hand into her mouth, her cheeks bulging slightly at all the chocolate in her mouth at once. At least Tara hadn't seen how silly she looked now, with her hamster cheeks to match her hamster giggles.
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:43 pm
If Tara noticed anything funny about Yvette's behavior, it didn't show in her expression. "One cocoa, coming up" she replied with a wink, heading back into the tiny kitchen. There was only one package of Swedish Miss left, but she didn't hesitate to use it, mixing it with the rest of the hot water in the kettle. She stirred slowly, her mind wandering. It was weird, how they'd both gone to Barren Pines, but not really met until after escaping it. Yvette was the sort of person that flew under Tara's radar. Most people did, unless they were people she saw repeatedly and shared interests with. But now they were hanging out, watching Star Wars, and Tara felt she didn't even have to ask if Yvette wanted marshmallows in her cocoa.
She added two handfuls of mini marshmallows to the mug and carried it out to the living room, setting it on the coffee table. Yvette's comment about the cold weather did not go unnoticed, and Tara ran down the hallway to her room, returning with a large patchwork quilt, which she tossed over the couch. Which in turn upset the bowl of M&Ms, so she hurried to put the candies back before her guest returned.
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:13 pm
On her way back from the restroom, the quiet dark-haired girl couldn't help but sigh over how nice the bathroom was. In all honesty, most bathrooms, except for public restrooms, were very nice in Yvette's opinion. When compared to that dumpy little room at her house labeled the "bathroom," there really wasn't much of a contest. The girl smoothed out the edges of her dress as she walked lightly against the floor. Her steps were almost as quiet as her voice, but one could still hear the sounds of her shoes against the floor.
As she approached the couch, the girl's curious indigo eyes watched Tara, not quite understanding what she was doing. Her steps slowed as she rounded the corner of the couch, once more seeming like a timid animal investigating some strange goings on. She didn't say anything and watched, quickly noticing the spilled candies.
Always the eager helper, she managed to squeak out "Did you need any help with that?" However, for a moment the girl was much bolder than her usual self. She did not wait for a response, and instead leaned in, reaching for some of the spilled candies. Instead of putting the chocolate-shelled candies back in the bowl, Yvette kept them in her hand, almost trying to hide them like a child trying to sneak some extra sweets.
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:59 pm
"Thanks." Tara left the ones on top of the couch to Yvette and stuck her hands between the cushions, grabbing a few brightly colored candies and popping them into her own mouth. She was nearly finished when a loud beeping came from the kitchen, startling Tara into dropping her handful back onto the couch. Glaring at the stray candies, she sighed and stood up. "Could you grab the rest? I'll get the popcorn."
After nearly burning herself on the hot paper bag, Tara managed to tip the only slightly scorched popcorn into a large bowl. As an afterthought, she grabbed a second bag of candy- Skittles this time- and held it in the crook of her arm. Popcorn at the ready, she came back into the living room, sucking the still red fingers of her left hand.
"Sorry about that. I'm not really good at this. Having people over, I mean. Or cooking. Unless it's chemicals on a Bunsen burner." Tara shrugged and set the popcorn and bag of Skittles on the already crowded coffee table, knocking into the cocoa and spilling a few drops onto the magazines underneath. Usually she wasn't concerned with entertaining others, but she felt like it was her duty to be a good host, and she wasn't really performing up to par. It was time to cut to the good stuff.
With a final flourish, she pressed a button on the TV, and the DVD went through the standard copyright warnings. "So, are you ready to be dazzled?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:51 pm
A couple of M&Ms managed to stray from the shy girl's hand, relocating into her mouth. It was solely because her hand could only carry so many candies. Right? Being as transparent as possible, the girl continued to tidy up (at Tara's request), popping candies into her mouth every so often. It was in the name of cleanliness. Not because Yvette loved sweet things. Definitely, definitely not because she loved sweet things.
She had just managed to finish picking up the pieces her schoolmate dropped on the couch when the popcorn arrived. The slightly buttered smell tickled Yvette's nose, which twitched slightly like a little rabbit's would. Tara's concerns were met with Yvette's tiny voice in an attempt to reassure her. "Oh no no! You have n-nothing to be sorry about! Y-you are being very hospitable."
Poor Yvette was worked up enough to be a bit flustered, and soon enough sat herself back on the couch, eyes momentarily looking over the colorful handful of treats in her hand. Why did candies have to be so nice to look at? She plucked a single candy up and popped it into her mouth before glancing back to Tara.
"Oh... uh, um... I g-guess so?" Yvette offered a tiny smile before turning back towards the TV.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 12:13 am
Yvette was the kind of person that simply begged to be squeezed, Tara thought, pulling the quilt over her legs and the popcorn bowl onto her lap. She restrained herself, however, for two reasons. The first was that the movie was starting and Star Wars was not a hugging movie. The second, and more unsettling, was that she was afraid she was using Yvette as a replacement for the friends that she had left behind. If she made new friends, she wanted to make them for who they were, not because they reminded her of dead or comatose people.
As the main menu came up, she quickly pressed the play button, swallowing the popcorn in her mouth as the movie began. "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" she said softly, seconds before the words appeared on the screen. Apparently, she had the opening memorized.
