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 Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:21 pm
The sun was setting as Camilla glanced at the skyline. She had covered herself up with a large sweat shirt and ripped, hoping that she would call little to no attention to herself. Camilla was hoping the get-up would cause people to think she was just some low-life bum. She definitely didn't want her parents recognizing her with what she had.
Over her shoulder draped a thick-cardboard tube. Inside, she had made a large poster. Camilla knew that she wanted her art to be seen and 'heard', but she also didn't want to permanently 'tag' anything, degrading herself to a common thug. She hugged the tube tightly as she made her way down the street. It would be the first time she would be doing something like this. People could tear it down easily, but at least people would notice. At least people would stop and look and possibly learn about something.
Camilla ducked in and out through the crowds that were headed home. She had walked up and down the streets looking for the perfect spot until a few days ago, where there was an empty wall of a store that seemed to be long abandoned. It seemed to be a perfect find for her because she didn't have to care about upsetting the owner of the store. And the fact that many people walked by that spot and people just would have to stop and look.
Once the brick wall was in sight, Camilla quickened her pace and ducked into the alley where it was. "People can see this, but I can also put it up in secret since it's a little shaded here," Camilla whispered to herself. "Finally! My art will be seen!" She stood in front of the wall as she popped the lid to her container and pulled out the poster. Out of her pockets came some masking tape. Smiling, Camilla got to work.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:38 pm
Arrogant, pompous, competitive Jett was not about to let a little cold get to him (although, he had upgraded it from ‘cold’ to ‘potential death-threat’ in his head). He had taken a day off, both from work and school, though devised a plan to keep himself in action.
It consisted of fruits, medicine, and coffee.
So much coffee.
He was on his twelfth cup today, and while his body was used to three, maybe four cups, twelve was overdoing it a bit.
…But he could hardly feel his cold anymore.
The coffee had kept him warm, and awake, and upbeat, and despite being completely lacking in energy, he’d done more work today than he had in the past week. Jett had swept, cleaned the windows, dusted everything, made some calls, made some deliveries, appraised a whole box of antiques (with a little help from his very amused boss), and was now restocking the shelves.
He would have neglected going out to the storehouse entirely, except perhaps to see if it was all locked up before going home, though was in the process of transporting a half emptied box back to it’s spot on the shelf when he noticed the girl. She didn’t seem to be doing anything nefarious like he’d originally assumed, though she still seemed a peculiar sight. He approached, impressed that her diligence in her work prevented her from noticing him (though, to be fair, he was walking lightly to see if he could sneak up on her).
From a distance, he had heard her speaking and assumed she was on the phone, though with both hands in sight, he gathered that was not quite the case. Waiting until he was standing just barely behind her, Jett asked, “Do you always talk to yourself while defacing private property or is tonight just special?”
He was a little jittery tonight—a twitch in his jaw and a very slight shake in his hands, but for the most part seemed normal. His nose was reddened from blowing so much, and his cheeks were just ever so slightly flushed from an increased temperature, but all things considered, it could be worse.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:54 pm
An odd sneeze came out of Camilla as she continued to put up her poster. She did not notice, nor even attempt to notice that there was someone approaching. It wasn't that she wasn't afraid of getting caught, but more so... She felt like she had no reason to be afraid. When she heard someone speak out, the girl jumped. After she turned around, Camilla snapped. She tried to keep calm, but she was annoyed at being sneaked up on. "Sorry to say, Mister, but I'm not defacing."
"Defacing is to 'ruin' the surface of something," she said as she tried to put on a nice smile. "This poster, however, adds to the surface of this building and in no way ruining the original building." Camilla turned back to her poster and pulled off another piece of masking tape. As she worked to securely put up her poster, Camilla spoke again. "I don't mean to offend, but this poster does beautify this spot just a bit."
Camilla stood back a little bit and admired her work. It was a picture depicting 'good' versus 'evil' with the questions 'what is good' and 'what is evil'. She wanted to call attention to those so called 'heroes' and 'villains' that appeared to sneak around at night. Without knowing either side, she found the news horribly annoying highlighting one as a good and the other bad. She looked back at the man that seemed to be standing there. Although seemingly still to himself, she could see random twitches in his body and bright red nose that made the girl laugh just a bit.
"It seems to me that you look like you should be in bed... Not criticizing something you know nothing about."
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:03 am
“Oh, that’s cute. You look like you should have been in bed two hours ago, little girl.”
Jett very briefly glanced at her poster, initially paying it little mind as he gestured towards it with his head. “I bet you ten bucks that when I go to pull that off the building, the tape sticks and some of this paint chips. Ergo, ‘defacing’,” Jett quipped, now giving the girl a stern, disapproving look as he shifted the box in his arms. “Of course, even if that doesn’t work, I’ve got problem tearing s**t up and blaming it on you. If you’re going to stand around and make a mess of things—” he glanced at her poster, clearly not much of a fan of the message, “At least do me a favor and open the door. I’ve got work to do, and you’re in my way.”
