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 Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:00 pm
Stores like MegaMart were a lot like Tara herself, she decided. They did one thing, but they did many aspects of one thing. For her, it was the many branches of science. For MegaMart, it was selling everything known to man. Which meant that on Tara's sporadic visits, she was practically guaranteed to leave with a heavier bag and a lighter wallet.
Already her basket had two cans of chocolate frosting, a box of microwave popcorn, and five frozen pizzas. With a longing glance at the other goodies in the grocery department, Tara tore herself away. While she had a number of movies slated for her education of a certain Miss Weaver, she was tempted to lengthen the list. It had been a while since Tara had added to her DVD collection, and with great curiosity she crossed the electronics department, headed for the area known within the store as MegaMartMovieMadness.
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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:11 am
MegaMart was a mixed blessing sometimes, though: It was a Jack of All Trades (or in this case, All Items), but a Master of None. If you weren't an average-sized girl, upper undergarments were hard to find, so for Esen, a rail-thin seventeen-year-old with a lack of chest, she found she'd have to go somewhere else still to get some new ones. At least underwear came in her size; she needed more boyshorts, what with the short periwinkle skirt of her school uniform. Speaking of, the fact there was a girl decked in Crystal blues in MegaMart got her a few faces. Her expression stayed neutral in response. If the place wasn't closed, there was no reason to change it.
Slung over one shoulder was a dark-colored blazer, very plain and borderlining the colors of blue and gray. The other hand held a MegaMart shopping basket, containing two three-pair packages of pastel-shaded boyshorts, a few odd pairs of socks in monochrome grays, and a package of (recycled) printer paper, all for school in one way or another.
She was already in the MegaMartMovieMadness area, looking at films herself. Esen was into science fiction as well, though not to the extent that Tara was. A display was shown advertising preorders of some big popular movie named Avatar, and on the shelf were plenty of movies she had no idea existed. (Wolverine got his own X-Men movie? Goody.) Her eyes sat on Iron Man for a bit. It was getting attention too, what with the sequel coming soon - Esen was not in with the times. At least Tara had all her eighteen years in memory, Esen was short one year out of a supposed seventeen.
Besides the uniform and clothes (and the scars she gained, but those were hidden), Esen looked like how Tara knew her, down to the piercings and lipstick (which she put on after school).
As for Esen, she didn't know any Taras, the last she checked...
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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:44 pm
Tara finished debating between Star Trek and Watchmen, putting Star Trek in her basket and Watchmen back on the shelf. As she did, she caught sight of a familiar green head- and froze.
Endless minutes. Silence, only broken by final words. The weight of the gun in her hands. The cold metal pressing against her temple. Shots flying. Accusations flying faster. The gunshot, finally. Relief, and sadness, and panic. Attempts to escape. Nothing left, but to be ripped apart and so much blood-
Only her nails digging into her palm snapped her out of the vivid images in her mind. Tara shook her head, hoping to dislodge every trace of what had happened in that room. She and Esen had shared lots of time that had not involved deadly games and being slaughtered by classmates-turned-monsters. Surely she could focus on those, and not their final moments.
That she was going to say something was a given. Tara didn't want to be accused of avoiding her once clubmate. But more than that, she missed being near people who understood her. She had found some solace with her new classmates, people who had fun with her even if they didn't always like the same things. But she craved the company of other enthusiasts. Even though they went to different schools now- the Crystal uniform was a dead giveaway- maybe they could still be friends.
Tara put a smile on her face. It felt awkward, like she was wearing an ill-fitting Halloween mask, but it would have to do. "Hey, Quinn!"
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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:58 pm
Tara may have found the situation awkward, but that was only because she knew Esen and the truth behind the past events in Barren Pines College. Esen herself couldn't say the same.
Her head spun around behind one shoulder. It showed the same olive eyes. It showed the same black glasses. For a moment, it showed the same constant indifference, but then her eyebrows furrowed and mouth twisted to form an irritated and confused expression. The tanned, navy haired-girl did not register anywhere in Esen's memory.
The hand holding her blazer swung around to place it in the basket haphazardly; she then turned around to look Tara in the eye as best she could. The green-haired girl's expression had a look of 'who the hell are you' about it, and her head was tilted to the side.
Maybe she'd try to recruit someone else into shopping with her the next few times she went anywhere. Esen didn't know any of the people she was running into lately that apparently knew her, by Esen, Quinn or otherwise.
"Should I know you, or am I going delusional?" Esen spoke with a slight sarcastic edge.
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Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:34 pm
That was not quite the reaction Tara had been expecting. The lack of fear was good, at least. She knew by then that most survivors didn't remember much of what had happened. Certainly not the bad parts, which was a relief. If she was the only one to know the truth of what went on in that locked classroom, all the better.
She had, however, expected some recognition. A flash, a glimmer, a name. Something more than a blank stare.
