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 Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:10 am
She stared into the window, her eyes transfixed on the overly large mannequin. One hand moved up and a straw found its way to her lips, the older woman drawing out a long sip from her fruit smoothie. She had wanted a cappuccino. But cappuccinos had coffee and coffee was a big N-O for the time being.
Ursula continued drinking away as she stared into the display at Mimi's Maternity. She'd never realized pregnant mannequins existed. Well, then again, she'd never had any reason to actually look into Mimi's Maternity before, so she wouldn't have had any reason to look to see if their mannequins were as pregnant as the people who bought the clothes they wore.
That was going to be her one day. One day soon. She was going to have to give up her cute little size eight jeans and fashionable tops and replace them with.... maternity clothes. This was not a good thing. This was not a happy thing. This was an Oh-my-God-what-have-I-done thing and all she could do as a result was stare into the window at the floral print top that hung over the model's tumor-shaped stomach.
The sipping increased in speed, her mind racing frantically in attempts to assure herself that she could make that ugly floral top look cute.
....She could totally still make it cute, right?
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 1:03 am
Serenade, on the other hand, was facing a disturbing fact of her own.
That being, she did not exercise enough.
She had honestly never really cared about exercise unless it was a physical education class made mandatory by the school and focused more on her musical tendencies instead. She ate healthily, and stayed petite, so that had never been a crucial issue until she realized that she needed to work harder to prove herself as a Sailor scout. Not just a Princess that needed protection, but someone who was capable of defending herself, like how she did back in the old days.
That required exercising more often and Serenade thought that perhaps she would start with something light as she requested Hero to let her join the Saturday morning training sessions. Yoga sounded good, although the baffled young girl had no idea where to start, only emerging from the bookstore with some yoga books in a bag.
It was then she noticed a familiar red-haired figure, and Serenade broke into a smile; she hadn't seen the woman for ages ever since she had attended the wedding. "Ms Johnson!" She called out excitedly, making her way over to where she stood. "Uh... wait, no, it's Mrs ... Killingworth now, isn't it?" It was a bit strange to get used to, because Ms Johnson's husband's surname was really quite a mouthful. "How have you been?"
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 7:05 am
It had been months since anyone had used the name Johnson, but Ursula turned around all the same (old habits being hard to die, of couse). The worried expression plastered across her face quickly faded, replaced with surprise and delight as a familiar looking teenager made her way towards the older woman.
Arms opened up and both women drew in for a quick welcoming embrace, Ursula pausing for a moment to study the younger girl.
"Serenade! Just look at you! Your hair has grown - has it really been so long since we've seen each other?"
Three months had indeed passed since their last run-in, Serenade having attended the Killingworths' wedding, sitting among various Negaverse officers and Hillworth students as General-King Charonite wed his first Captain.
It was ironic, really.
"I'm....fine. Doing just fine." The lie came easily enough, the former Barren Pines teacher holding back from expressing the concern still evident on her face, "And how are you doing, darling? Still practicing music?"
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 7:25 am
Serenade eagerly stepped into the hug, feeling the sides of her mouth pull up into a grin as Ms Johnson (Mrs Killingworth, she reminded herself mentally) embraced her fondly. At the mention of her hair, she tugged on a strand with a sheepish smile; it had indeed grown quite a bit, as Ms John-- Mrs Killingworth, said. "I probably need a haircut soon." She said, although that was more of a note to herself.
She had no idea how she missed Ursula so much until this moment. Serenade had always liked Ursula since their first meeting in Barren Pines, although the latter wouldn't probably remember that. Ms Johnson had been nice enough to send her a wedding invitation, and she had felt happy for the older woman as she recited her vows and looked beautiful as she beamed at her husband. She had a happy ending with who she loved, and someone as nice as Ms Johnson deserved that.
She beamed up at Ursula, looking relieved that she seemed alright ever since her marriage. "Yeah." She glanced down at the bag she held; most people who knew her would probably assume she got more piano scores again. "I've been trying to, y'know, try different things though. A friend told me to try yoga."
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 8:14 am
"I hear yoga's good for....weight loss," (and pregnant women, she'd nearly mentioned, but she wasn't about to announce that in public!), "You look fine, dear. Please tell me you're not getting weight conscious - you'll shrivel up and fly off if you lose anything else on you!"
She frowned for a moment, disapproval obvious over the notion that the petite teenager might think herself overweight. It was a crime, really, how so many girls saw themselves these days. Ursula herself was quite happy with her own size eight... well, the size eight that she still had for now.
It was then that it hit her - yoga. No sweat, no strain, just peace and quiet while you twisted your body into the shape of various animal-named positions.
Huh.
"Are you just... doing it on your own? Or is there a class somewhere?"
Her next question lingered in the air, unspoken, until finally she decided to shamelessly cave.
"May I join you?"
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 8:36 am
"No, I'm not." Serenade was quick to assure Ursula, for she had never really been so conscious of her size and thought it acceptable; she had always seen herself to be a lucky individual to not put on weight when she didn't exactly exercise that often. "Just making an effort to be healthier... I don't really exercise often." She confessed. Making an effort to keep in shape for battle actually, but it wasn't something she could easily reveal.
