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 Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:50 pm
It was odd going to the mall these days. After working there for a couple years, it felt only natural to walk immediately to where she used to work. True enough, it was on her list of places to visit for Carolynn Wylde, her new employer. However, it was becoming a bad habit to stop there first whenever she went to the mall.
Despite her familiarity with the different types of undergarments at Elizabeth's Secrets, it didn't mean that Yvette's cheeks stayed cool. No, they still warmed up and turned rosy. Even with a list she could easily sort through, it didn't mean she didn't bother the clerk to essentially find everything for her.
It wasn't that she was above looking for the proper underwear. It was more the fact she was still embarrassed, even after approximately 2 years under her belt of doing such for a living.
When she exited the store, she looked like a tree decorated for Christmas with pink bags hanging off her branches. It was no surprise that on her way to the next store, she ended up teetering helplessly as she made a turn too sharply.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 11:29 am
There were two reasons that Lazarus reached out an arm to catch the falling tower of shopping bags in the middle of the walkway. The first reason -- which, since he still clung to the notion he wasn't a sociopath, he considered to be the obvious reason -- was that underneath all of those teeming pink bags, he had deduced (through piecemeal observation) that there was also a person, and it was just place rude to see someone on the verge of falling down and step aside to let them go splat. Accordingly, and for this reason, Lazarus took two hasty steps to the left, into oncoming foot traffic, and looped an arm underneath the onslaught of bags to try and catch the toppling person lightly around her midsection. The second reason -- a more selfish one -- was that Lazarus, in fact, knew the person under all the pink bags. This alone was somewhat rare, but what was rarer still, he knew her from before. From Dionysia. He didn't know anybody from back then -- just this one girl, who he now knew had been perilously close to a very permanent sort of death. Accordingly, and for this reason, Lazarus didn't just catch the falling young woman, but also called out, startled, " Yvette!" and took a hasty step back the moment her balance seemed righted.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 3:35 pm
When one was expecting to tumble to the ground, knees running against the smooth floors of the mall, it was rather shocking to find that such a fate was not destined for her (this time). Something sturdy had managed to jut itself out, looping around her waist. She let out a sound that somewhat resembled the noise a mouse would make as her feet seemed to find their solid position upon the ground once more.
As a dark haired stranger stepped back, it was only then that Yvette realized what had held her up was an arm. This man's arm.
"I'm sosososososososos sorry!" she blurted out immediately, momentarily not even noticing that this unknown man had called her out by name. "Iwasn'tlookingwhereIwasgoing...Ididn'tmeantobumpintoyou!" Clearly that had been what happened, at least that was what was now playing in Yvette's mind. She was quick to put the blame on herself. Her cheeks were now scarlet as she checked her arms, making certain she hadn't lost any bags in that near fall and definite collision.
Once she had accounted for all bags on her person, something finally clicked.
He knew my name?
Most people would have outright asked immediately how the name was known. However, instead Yvette was quickly trying to figure out who this person was. Was this someone she had met through work? In the mall in general? Maybe a friend of the family?
Without an immediate answer coming to mind, the girl seemed to instead fidget with repositioning her pretty pink bags. All she could offer yet again was a quiet "I'm sorry..."
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:41 am
Lazarus realized his mistake too late to call the word back. He wasn't sure, without any knowledge whatsoever about her life, what sort of lie he could tell to cover up that he'd recognized her -- but thankfully, it seemed like she might not have noticed the slip-up. He decided not to call attention to it. And anyway, he felt a trill of excitement in his gut, seeing her. She was from before. He'd never felt so close to a missing piece of Eli Bell's memory. A grin spread across his face, and it felt very weird: very genuine. "It's alright, miss," he said, putting arms up as though to assuage her nerves. "No harm, no foul -- you weren't in my way at all. I just didn't want to see you take a spill. Do you mind if I help you carry some of that?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 2:09 pm
Despite how clearly this girl was indeed in need of assistance, Yvette squeaked out "Oh no! I'm fine, really, I promise! A-and... I still have a few more stores I need to stop by before I take this back to my employer's place!" Clearly she couldn't inconvenience someone else's day with her own inability to tote about a few bags.
