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 Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:31 am
After the mess that happened in the Maze, Ellie was once more without a vehicle. It wasn't too drastic a change. Oh, sure, she was dedicating every spare moment to the spare parts for The Spectrum, but aside from that, she was very adjusted to walking (err, running) everywhere. Right after her vehicle had been injured, she had gone to Hank and gotten his professional opinion. She already knew a majority of what she needed to get, but her mentor was able to point out some of the smaller things that she forgot.
That first night, she had to calculate the costs up before even remotely running to Dad and letting him know how everything ran down. There was a single embarrassing hug from the man, since as he phrased it, "Thank GOD you're alive!"
Ellie failed to see what the big deal was.
After what could have been a touching father-daughter moment, she went over the financials. Her dad loved to get her things, but at the same time, he was stingy. She knew it. He liked to get the best deals he could when he could. Initially the man's jaw dropped when he saw the pricing for the parts.
This was expected.
As was the next suggestion from her Dad. "I know that Hank gives us good deals on parts, but have you tried shopping around?" One thing led to another, and the final result was the promise of taking a look at the pricing of some competitors.
And thus, Ellie Spectre arrived at CostMart. If you needed to buy something in bulk, you went to CostMart, where it was usually pretty inexpensive. It was where the tomboy usually purchased her microwaveable burritos from (speaking of which, she was going to grab herself a couple boxes). The tall girl began to march her way into the building with a look of determination on her face which almost made it look like it was her against the world. And she was ready to kick the world's a**!
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 7:16 pm
CostMart. 50's diners and old record stores aside, this was Jack's favourite place to shop. His was the sort of family that bought everything in bulk, especially if they didn't immediately, obviously need it.
'You never know when something might come in handy,' he remembered his mother saying as she'd piled bottle upon bottle of PAM cooking spray into their shopping cart, 'and this stuff's 40% off! It's our lucky day, kids.'
Enough time had passed, since then, that they'd needed to restock on a number of occasions.
Today, Jack was running an errand for his sister. He was also baby-sitting. In the shopping cart that he pushed there sat a rosy-cheeked toddler with blonde hair and blue eyes. His name was Freddie and, with the exception of his hair, which Uncle Jack had greased up to look exactly like his, it was mostly impossible to tell that they were related.
Jack was busily piling boxes of Pampers Pull-Ups into their cart when Ellie stormed by them. Freddie's big blue eyes widened and, watching her, he pressed a chubby hand to his lips. Jack noticed and, cocking an eyebrow, peered around the aisle to get a better look at what had caught his nephew's eye.
"That, right there, is a chick on a mission," he mused quietly. And then, winking at Freddie, who giggled and clapped his hands, Jack whispered conspiratorially, "What do'ya say we go and have a little fun?"
The cart creaked audibly as he he wheeled it out of the aisle, and indiscreetly started to trail the attitude that marched ahead of them. Every once in awhile, Freddie would twist in his seat and attempt to climb out. Jack distracted him with silly faces.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 9:32 am
Nobody could ever accuse the blonde of being a window shopper. Where plenty of people took their time and looked around, she always went straight to finding what she wanted, and then heading back out to pay. Even when she was clothing shopping (which she enjoyed doing if it was the right sorts of styles), she still spent at most ten minutes in shop if there was nobody interesting to talk to.
Her path was pretty straight forward at the moment, making her way to the frozen food section without any stops. She knew the aisles well, so when she turned at the 3rd aisle in the frozen food section, it was pretty obvious it was the only one she needed to visit. Four doors down, and she swept in, opening the door and reaching in to grab three large boxes of burritos. She could hear the squeaks of the many wheels on various carts, but it wasn't unusual for there to be many people in CostMart at this time.
You'd think they'd be able to afford the oil for those wheels.
With her decent stash being held against her body, she kicked the door to the freezer shut.
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Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 3:01 pm
The wheels of their cart squeaked and creaked like all of the others. Jack, who was unconcerned about being caught attempting to stalk a pretty girl as she stalked up on frozen food, made as much ruckus with his giant-metal-basket-on-wheels as possible. Amidst the the busy murmurs and the buzz of the store, this wasn't really very impressive.
Nonchalant and and casual as ever, Jack pulled up to the set of doors beside Ellie and retrieved several packages of heavily processed chicken fingers from within. He dumped them into his cart and swept his hair out of his eyes. This was a gesture designed to capture attention and, Jack hoped, the hearts of women everywhere.