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:15 am
Camilla was very much tempted to look the man straight in the eyes and roll her eyes. She had been raised better than that, but it didn't mean the desires didn't stop coming. "Mister, you're the one that has a red nose and shaking for some reason." After she spoke, she let out a sneeze. "I wouldn't be surprised if these sneezes are 'gifts' from you."
With the attitude the guy was giving Camilla, he seemed to very much remind her of those grumpy old men that hated life. Anything that 'young' people did annoyed them, and this 'man' seemed just like it. "Sir, if you think about it, you would be pulling the tape that pulls off the paint. If I were to take it off myself, I'd be able to do it without having to 'deface' anything. Ripping down something violently is one thing, but doing something carefully is another."
As she continued to listen to this guy talk, Camilla sighed. She didn't like being polite to people that talked about her age. Yeah, she was 15, but she never knew why it mattered so much to people. Camilla walked over to the door, and opened the door with a little bow. "For you," she said. Under her breath, she added 'grandpa'.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:24 am
Jett wrinkled his nose at the girl as he passed. “Doesn’t matter who pulls that tape off, I’ll still blame you if it chips. Thanks,” he added, however, as she held the door open for him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t have opened it himself, just that it was too much effort.
Though on the outside the storehouse looked rather abandoned and neglected, inside it was only a little dusty. It was crammed with antiques and boxes and seemed quite well-tended. The lights were on, implying that Jett had been making the trip in and out of the store frequently enough that he didn’t see any effort in flicking the switch every time he went in and out.
Jett stepped past the girl and lifted the box a little, sliding it onto the top shelf. “So,” he spoke, “That poster. I’m assuming you made it?”
He gave the box one last shove, solidifying its position on the shelf before he lowered his arms and brushed his hands off on his jeans. “What message are you hoping to get across from it? Good, evil—do you really think anyone around here cares?”
His question—surprisingly—wasn’t condescending. Jett seemed, in fact, entirely curious as to the girl’s motives and message. He turned from the box he’d just put up and glanced at her as he stepped out of the storage room, addressing his gaze to the poster she’d taped up on the side of the building.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:40 am
"You're welcome," Camilla said, unsure if she actually meant it. It was the first sign of polite-ness that had shown from this guy.
After he stepped through, Camilla's curiosity peaked and she looked inside. The outside and inside looked like a dump to her and she wondered why someone that seemed as young as this man did would be at a old... filthy place like this. Camilla definitely still had the idea that he was an old man. "Maybe he's in disguise...?"
Camilla shrugged as he asked about the poster. "I don't think I'd care enough to put up the work of someone else," she responded as she looked at the floor of the warehouse. Growing up, she didn't really look up to anyone, meaning she'd never had another artist to look up to. She stared at her poster as he continued to question.
"Things that look out of the ordinary can sometimes catch the attention of people... A lot of people seemed to be so self-absorbed in where they need to be that the lose sight." Camilla knew that she was hopeful people would notice, but it was the hope of something inside her that kept her going. "Someone will stop and look. They'll point. They'll make other people notice and open their eyes for a change."
She continued to ramble on as her gaze was lost with the poster. "A lot of people only listen to what the media tells them. How do we know these... people running around at night are good or evil? How do we know that some are 'helping' or not..." The many questions in her head caused Camilla to trail off until she shook her head sharply.
"I guess... I guess I don't believe in this 'good versus evil' thing and I want to open up other peoples' eyes to that opinion..."
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:54 am
Jett seemed to be considering her words, though he was not a man who really appreciated either art or artistic messages. People might see this poster, but he wasn’t convinced they’d think about it as deeply as the girl in front of him had while making it. “Maybe,” he mused, now flicking off the light and closing the door to the storehouse. He extracted a key and locked it before wriggling the handle to make sure it was secure.
“Have you ever met one of them? The people running around at night, I mean. Do you have any experience with them?
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 2:03 pm
"To be honest, no," Camilla said, still looking at the poster. "I kind of want to, kind of don't." She knew that there were stories about it being dangerous at night, and since she still needed to move out before she could actually venture out, meeting one of those 'people' was not an option. "My parents feed on the words of the media, so they've never let me out to explore for myself."
Camilla continued without thinking. "They only started giving me a little bit more freedom after I told them I wanted to transfer schools and move out." She paused after she realized what she was saying. The words were all true, but she didn't understand why she would openly tell some stranger. "Oh well," she thought, "Probably never going to see him again after today anyways."
She looked over at the man. "I'll have my chance to meet them. To finally understand what they are... But until I can judge for myself, I want people to open their eyes and judge with their own minds..." Camilla trailed off as she looked back at the poster and then back at the man. "What about yourself? You seem awfully curious for someone that wanted to rip my poster to shreds..."
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:15 pm
“I think I’m allowed to ask what your poster means before I rip it down, don’t you think? I mean, if I hadn’t asked, maybe I’d have thought you were advertising some shitty garage band, or posting up some gang sign up.”
