[R] WHY HELLO THERE [Christa and Ridley]

[chirigami]

"'ey Ridley, stop kicking with your toes. Kick with your laces!" Conner Pendergast sighed to his little sister after fetching their soccer ball for the nth time that afternoon. Now that soccer season had officially ended for her team this year, Ridley's older brother Conner had decided to take it upon himself to help her out for the next year. Sure, they had just gotten onto the off season, but that didn't mean they could play around here and there. So, as any logical person would do, he took her to the park to kick the ball around and maybe get some bad habits out of her.

"Thats too hard to remember!" Ridley exclaimed, adjusting the bands that held her hair in place. It was downright annoying having to remember which part of the foot one kicked with, it all did the same thing, right? You hit the ball, it went... that was easy enough as it was. Who cared about angles and momentum and all that jazz. Or did soccer differ as you got older or something? Ridley scrunched her face at the thought, how annoying. Rules shouldn't change when you upped a grade.

Conner sighed, again, plopping the ball to his feet and shifting it between the right and the left. He might not be a soccer player but he knew how the handle the ball easy enough and at least better that the siblings' eldest brother Max... and well, Ridley. "Will this prove my point?" He grinned, connecting the inside of his foot with the blue and yellow ball and watched it sail past his sister with ease.

"Not fair!" Ridley huffed, turning tail and chasing after it and towards a series of benches where people were occupied with their personal doings.  

[Lucifer Force]

It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times - An Essay on the Opening Paragraphs of Literature.

Christa turned another page, enjoying being out and about in the park. Well, as out and about as she was apt to get. At her aunt's insistence, Christa went out to read and enjoy the nice weather they were having, placing her things on a park bench with ample shade and a very gentle breeze. She wasn't into sports or athletics, but the world outside provided excellent natural lighting, and she could finish some long overdue studying. There was an essay coming up in English class again.

She took a week off of patrolling to keep up with her schoolwork and so far, things were working out. Her aunt and uncle weren't suspicious in the slightest, and when she finished the next few chapters, she could get back to researching about the moon. Several books on the subject were in a stack beside her, mixed in with her school books and books on classical horror authors. Life was good.

The teen just finished another chapter and went to turn the page when a bright soccer ball rolled up and against her foot. Placing the bookmark in the book, she closed it and leaned over to pick up the ball, looking around for the owner. A little girl with bright hair and brighter eyes was running this direction. Holding it out to her, Christa asked, "Is this yours?"  

[chirigami]

"It is!" Ridley exclaimed with flailing arms, not even having gotten to the older girl. As she began her rapid approach, she somehow managed to slow down a little and to a halt. "My brother kicked it super far... he was trying to teach me a lesson, I think!" She was all smiles even if she was explaining while catching her breath from her short sprint to Christa.

"Thanks for catching it," Ridley nodded, remembering her manners, as she took the ball in hand and placed it awkwardly under her arm with a part resting on her hip. Common occurrences would have the small child saying goodbye to the savor of their ball, but the little orange haired girl remained where she was with a curious look on her face.

After a moments pause and a slight rock on her feet, Ridley beamed. "I'm Ridleym and you are?" And another beat after, "whatcha readin'?" She asked innocently enough. Of course this wasn't to be asked to expand her own library, books were terribly boring and kept most people inert for long periods of time. It was just a conversation starter that could lead to more questions.

Some distance away, Conner frowned and slumped a little. Gah, Ridley!  

[Lucifer Force]

Christa blinked. She was just like her younger brother - full of energy, bright, curious and adorable. That made her smile. Children were usually the most honest and nice individuals one could meet. After the introduction, Christa introduced herself. "My name's Christa. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ridley." After tilting her head at the child, she had to ask. "Where does your name come from? It's a very nice name." The first thing Christa thought was the lead character from the Alien movie series, and such a name would be befitting a child as brave as this one. At least, she thought Ridley was the name, or something similar...

Closing her book and marking the page, the teen placed it back on the stack next to her. "Do you play soccer for your school, Ridley?" Christa wasn't a sports-oriented child, but her brother certainly was. She attended many of his games, but Christa's favorite sport was reading. Too bad that was boring for most children. Motioning to her stack of books, Christa tried to explain. "I was doing some homework. I have to read about how someone makes the beginning of a book interesting enough to keep reading the rest. Sometimes they're just so boring in the beginning that you don't want to keep reading."