Yet there she stood, still pretending she was a holiday pine, and making an absolutely unconvincing argument for her case.
"...but... um..." Her eyes soon enough fell upon her toes, still a bad habit in times of great embarrassment.
"...thank you... for not letting me fall... I... I guess..."
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:03 pm
"A few more stores?!" Lazarus echoed, blinking in very evident disbelief. "Are you planning on growing a few more arms?" He batted a hand in the air as though he were quite literally shifting her objections aside. "No, no, that won't do. You'll finish your shopping and I'll help you with your bags, and I won't be worried you'll get horribly stuck while trying to fit through a doorway." He paused, and said, more sincerely. "Please -- let me help. I want to."
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:28 pm
Logic questioned how a man could so easily just put his time aside for some stranger that he inexplicably knew the name of. Did he not have his own errands to run, his own life to live? With how dangerous this city was, it also wasn't illogical for her to think of the potential of this man being a predator.
Despite the logic twisting around in her brain, it didn't cause her to speak out of line. He sounded honest, like he truly wanted to help. "I...I guess..." she squeaked, still not lifting her head at all as she responded.
Thanks to this encounter, it took her a few moments to remember what her next errands even were, but once she could recall which direction to go, she started to walk slowly and uncertainly, as if she was trying to make sure she was easy enough to follow.
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 8:24 pm
Lazarus, who was taller than Yvette and managing her bags comfortably, had no difficulty keeping up with her dainty little pace. He watched her progress with interest, curious to learn more about the one person who he and Eli Bell shared memories of. "So," he asked as they walked, teasing just a little, "is there some reason you favor the And the Kitchen Sink approach to shopping, as opposed to the spot-purchasing method? You're perhaps planning on going into hibernation? Packing an extra wardrobe to put in your pyramid tomb to be worn in the afterlife? You built a robot and it needs its own clothing? Your employer is an alien trying to blend in with human beings and has discovered that public nudity doesn't help the quest for verisimilitude?"
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 9:22 pm
The questions only made the poor girl's whole face a lovely rose pink color. Wonderful for cheeks, but not so much for the whole pallet of her face. It wasn't like she had written out the list of items for the errands. However, after the last theory had been spouted out, she quietly interjected "...u-um... it's none of those actually..."
She made a sharp turn, literally walking into a glitzy store specializing in makeups. The wild ads showing dramatic eye makeup and pouty, bright lips adorned the window displays.
"...these are j-just all for my employer. She has a specialty photo studio... th-that's all..."
The girl momentarily recalled that she had received a new batch of business cards from Carolynn as a gift. "It is best to make yourself known in the business world! If you don't advertise yourself, you lose potential customers and references." She had a small stack in her purse, but there was still something nagging at her brain which caused her to keep the cards hidden.
In hopes of getting a bit of space, she offered "I... um... I need to pick up the order my employer made.... um... youcanwaithereifyouwant?" She was already inching away a bit, as if expecting him to take up the offer.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 9:22 pm
Laz made sure to smile, demonstrating he accepted this answer and found it sufficient to answer his question. Yvette was so very, very shy -- he was pretty certain he was lucky she'd let him stick around for more than two minutes at all. There was no point in doing anything that was going to scare her off. "Ah, restocking -- I see. So you're something like a personal assistant, I'm guessing?" He looked down at the bags, wondering how urgently they were all needed. "Not the Devil Wears Prada kind, I hope." Lazarus found a bench across from the store and dutifully parked himself on it, arranging Yvette's bags around himself. "I won't budge an inch," he promised, unconcerned about her departure. He had her stuff, after all -- it wasn't like she was just going to disappear without it and never come back. The temptation to peek in the bags, just for curiosity's sake, was high -- but he made himself sit there anyway, not rifling around. It was Yvette he was curious about, not her employer's purchases. He had to focus on his objective and not get diverted into anything that was going to make her shy off before he could learn more.
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 5:44 pm
References were made and flew right over the girl's head. She simply nodded and trotted into the store once the man sat himself upon the local bench.
She skittered to the counter, and as she had been instructed much earlier that day, she handed the list to the clerk.
The girl at the makeup counter seemed to know the drill and began gathering up the necessary tools and supplies.