So far, his success to failure ratio was something like;
0 : 'who the hell knows.'
Not that he was keeping track.
From his seat in the cart, Freddie blinked rather shyly, but obviously, at Ellie. In his hands he held a large toy firetruck, which Jack had yet to pay for.
"Truck," he said simply, speaking to her, and hugged it to his chest.
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Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 8:26 pm
Alas, the redhead only seemed to get one sort of look from Ellie. Unfortunately, it was merely a circumstance of events prior to this trip to CostMart. There would be no swooning, just pure rage seeming to touch ever feature of her face. It wasn't exactly a very feminine. Then again, with a girl holding three boxes of burritos that she had every intention of eating by herself, it wasn't very likely she'd consider it an insult.
She was about to turn away and head off to the next department when the child's simple prompting got the tomboy to spare a look.
"Fire engine t'be more accurate. Or even Emergency vehicle..."
The hair style of the kid didn't go unnoticed. Or shortly, unmentioned.
"So, do ya always gel up yer b*****d kid's hair up like yer own, Grease Lightnin'?" The blonde sounded absolutely disinterested.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 4:02 pm
If Jack had expected any sort of expression, it certainly wasn't one of rage. Unashamed and unimpressed, Jack cocked an eyebrow at Ellie. So far, by all accounts, Jack had been nothing short of a gentleman. This was mostly because he hadn't yet deigned to speak, but she was making it difficult for him to even want to.
Angry chicks were about as much fun as a cat in the bathtub.
Little Freddie could not truly wrap his tongue or his mind around words like 'engine' and 'emergency' and 'vehicle.' He blinked up at Ellie, blue eyes shining with curiosity, and then waved his fire truck and mimicked the sound of it's siren.
"He's my nephew," came Jack's casual response. Something not unlike disapproval flashed in his eyes. He placed his hands over Freddie's ears, covering them to make a point, and gave Ellie a look; "And, don't call him that."
Freddie was no stranger to swear words and things of the sort, but Jack didn't appreciate Ellie's attitude. He was protective of his family.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:33 pm
Despite the look she was now getting from two pairs of eyes, the tomboy simply shrugged. "Ya never know in this society who knocked some b*tch up and got stuck with a kid." Ah, society, getting worse with every generation.
Were her hands free, she would have probably shoved them behind her head as she turned away. Instead, she simply turned as she spoke. "Well, he ain't one, so I don't 'ave t'call him one anymore..." She assumed that was the case, but she did dare to add "...unless yer siblin' had him outta wedlock?"
Since it wasn't really her business, she began to walk. "Lemme know when th'kid has real toys t'play with." That probably wouldn't be for another 17 years. For now, she still had to go to the automotive section to investigate some pricing on parts.
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:19 pm
Little Freddie's parents were not, in fact, married. Coleen's on-again, of-again relationship with Fredde's father, a lion-hearted man named James who had always been a little too generous when it came to the physical aspect of love, was as tumultuous and angry as it could be tender. Jack knew, because he had heard them fight, and he had watched his sister's eyes light up at Christmas time when she unwrapped whatever it was that the otherwise thoughtless James had especially remembered to buy. Once upon a time, there was an engagement. And then there hadn't been wedding.
Poor Freddie was forever caught in the middle.
But that was none of her business, and Jack did not feel like answering her question. His parents hadn't been married. He had never even seen his father.
Ellie was rude.
"I'm sure you won't be worth his time," Jack drawled after her, and did not bother to follow. He smiled down at Freddie, who was slobbering adorably on his fire truck, and shot an exaggerated expression of exasperation in Ellie's direction. Freddie giggled.
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:39 pm
That was a challenge if she ever heard one. She literally spun around to face the greasy haired duo. With a grin, she let him know "Yeah, it definitely wouldn't be worth his time t'play with a real motorcycle or car... yer right..." Yes, her vehicles were both now essentially just parts, but it was definitely better than toy cars. At a very young age, she had been exposed to parts, and it was much more beneficial to her than just pretending to race a car.
She spun around again, and before continuing to walk along, she mentioned "A 2003 Honda Rc211v, by the way..." The redhead looked like he might have cared about the specifics. If he didn't he could ignore it, but he just looked like the sort who might give a damn about vehicles.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 1:37 pm
Appearances could be deceiving. This, however, was not the case with Jack. He was an honest what-you-see-is-what-you-get sort of boy. Ellie was right. Jack did give a damn about vehicles. Cars that went fast. Trucks that rumbled. Paint-jobs that glistened.