"I..." Actually, at the next question, Serenade was quite at a loss for words, and stared down helplessly at the bag that contained the book she bought. She had thought that she could just buy a mat, then hole herself up in her room studying a book and trying to make sense of it, but realized how stupid that sounded. Ursula was right, a class was sensible. "I'm not sure where to look to sign up for classes actually. We could enroll together?" And the bright side was, she could see Ms Johnson on a weekly basis!
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:14 am
The smile that crossed Ursula's face was unmistakable.
"That would be wonderful - I've been trying to find an exercise I'll be able to do over the next few months and I haven't come up with anything useful. Are you sure you don't mind? I don't want to be any imposition if you and your school friends had something planned."
She bit her bottom lip out of habit, the worry beginning to fester within. Ursula was used to being around high schoolers - hell, she worked with high schoolers both in and out of school. Age was never a problem. Or, rather, it never had been a problem. But the mental image of a pregnant woman attempting positions while surrounded by cutesy little teenage girls....well. It wasn't very motivating, to say the least.
"I know the YMCA holds some courses, they might have something available to sign up for? Unless you wanted to come back to my apartment and we can learn as we go?"
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 7:20 am
"No, no, it's perfectly alright." Serenade replied with a pat on Ursula's arm and a gentle smile. "I... well, haven't really told any of my friends that I was doing this, really." And now, she was getting more determined to make this her own thing (and Ursula's too, of course), and prove to herself that she was doing something to keep in shape. This was her effort, and she hoped it would pay off in some way.
"Ummmm." Serenade, on the other hand, had the mentality that people who signed up at the YMCA were probably much older than her, and she would feel horribly awkward being small and out of place. "Will Mr Killingworth mind?" She had heard a bit about Hillworth's gym teacher, and was a bit hesitant, although she had seen him herself at the wedding and deemed him an imposing figure, though she did believe he loved Ms Johnson, which was really all that mattered.
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Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 9:30 am
"Oh I'm sure he wouldn't!" She began, one hand thrown up in the air as if she was dismissing the idea of him ever arguing with her. They argued. Frequently.
Pausing, she did however take a moment to think of the situation through Serenade's eyes. While Ursula loved Khalid dearly, he tended to have a reputation with high schoolers that was not all-too comforting. In fact, most found him downright frightening.
It was now Ursula's turn to return the arm pat and she shook her head with a smile. "Tell you what - I'll check out his game schedules and see when he coaches. You can come over during that time, if you'd like, so we can have the place to ourselves? Are you free on Saturdays?"
She could only imagine what her husband would have to say about her practicing the art of yoga. Then, on top of it, bringing over high school girls to practice yoga with her.
Sigh.
Her guilty conscience was beginning to gnaw at her, though, the longer she held out of explaining to Serenade just why she was interested in yoga. It wouldn't be fair for her to force the girl to commit, only to wind up having to awkwardly work out next to a woman whose stomach grew larger and larger each week, instead of smaller and smaller.
"There is...one thing, though." She said hesitantly, her outstretched hand moving up to fidget with her necklace. "I haven't exactly been fully honest with you. As to why I'd like to take up yoga."
She paused, giving the other girl a sheepish look. "I'm, well. I'm pregnant. So I've been looking for something to do to help me stay healthy. If that's too awkward for you, I completely understand; I won't hold it against you if you preferred we didn't."
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Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:25 pm
At the very least, Serenade was not from Hillworth, nor were any of her close friends (i.e. the Zodiacs), which meant what she heard about Mr Killingworth were mostly rumors. Serenade was not one to believe rumors so wholeheartedly; back when she wasn't a senshi, she still doubted they existed even though the news said so. "Saturday afternoons would be fine." She said carefully. Mornings were reserved for Zodiac training sessions, and she didn't want to miss that.
Her cerise eyes raised up to regard Ursula as the other confessed that she hadn't been fully honest, and slight panic ran through her. Was Ms Johnson okay? Was something wrong? Was she...
She was pregnant.
Pregnant.
For a moment, Serenade stared, mouth agape, and she would have almost dropped the bag that held her purchases in shock. This reaction may have worried Ursula, but not for long, for Serenade's lips slowly curved into a wide grin, taking the woman's hand, eyes alight in happiness. "But that's great news!" Very, very great news indeed! Ms Johnson was getting such a happy ending with the man she loved, and Serenade thought that it was absolutely wonderful. "As long as you be careful with the positions and all, and I'll help you!"
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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 11:13 am
Her cheeks reddened again - she had worried at Serenade's initial reaction, but the moment the girl's face broke into a smile, the cheerfulness proved infectious.
"A-alright then, I'm glad you don't mind. I'm sure we'll figure out how to do this stuff on our own."
Already her mind was racing with the to-dos. Get a mat - they used mats for yoga, right? And instruction books. Or videos? Did yoga-participants listen to music?
One hand stretched out and latched on to the poor teenager's arm and without another word, Ursula dragged her off to collect supplies for the both of them.
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