Yvette was watching the stranger, eyes quite wide as she looked from the makeup counter. What was she supposed to make of him? He knew her name, but now he seemed to be acting as if this was the first time he had met her. Had she misheard him when he caught her?
Glancing to the clerk, the girl asked "...um... excuse me... have you ever seen that man around before? Do you know him? Is he a mall regular?"
The clerk was nearly done wrapping a few of the items in tissue paper when she looked up. "I can't really say that I know him... but men usually don't stop in here unless they are with their girlfriend or wife." With a shrug, she finished up with Yvette's order.
The girl once more trotted back out, stopping very shortly out of the door. She only had one bag this time to add to the pile, but makeup was a bit more condensed than lingerie. She fidgeted a bit with the handles of her new sleek black bag as she stood there, not sure what she should say. It took her a minute and a half before she finally mentioned "I have one more stop..."
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 7:25 pm
Lazarus tapped his fingers idly against the armrest while he waited, thocking out a rhythm to a song that Eli Bell had probably known and he couldn't quite place. Most of his memories of that sort were still accessible, if he could make current connections to them -- stored knowledge rather than sequential experience -- but the things that bubbled up in his subconscious were hard to grab onto fully. It took Yvette a while of shopping to return, and with only one bag -- but he supposed multiple bags worth of makeup would've been excessive for anybody. Lazarus stood up again, re-decking himself in pink bags, and holding out one arm for the addition of the new black one. "Don't say shoes," he joked, "or I'm going to go get a hand truck for all this. Lead the way, miss." As they walked, he asked, idly, "So, do you like working for your boss?"
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:57 pm
Yvette considered something and blurted out "... I am pretty sure that the clients are supposed to bring their own shoes..." Carolynn was already pretty generous with supplying undergarments, outfits, and a legitimate makeover per each appointment. The least the client could do was bring their own shoes.
Bobbing her head up and down, she once more resumed her same steady pace that had led the pair to the makeup store, though this time in the opposite direction.
As she kept slightly ahead, she nodded again. "Yes... she's very nice... she's a very positive person. Her daughter is very creative too..." She glanced back in the direction of a certain store she had visited first that day. "It is much better than my first job... I used to work in the mall... it was very difficult at times... I was very lucky to eventually meet Carolynn..."
Her cheeks were warm and a tender smile found its way on her lips. It was after a moment she realized she had been rambling. She was quick to offer an apology. "Sorry... you probably don't want to hear about it..."
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 9:18 am
Carolynn who runs a specialty photo studio -- and if this was where she'd sent her assistant to get supplies, it was probably somewhere in DC proper. Lazarus stored this information away for future reference. He could see what a Google search had to teach him about it. Instead of following that topic -- too obviously prying, too likely to spook her -- he circled back to a safer one, one that might not ring as many alarm bells. "What, here in the mall?" he asked, eyeing the storefronts. "Which store? You've got kind of an Uncle Ulrich's Pretzels look, if I had to guess -- handing out pretzels to parents who don't want to give their hungry kids ice cream. Or maybe Piercing Pavilion?" Lazarus wondered if he could really picture timid Yvette shooting frightened kids in the ear with a piercing gun while they sobbed. Maybe not.
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 7:45 pm
Her cheeks went from a subtle warmth to blazing uncontrollably. She knew her stature didn't help any, but she would have liked to think she looked a bit older than the kids that worked at Uncle Ulrich's Pretzels.
There was also the fact that her previous place of work was not her fondest of memories. It had nothing to do with the people she worked with. They were plenty nice and accommodating. Mrs. Ortiga had been a splendid boss to work for, though Yvette was still quite certain it had more to do with her friendship with Mrs. Weaver than herself. However, the work environment itself did not lend to shy girls. No matter how many days passed, her cheeks were permanently set to dark rose from all the blushing she did on the clock.
"...ummm..." Her eyes momentarily glanced to the pink bags adorning this man's arms, something almost guilty in the way she looked at them. In that equally guilty manner, she turned back to watching where she was going, murmuring in an even quieter voice "...Elizabeth's Secrets..."
She was not proud of that portion of her resume.
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