Usually, the older a vehicle was, the better.
He cocked an eyebrow at Ellie when she turned around, took careful note of the smile on her face, and nodded. His own lips twitched into a grin. If she could be nice, Jack could be nice.
"What is that? A motorcycle?"
Jack appreciated vehicles for their style, and wanted one because he suspected that it would make him more appealing to the ladies, but knew little about the actual mechanics. Ellie seemed almost ready to burst at the seams with information. He admired her for this.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:47 pm
Respect points went down minus one. A guy who didn't know his motorcycles always lost respect points with Ellie. Jared had suffered this many times in the past. Zuniga was always up to date about bikes, but Jared was always staggering behind. Even with as many racing games as he had, he still didn't do so well remembering the bike names. He usually just referred to them by the colors.
"Uh... yeah... ya should look it up..." A glance to the nephew. "Maybe let th'kid see what it is too... he seems like he'd be interested." And probably pressing his face against the screen, drooling on it.
Once more, she turned away and began to walk. She had one other thing to check on, and standing around talking wasn't going to get it done. However, it didn't mean she didn't want company. "So, what exactly are ya 'ere t'get, kid?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:06 pm
"Oh, yeah, Freddie loves motorcycles," Jack grinned his trademark toothy grin, pearly white teeth sparkling in the ambient lighting of the store. Freddie beamed too, as if it were true, and waved his little fire truck at Ellie again.
"Nothing in particular," Chuckling, Jack stepped into a leisurely stride alongside the tomboy. The wheels of his shopping cart squeaked in obnoxious protest. "Well, except diapers and food that Freddie likes. I'm just grocery shopping-- you know."
He paused for a moment to fix his hair in the reflection of a plexiglass freezer, and dazzled a little at himself.
Ego. Jack had it.
"My name's Jack. This here," he gestured at Little Freddie with his chin, "Is Fred-er-ick. Freddie for short."
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 7:29 am
The girl glanced back only to find the guy messing with his hair. "Damn, yer such a girl..." she commented casually. Considering what a mess her own hair was in a majority of the time, she really couldn't understand why people would want to fix their hair every time they saw a reflective surface. It wasn't labeled as vanity, it was strictly labeled as being girly.
The blonde continued to walk past the aisle, and soon enough was heading out of the freezer area. In fact, it looked like she was pretty much done with CostMart altogether, with the way she was pretty much walking to the exit. The plan was to pay now, then go to the garage section, which required going outside and entering through another entrance. At least she'd be able to compare prices. She glanced back for a moment. "Couldn't 'ave guessed th'kid's name was Freddie." Ellie could have, just because Jack had mentioned the name a smidge earlier.
"If my hands weren't full, I'd shake yer hand... but regardless, I go by Ellie." She was carrying burritos, and she didn't really want to make the burrito tower go tumbling down, so instead she nodded her head instead of thrusting an arm out at the other guy.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:23 am
Jack was vain. Jack was also confident and cocky. He lofted an eyebrow at Ellie, looked her up and down in an obvious sort of way, and then shrugged. His lips twitched at the corners. "At least one of us is."
This was a taunt, and delivered in a sing-song voice that was more playful than it was spiteful and insulting. But it was spiteful and insulting. Just a little bit. Jack liked having the last word. It wasn't in him to take any stabs at his unquestionable masculinity lying down.
"You can put some of those boxes in our cart, if you want," he pointed at the large metal basket, where there was just enough room for a package or two of burritos, "until you pay for them?"
Because he wasn't going to. This wasn't a date.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:37 pm
If it had been meant as an insult, it was obvious it had flown over the tomboy's head. In fact, it almost looked like she took it as a compliment with how large her grin seemed to grow. If there was one thing she didn't mind, it was being considered one of the guys.
When he offered ever so politely to assist the tall girl with her burden, all she could was snort in an amused fashion. "What, ya don't think I can handle carryin' 'em myself? I can handle it by myself, Jackie-boy! I ain't no damsel in distress." Rather quickly, her feet drew her up to a line at the front of CostMart. Or closer to the middle.
Lines at CostMart were always a b*tch.
"So... Ya gonna let Fred-zilla try that granola sample?" Ellie shot a glance to a nearby sample woman in her mid 50s who was eying the trio.
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