He slid his hands, still trembling just slightly from his caffeine intake, into his pocket and rolled on the balls of his feet as he gave the poster one last glance. He shifted his gaze to Camilla’s face and continued speaking, “It’s a decent message. I like it. The media doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” he said, shrugging. “And those people that run around at night? There’s a whole mess of them. I’ve run into my fair share, but that’s what happens when you’re out too late. You meet some good ones, you meet some bad ones. You meet some that don’t know what’s going. I’d say you were a smart girl for not putting so much faith in the media but, then again, calling me grandpa doesn’t exactly leave me with a favorable impression. And since I don’t want to think of you as a rude girl, let’s correct this situation. I’m Jett,” he introduced, nodding his head. He didn’t bother extending his hand, especially given that he didn’t want to encourage the spread of germs. “And you are…?”
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 4:08 pm
Camilla let out a crude laugh. "Some shitty band? Some gang sign?!" She laughed again before speaking. "I wouldn't be caught dead doing either. Those are people trying to do something different and need others advertising for them." Camilla looked back at the 'old man', this time grinning. "This is me doing something different for myself, by myself!"
She liked having the feeling that she could do something. Of course, Camilla knew that what she did would have more power if more people did it with her, but she liked knowing that at least someone was doing something about this stuff. Camilla was surprised when she actually heard a compliment come out of the man's mouth. She was about to thank him until she heard him talk about being called 'grandpa'.
"Well, I honestly wouldn't if you were not shaking like no tomorrow and visiting a place filled with antiques. It definitely makes you seem like a grandpa." Camilla just shrugged slightly. "But it is nice to meet you Mr. Jett... And I appreciate someone liking the message... People just need to take a step back and look sometimes..."
"My name's Camilla." She wanted to extend her hand for his, but since he didn't initiate it, he must not have wanted to touch her or... something?
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 9:50 am
Jett scoffed at her words, not quite unpleasantly, but with a haughtiness that came with his youth being insulted. “Please,” he grumbled. “Just ‘Jett’. If I were a decade or two older, I might accept ‘Mr. Draven’, but you don’t have to go out of your way to make me feel old. You’d do well to appreciate antiques. There’s history in these. And money,” he reassured her.
Eyeing her hand, it was clear that shaking was customary for Jett, however given his current health, he wasn’t going to risk getting the girl sick. Even if she had annoyed him a bit, he wasn’t sure he’d wish this sickness on anyone. Camilla didn’t even seem that bad, not now that they had spoken some. “We’ll do a raincheck on the shake,” he said, apparently having followed a similar thought process as the girl in front of him. “Sick, now. Apparently it’s pretty contagious. And I’d be in bed right now if it weren’t for the coffee, so excuse me if I’ve gotten a little jittery from imbibing in a bit too much.”
He didn’t seem to really care if she excused him or not, simply continued speaking and eyed the poster. “It can stay up,” he informed her. “I can’t guarantee many people will see it back here, but until the elements take their toll, I’ll let it stay up.”
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 10:36 am
"Well, how about Mr. Jett?" Camilla had friends and she never really called them 'miss' or anything, but it seemed like Jett was older than her and it was the least she could do after calling him grandpa under her breath. "It's kinda in between both. It seems like 'mister' fits you well, for some reason." She smiled at him, a lot more nice and welcoming this time.
Camilla tried to keep away a disgusted look. It wasn't that she thought sick people were horrible or anything... She just hated getting sick herself. She backed off away from Jett, just a little bit. "I'm sorry. I have nothing against sick people... I just... Really don't like being sick. My parents are rather spiritual and would rather me tough it out than take medicine... So it's not fun."
When she heard that he'd allow the poster to stay up, Camilla smiled. "Thank you..." She paused and looked up at it again. "It feels weird, but I'm oddly really attached to the posted and well, it's meanings and stuff." It was odd, but inside of her, she really wanted to meet some of these 'people', if she were to call them that.
Softly, she spoke again. "I kinda really want to meet these people for myself." Even more soft, she added to what she said. "Maybe... Maybe joining them if I could..."
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 7:08 pm
Jett considered protesting being called mister, but he supposed at the very least it was a sign of respect on her behalf, so he’d take what he could get. He wasn’t going to argue that, and he wasn’t going to argue her keeping a distance. He didn’t want her germs any more than she wanted his, and with his immune system already compromised, the less contact he had with others, the better.
The poster was really no skin off his back so he wasn’t going to treat it like it was some great favor he was doing her. “You seem really passionate about all of this,” he noted, considering her words as he reflected on the poster. “…Do you know enough about them to want to meet—join—them or are you a girl filled with a bunch of ideals who is just looking to rebel?”
He wanted to chastise the girl for mumbling; they were in a conversation and here she was, speaking so quietly he almost couldn’t hear?
It perplexed him—why this girl would want to join the scene when it was dangerous. People got hurt—some people died. And she wasn’t fleeing the scene—she wanted to be a part of it?
Hell, he might have been thrilled if he didn’t think she was a tad bit crazy.
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