With a decisive nod, Christa leaned back on the bench, clearing a space for Ridley if she decided to sit down for a moment. She was an active child, so she probably wouldn't. "Do you go to Knightside Elementary, Ridley? I went there when I was your age. My brother did too!"  

[chirigami]

This person was engaging her, it was like a dream come true! If Christa really looked into those orange eyes, she would probably see stars and hearts of sheer delight. Ridley couldn't help but pull her smile further. "I like your name too... though it doesn't remind me of anything to be honest." Either way, "my mom really likes Ridley Scott movies, so I was named after him" she nodded all matter-of-factly. "I haven't seen a lot of them since some of them rated R 'nd stuff but she let me watch Blade Runner and Legend, Legend was neat it had trolls and stuff and a big red guy and none of it was CG or anything!" Her hands almost shot out with her explanation, but the presence of the ball kept them in tight. There was at least an enthusiastic giggle accompanied.

Should be noted, Christa was close; Ridley Scott directed the first Aliens movie.

Speaking of the ball, Ridley rolled it around so it rested on her stomach with two hands securing it. She shook her head at Christa's next inquiry, "I play with AYSO 'cause everyone plays with that system." Maybe it was a comment that she wasn't so fantastic, but since her heart wasn't in the game it made sense to make sure she didn't have to try out and then get disappointed with not making the team. Not to mention, the school team probably wouldn't take too kindly with how rough she was. "Maybe at some point I'll play for school, if I still like soccer." Was added as she slid the contour of the shoe against the pavement.

"Are you a writer?" Came her own question. Someone who was trying to keep people reading had to be a writer, especially with the kind of book she was apparently engrossed in. Taking the cue from Christa's shifting, Ridley smiled broadly and hopped herself on the bench next to the dark haired girl. Being an active child didn't mean she didn't sit, she just didn't sit still. So, her little legs swung and kicked underneath her as she steadied the ball in her lap. "I don't like reading much," she muttered as she settled with a scrunch of her nose.

"I do go there, its pretty awesome!"  

[Lucifer Force]

It wasn't surprising that Christa's name didn't remind anyone of anything. She was told there was some story behind it, but it was lost over time. Some combination of ancestors' names and the like. Christa didn't care much, but she hardly ever revealed her full name to anyone. Too many stigmas of being from the South and whatnot for her tastes. "So your parents really like movies. You have a good name, Ridley. People will remember it because it's so very different from everyone else's. I think that's a very good thing. You're not an Ashley or a Sarah or anything like that."

With a decisive nod, Christa watched as the child sat up on the bench with her. She hoped her parents wouldn't mind her speaking to a stranger, though a teenage girl from Meadowview High was considerably less dangerous than a teenage boy from anywhere, really.

Crossing her hands in her lap, Christa listened to Ridley's explanation of her soccer-playing days. "You're not sure if you'll still play? Are you just trying out a bunch of different sports to see which one you like the best? You don't have to commit to anything, especially if you don't like it." That was the joy of childhood - discovery and the love of trying everything. You simply had to get your feet wet to know whether or not you'd stick with something as time went on. It's simply how these things worked.

Ridley's question made Christa smile. "Why yes, I am a writer. I wasn't athletic like you when I was at Knightside. I really liked to read and imagine and write my own stories. I still do it now." She lifted a few of the books from her stack, one of which was a sci-fi book with a large spacescape on the front. "I love to read. I think it's a great talent to be able to hook someone enough to have them keep reading. It's like a movie, but on paper, I guess." She shrugged, knowing Ridley probably wouldn't be interested in such things.

"My brother's favorite sport to play was kickball during recess. He couldn't decide if he liked soccer or baseball the best, so when he found kickball, he was in heaven. Those red rubber balls hurt though when they hit you in the face!"  

[chirigami]

Ridley's legs began to kick under the seat a little and swing in an unsynchronized manner. "Different is cool, yeah yeah. But there's nothing wrong with those other names." She smiled

Her head tilted to the side for a moment in thought, allowing one of her loops to sit awkwardly against her cheek. "Hmm," she hummed for a moment wondering how to address the issue of soccer. Her fingers began to play with the pentagon shapes sewn into the ball as she thought. "Soccer is the only one that seems really cool right now, I get to run around the whole time. Softball was boring when I tried it, and we had to hit from a Tee, how boring! And you stand most of the time waiting for something to happen!" At that, she shot up straight again with a little jump, "and basketball was a little hard 'cause the hoop is so far away. My brother Max tried to get me into football but my mom got mad when I got a black eye." Ridley made a face at that memory.