Maybe Esen was playing with her. Running some kind of experiment. Smiling uneasily, Tara shrugged. "You nearly got me there, Esen. What was that, payback for the last meeting?" Tara often did things other people didn't approve of, so while she couldn't remember if she did anything at the last Science Club meeting before things turned bad, it wouldn't have surprised her. "I'm sorry, okay? Bygones?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:45 pm
Esen was being thrown for a loop, that was apparent in her expression. It was a bit quiet while she worn a stare and made sure to mentally sift the girl's words a few times over. Something stuck out pointedly in her mind; she knew both her first and middle name. How was this? Maybe she was a friend of Melody's - but Melody didn't call even Esen "Esen" in public. It looked like she had best be upfront.
"Okay, whomever you are. A few questions; one, how do you know both my names? Two, what meeting, and three, why do you need to be sorry? You haven't done anything, unless you're apologizing-" Someone was approaching the movie aisle they were in, and at this, Esen brought her voice down to a more quiet, but edged tone. "-because you somehow decided to go stalk me."
What else could it have been? She had no idea who this girl was, not one-
"Wait a second." More anger was placed in Esen's words. "Are you affiliated with the organ ring from a few months ago?" Tara was in her thoughts, but Esen was thinking that this girl was somehow involved in the crime, and not on the good side of it.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:38 pm
This wasn't going well. She wasn't even calling Tara by her name, and judging by the hostility in her voice, either she had really pissed Esen off in the past, or she was somehow managing to do so now.
"Look, whatever I did, I'm sorry, okay? It's just been a while, and I was..." Was what? Happy to see Esen alive and not in pieces or a zombie or a gravestone? Tara couldn't exactly say that, even if it was what she was really feeling.
Rather than go on apologizing, she moved on. "Affiliated with? If you can call 'kidnapped and practically killed by' affiliated with, then sure. What's the matter with you, Esen? I know things were foggy, but I thought..." Tara stopped and abruptly changed course. "I missed you. I missed talking about asteroids and antimatter with somebody who actually cared."
If honesty didn't work, Tara didn't know what would.
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Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 4:55 am
Esen was pissed off not because of Tara herself, but because she wasn't sure of why strangers nowadays were randomly talking to her, saying 'hi' and speaking like they knew her. That concept made about as much sense as a moon made out of cheese did.
A few deep breaths were needed, which Esen took. Her thought process was a bit jammed by emotion, but she stuck out like a sore thumb as it was. People were about. Making a scene was not advisable for anyone involved, so her next few words were a bit ragged as she tried to gain composure. "I. Don't know. What you did. I've never met you." Carefully, due to her attire, she bent at the knees to put down her basket, then got up again. "Others have came up to me, knew me." More breaths. "I didn't know them. Hell, I awoke a fifteen-year-old. I just turned seventeen." Esen was almost calm. "I haven't looked upwards in ages. Of course, I'd be as alone as they, I doubt anyone else I know would care to."
With calmness reattained, Esen's indifferent expression came back on. "I'd honestly remember if there was anyone I've met who cared about such. Not like anyone does so unless it's required." Now that her arms were freed, she gave a shrug.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 8:39 pm
Esen's firm denial hurt Tara more than she expected. The other escapees seemed to have some kind of residual memory. None of them had remembered her, but she hadn't remembered any of them either. Esen was different. Even if it wasn't all real, she still had memories of Science Club meetings, of competing in biology, of arguments over theories. Tara was glad that Esen didn't remember their final moments, but why didn't she remember anything else?
"I didn't know. I'm sorry." As upset and frustrated as Tara was, she knew that it couldn't have been easy for Esen either, missing a year of her life. "But apparently you wouldn't remember, because you don't. And that's okay. It's probably a Jedi mind trick."
When in doubt, think Star Wars. It had answers for everything.
"But you do care about such things, don't you?" Tara pressed. "Asteroids and antimatter. Though I never understood what you saw in geology. It's a bunch of rocks, for crying out loud. Now biology, there's a science worth getting into."
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 11:27 pm
Esen simply nodded at Tara's apology. Quietly, she made a reply: "Maybe there's residual effects. Some kids were asking their parents for squirtguns. I can't see why they should be making such replicas - some of us older people-AGH!" Esen almost lost her balance; if that Avatar display wasn't there for her to catch herself on, she would have likely tripped. Looking to her left, the direction of the push, a larger man was looking at the displays, then to Esen when he realized. A sour, disapproving face was his gift. "Excused," was her curt reply.
She turned her attention back to Tara; when Esen spoke again, she tried to keep out of the man's earshot. "I think it best we move elsewhere if you'd like to continue talking. It's not like we live in a universe with a balanced matter ratio enough to remove obstacles."
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 11:50 pm
The word 'guns,' even when talking about toys, made Tara shiver involuntarily. Did Esen remember something? Or if not, was her subconscious aware of what her conscious mind had forgotten? Tara privately hoped not. Subconsciouses could plague a person as much as consciouses. She had learned that well over the past few months.
She started as Esen slipped, darting forward to try to help, but the Na'vi cutout caught her instead. "Are you okay?" she asked quickly, glaring at the worker. He had no right to look at them like they were causing trouble. Accidents were accidents.
"I've already raided the grocery section. Want to check out school supplies?" She had to stifle a giggle. "But if balance was truly achieved, how would we ever make new progress? It's the obstacles that give us reason to push forward, right?"
This was more like the Esen that Tara remembered, and it filled her with hope. Even if she didn't remember, maybe that didn't have to be the end of the story.
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