"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire." Tara sighed dreamily and popped a small handful of popcorn into her mouth, picking up her narrative after she swallowed. "Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy..." She trailed off as the crawl inched its way up the screen, ate another piece of popcorn, and sighed again. "Isn't that a beginning?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 12:33 pm
The quiet girl was quite content with watching the screen, every so often popping a colorful chocolate candy in her mouth. However, her ear almost seemed to twitch (even though in reality, it did not actually twitch) as the girl next to her started to speak. Yvette really had no idea why Tara was talking, but it soon enough became evident when some words started to move along the screen. Had she been a normal person, she might have offered a flat "Oh" at the realization. Instead, she remained quiet, mentally scolding herself for not guessing it in the first place.
The girl listened and read, pausing her in candy consumption to truly absorb the full meaning of the introduction message. In all honesty, for someone so oblivious to the Star Wars franchise, it was actually a lot of information to process. The only thing she really recognized in the opening was the mention of Princess Leia. It was hard to not know who Princess Leia was though, especially in a society that made her hairstyle very well known. Yvette let out a little sigh, which only seemed to meet Tara's own sighed out question.
"Oh, um, yes!" was her tiny response, eyes quickly glancing over to the girl next to her before she looked away again shyly, popping a candy in her mouth. Her hand's stash was finally running low, but Yvette did not refill her hand with more sweets yet. There was the issue of hot cocoa to tend to!
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:31 pm
Maybe, Tara considered, talking over the opening was not the best way to show someone the epic adventure that was Star Wars. It was her habit to speak certain particularly thrilling scenes along with the movie, since it made her feel like she was part of the action. But for someone new to it, it might be a distraction. If she was to properly introduce Yvette to the universe, she'd have to be more careful.
"Just wait," she said softly. "It gets even better from here."
Tara left it at that, watching quietly- if not calmly- as the movie opened in earnest, panning to the spaceship chase. She grinned as the robots opened the show, tensed up as Darth Vader made his first appearance, and bit her lip as Princess Leia was captured by the defense. Even though she'd seen the movie countless times, she always got into it easily. Even if Yvette didn't enjoy herself, she did.
She popped several more pieces of popcorn in her mouth and tried her best to chew quietly. It was just getting good!
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:43 pm
Despite how old the movie was, there was still some sort of charm to it that Yvette could not explain. Her eyes were glued to the television, trying to keep up with all the action as it happened on the screen. Maybe it was simply the fact that the girl watched so little television that the whole ordeal intrigued her. This wasn't like the news which she occasionally caught glimpses of at home. This had a story. A plot line that was slowly weaving together in front of her. Deprivation had a way of enchanting the girl, and she had been snagged.
The girl held the mug of cocoa in her hands, and only dared to take a sip when it seemed like there was a small lull in the action. The mug would obscure her sight when it was tilted towards her mouth, and this was not something she'd risk.
Yvette was caught by the craze called "Star Wars." At least, for the moment she was. The world was doomed.
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:23 am
The movie was riveting, but Tara's attention wasn't fully on it. Every so often, between bites of popcorn and sips of cocoa, she tried to sneak a glance at Yvette. Was her plan a success? Was her new friend enjoying the movie?
It was difficult to tell. Yvette was quiet, whereas Tara usually watched her movies with much talking and playacting in the background. It was why she'd taken to waiting until things came out on DVD. Shouting was fine at home, but less so when you were watching with a hundred strangers.
If she had to guess, though, she thought that Yvette was if nothing else, not bored out of her mind. She hadn't fallen asleep. And how could she, when Luke Skywalker was, by sheer coincidence, forced out of his everyday, humdrum life, and into an intergalactic conspiracy that would make him a hero? It was tales like this one that first made Tara interested in space travel. When she was little, she longed for adventures like these, free from the boundaries of time and space.
And now, she realized with a start, she had one. Being a magical alien warrior charged with protecting the galaxy in a past life was not exactly what she'd had in mind at the time, but there was no arguing that it fell into the category of adventure. Thinking about her new life in this light was rather shocking for Tara. Her small gestures vanished, and she even stopped eating popcorn. As they met Han Solo and flew off to rescue the princess, in what should have been an exciting scene, she was completely still.
Now that she had what she wanted, what came next?
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:41 pm
It took Yvette a long time to realize that her cocoa was hardly going anywhere. Upon such a discovery, she set the mug back on the table where it had been initially at the start of the movie. Her eyes had been completely drawn to the television, but for a brief moment her eyes were able to peel away from the screen to look over the candies. Once again, she grabbed a handful of the chocolates, and almost cautiously looked over to Tara.
There was something slightly off. The shy girl hadn't known Tara for the longest time, but even she could tell something was up. She wanted to voice her momentary concern, but she didn't want to interrupt the movie. So in a whisper that almost sounded like it could have belonged to a mouse, she asked "Is everything okay?" Her indigo eyes were very tempted to look back to the monitor, but instead they remained fixed on her schoolmate. Yvette was able to put puppy dogs to shame with her puppy eyes at times.
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