Ridley turned to Christa, a bit of a wicked look in her eyes, "I wanna try hockey next. You know they get to hit each other and not get in trouble unless its super bad? How COOL is that?" There were so many times in which she had been kicked out in the game for beating the other kids up. Finally, there was something she could be rough in.

But her sparkle flittered off a little, would Christa not be interested in that sort of thing? She said she wasn't an athlete or anything. She liked to read. "Movies are only two hours long though, books sometimes take a long time to get through." She sighed, taking a better look at the pile of books. The big. pile. of. books. "Did that one have a space ship on it?" She asked, her hand up, pointing at the pile next to older girl.

Elsewhere, Conner was getting impatient of waiting. He pulled out his phone and began to send a few texts to inform his mother of the situation and request a chance to slip away for an errand while Ridley was occupied. It wasn't like he was going to just ditch his sister, they had cellphones for pete's sake.  

[Lucifer Force]

The teen nodded her head in agreement. "No, there's nothing wrong with those other names, but I guess I'm a fan of Ridley the best."

In listening to Ridley's explanation of sports, Christa came to realize she was a rambunctious and energetic young girl who was very athletic and charming. It was a shame that she perhaps had too much energy and suffered for it. "I can see how softball wouldn't really interest you. It think baseball is the same way. It's a lot of waiting and only a few people are doing something at one time. Then you have to wait for someone to hit the ball before you can move again." She shook her head. She knew about sports, just did not participate in them, but when Ridley mentioned hockey, Christa's eyes lit up. She'd never played hockey, but she loved to ice skate.

"I bet you're love hockey. You're skating along so fast on the ice and everyone's moving all the time. Well, except the goalies." Christa made a motion as if she was on the ice, pointing down towards the opposite team's goalie. "You're padded too, so when you made a bee line for the other team's net and someone runs into you, it's not so bad. But yes, it seems like they can rough each other up and not get in trouble for it. I think it's a much faster sport than football, though falling on the ice can hurt sometimes. I haven't played hockey myself, but I love ice skating."

At Ridley's request, the gray-haired teen picked up the sci-fi book in question. "Yes, this one is about a group of people on a space ship trying to find technology to stop a climate crisis on Earth. It's very interesting." She handed it to Ridley in case she wanted to take a look. "There are lots of aliens and lots of fighting involved."  

[chirigami]

Ridley couldn't help but blush a little at Christa's compliment on her name. In a world where people could be named Ampany or Pilot, no one really cared about names these days except to complain about them.

"We went ice skating a few years back," Ridley nodded, drumming her fingers on the ball now. "It took a little while to get used to but I can imagine its something you gotta practice and such." That day at the rink was when she really got to see some hockey players first hand and she stared starstruck at them, enough so that they let her play with a hockey stick until her family had to pry it out of her even smaller hands. "Still, its fast and awesome."

With the book presented to her, Ridley carefully took it in hand while minding the ball in her lap. She rested an elbow on it as she flipped a few of the pages of the novel that Christa had given her. "How would technology help the climate?" She asked, not really getting it. "Why not just use the space ship to go somewhere else?" Her attention was still on the book, idly reading a few pages here and there, mouthing the words as she went.

beep beep

"Aa," Ridley almost jumped as a short tune bit through the air. In an attempt to juggle a book and a ball, Ridley used her free hand to reach into a hidden pocket of her shirt to pull out her iphone. How it managed to fit somewhere on her at all was a mystery, but somehow her mother had found a way. She slide her finger to unlock it to see the text message she had recieved.

"Conner: I'm going to get something to drink, you want anything?"

"Sorry, its my brother." Ridley sheepishly smiled to Christa in apology as she made a quick response. "Pink Lemonaid! "He wandered off, I think." She further explained as she handed the book back to older girl.  

[Lucifer Force]

The teen listened to the story about ice skating, and wondered where Ridley would be in a few years. She was a very daring and athletic child, and she would probably end up on her fair share of sports teams once the idea that rules had to be followed were understood. Zach had the same problem - going after someone in football even when they didn't have the ball took a while to drill into him. "They have hockey leagues for younger kids like yourself. I've seen a couple of fliers around town. Maybe you'd be interested in that if soccer doesn't end up being what you like to do?"

The question Ridley posed about the book made perfect sense, and showed how smart the little girl was. "There are simply too many people on Earth to fit into that spaceship. The Earth is deteriorating too fast to get everyone off in time, so they sent their best and brightest into space to find the solution and bring it back." That was her most simple explanation. "I think it's interesting, reading about what people do and think while they're out in space with a mission like that. Scary, but exciting at the same time. They might decide to turn it into a movie one day, I think."

A few beeps went off then, and Ridley took out a cell phone. Naturally, she wouldn't be here by herself. Christa took the book and replaced it on the pile next to her. "I hope I'm not keeping you from visiting with your brother?"  

[chirigami]

It took a moment for Ridley to respond, as her head shot up and her eyes got wide and hopeful. Her brain finally processed what Christa told her and excitement filled her voice. "THEY DO?!" Then her eyes narrowed a little, "why did no one tell me?" Her hands balled into fists, one clutching her phone ever so tightly as a tiny spark of anger flew out of her for the briefest of moments.

Because in an instant, it was gone and she was smiling again. Almost wickedly, "hockey.. excellent." She was channeling a little bit of Mr. Burns there with her statement and she turned her attention back to the other topics at hand.

"I see him everyday though," Ridley looked puzzled over Christa's words. How could she visit her brother when she lived in the same house?  

[Lucifer Force]

Christa couldn't help but chuckle at Ridley's enthusiasm. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to tell her about the children's hockey league. She only meant to assist Ridley, but the child's almost wicked smile made her blink. Ah, a little troublemaker to be sure! Christa wasn't positive what to make of this, but if hockey lets RIdley burn off some of that energy, then it could be for the best. "I've never played in hockey but I bet it would be a lot of fun for you." she said, marking the page where she stopped reading in her book. She could finish it later.

The teen shook her head at Ridley's confusion, a small smile on her face. "Oh no, I meant that you were spending time with him. I didn't want to distract you from spending time with your brother. I'm sure he likes you a great deal."  

[chirigami]

"It seems totally awesome," Ridley replied, her palms balling into fists with enthusiasm at the idea. Her parents said she could try in a few years but maybe if she mentioned that someone told her that they had a league for her age group then maybe, just maybe she could start now. Awesome, just awesome.

That fantastic idea reeled in once again at the continued conversation about her brother. "But, we spend a lot of time with each other." Again, they lived together. "So, its nothing special, he was also trying to teach me boring stuff." Ridley waved her hand at the thought, wanting to imply it also with the thought that they had a liking for one another. But she simply shrugged at the idea, "if torturing each other means liking one another... then okay, I guess." That's what siblings were supposed to do, right? Her brothers always told her they teased because they cared, and everything were love taps and stuff - which she always tried to reciprocate.  

[Lucifer Force]

Resting her hands in her lap, Christa rather enjoyed Ridley's company. She was enthusiastic and wide-eyed, curious and eager about the world. Was she like that when she was younger? The teen figured not - her mother always said her daughter was the spitting image of herself, which meant seriousness in everything. Christa frowned for a moment before shaking her head, whisking the thought away. "I think that's the job of older siblings. We have to teach our younger brothers and sisters boring things. I tried to teach my little brother how to play chess, but he wasn't interested."

She shrugged it off as being too sophisticated for her brother. "But I never tortured him. I'm sure your brother doesn't mean to torture you. However..." The teen leaned in as if to tell Ridley a secret about life and the universe. "Have you tried sticking an ice cube down his shirt while he's sleeping? I bet that would be excellent payback..."

Oh dear, corrupting the youth.  

[chirigami]

"I wouldn't see why he would, really." Ridley blurted out with even thinking. Chess was terribly boring, all she ever saw were old people playing it in the park while she was loud around them. Maybe she would enjoy it when she got to their age? Somehow, she even doubted that. At least those people did spend their time with the game outside though, being stuck inside playing such a game also didn't sound the least bit fun.

But, boring things and torture. Really, that's what older siblings were about. "Is it to make us stronger or something?" When her brothers beat on each other, and often her, that's how they often explained it. "I think they mean to though," she replied, using Christa's own words to get her point across. It wasn't like she minded so much and hey, she was giving her ideas.

Ridley couldn't help but giggle at the older girl's suggestion. "That's a good one!" She'd have to save it for later, maybe on a cold day. "I've only gotten ice down their shirts when we went up to the snow one winter. It was hard to do since they're so tall!"