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 Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 3:07 pm
Winter was always an interesting time to work at a carnival. Business fluctuated, tapering off for some attractions and picking up for others and Eli found himself performing indoors more than out as the temperature dropped. Skin tight spandex did little to keep the body warm and as ever, he was reluctant to put any stress on his well tuned biological machine by risking slipping on ice or making a misstep because the cold made his fingers and toes numb. No, performing inside where he was safe from things like the Flu and sprained ankles was the best way to go.
Winter also brought classes, which were a mixed blessing. Well into his second year towards a degree in the Performing arts, Elijah enjoyed his classes, but being in class took time away from practice and performing, forcing him in some cases to sit for long periods of time. At least there was some amusement to be had by folding himself into his chair in interesting ways, as long as they weren't too distracting to the teacher. He'd been yelled at more than once for limbs sticking out in odd directions, but whatever.
A break between classes found him crossing the quad around mid day, his bag over one shoulder and a stocking cap pulled low over his ears. His multitude of braids in royal blue were tied up in a proper man bun at his nape to make room for his hat and the lanky man tucked his face down deeper into the collar of his ******** cold... He'd never been fond of it with his lack of body fat. Around him, other people seemed less hateful of the temperature, which was honestly not as bad as he liked to make it out to be to himself. Some were even taking their noon meal outside, enjoying the rare bit of sunshine for a dose of vitamin D mid-winter. Girls, guys... groups and pairs and singles. There was one girl sitting by herself as he passed down the path and he might have kept on going, save something about her expression caught his attention, slowing his steps.
She frowned, which he supposed wasn't surprising when one had a difficult class to study for. But in his line of work, frowning was a failure to him. It meant he wasn't doing his job right. No, he wasn't working, but there was still that urge... to reach out, to try to coax a smile out to replace it.
His bag of books came to settle to the side of the walking path and Elijah came pacing back to stop in front of the girl on the bench, his face entirely serious and concerned as he gave her a look over.
"Excuse me, Miss?" The tall man said, balancing carefully on his hands with his feet in the air, as though this were the most natural thing in the world. "Could I trouble you for some directions?"
One leg dropped to point the way he'd come.
"I was over at the Sciences hall and I was headed for the Arts, which I thought was over there..." The other leg dropped, pointing the way he'd been heading. "But I'm afraid I've gotten all turned around. Could you point me in the right direction?"
He crossed his legs above him then and offered her a bright and innocent smile, as though he had not just accomplished all of this upside down.
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:06 pm
Some days, Suri liked to take lunch on the campus green at DCU. It forced her to leave the stuffy confines of her office, the smell of overused perfumes and starched uniforms. She chose to surround herself with the quiet bustle of students in the cold afternoon air, rushing to classes or study halls or to projects and performances. There was something restorative in visiting her alma mater that seeped into her bones with every breath, a bittersweet nostalgia taking her back to her times in class, when there was still so much potential and possibility to her world.
She was twenty-seven now, and had reached the height of her career as a high school teacher. Her life was basically over.
But she wasn't about to let her dour mood overtake the entirety of her lunch. Forcing her thoughts down with a single huff, she used practiced motions to unzip the edge of her lunchbox, reaching inside for a tupperware with last night's spaghetti. She had just shuffled her open book onto one half of her lap and begun to snap open the food's lid when she heard a voice call out in her direction.
"Arts is that way," Suri intoned, pointing in a direction with a fork while she continued to unpack her lunch. It was only after the silent pause following that she even bothered to lift her eyes from her task, landing squarely on...some...contortionist?
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She'd better not be getting punked.
"What are you doing?" The woman frowned, scrunching her nose as she slowly resealed her tupperware. Somehow, she had the sneaking suspicion that her meal was about to be disturbed by nonsense.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:40 pm
She didn't look up at him for the longest time and he almost, almost, let himself get a little anxious over it. He could handstand with the best of them for a while, but not forever... and his antics were being completely lost on her if she wouldn't look up to watch them!
But then she gave him some bored directions before finally, finally looking up... and her expression was everything he could have opened for. Elijah resisted the urge to beam like a fool and settled for a neutral, pleasant smile, staying entirely serious and 'in character'.
"Hmm?" He blinked at her question, feigning confusion for just a moment. Then his face cleared and he looked down (or... up) at himself, before looking back to her.
"OH! Oh, you mean, this?" Eli said as he straightened his legs. 'Walking' from hand to hand, he turned around and then let his body bend down, feet kept carefully above the concrete. The motion ended with him balanced still on his hands, but his head was upright now and his legs were splayed to either side. He brought his feet together slowly and then pretended to study his shoes, his eyebrows lifted. "These are new shoes, that's all. I didn't want to get them dirty. I paid a lot for them."
Leaving off his pretend study, he offered the short blonde a dazzling smile.
"My name is Elijah. What is a pretty girl doing eating lunch alone? Someone, somewhere, is being very remiss."
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 8:19 pm
"Yes, that," Suri scowled, her frown deepening as the display continued to go on. She couldn't help but glance away to a nearby bush--seriously, were her students trying to play a prank? Her nose wrinkled and she pursed her lips, trying not to think of who else might be watching her get embarrassed like this in public. This is not what she'd signed up for when she'd gotten out of bed this morning, to be so shamelessly harassed.
"I--no one is being remiss, thank you," she huffed, her face beginning to go red. "I choose to eat lunch alone, thank you. And the arts building is in that direction..." She made a sharp gesture with her fork in a direction that was far, far away from her, but was quickly called back to a conversation with Amanda about why she had so few friends. Was it because she was being incourteous? Suri didn't feel the need to be polite to those who interrupted her precious little meal-time, but it couldn't hurt to try and show some grace about it. She guessed.
"...Thank you."
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 1:34 pm
His audience didn't seem terribly impressed with his show of strength and control. Which was disappointing! People didn't often realize the amount of effort Elijah put into his performances... the hours he spent every day working on his flexibility and strength. The years he spent building up his skills. The way he had to lock his elbows to keep his arms from shaking from holding his whole weight for so long.
But then, he supposed, the entire thing was designed to look effortless. He'd just have to try harder to impress her, then, if she was going to be difficult.
Dropping his feet to the ground under him, Elijah pushed up to stand, offering a momentary glimpse of his full stature when he wasn't tying himself into pretzel knots. It didn't last long though because immediately, he was bending backwards until his hands hit the ground and he walked them forward, between his feet. Joints bending together with smooth control, he lowered herself to his chest on the ground and his arms came around his ankles to drape comfortably across his feet, his folded hands offering him a place to rest his chin.
"There is no need to thank me, Miss!" He said as he pulled one long fingered hand free to present to her palm forward, his expression quite serious despite his pose. "I simply saw a young lady looking dour and thought I would try to put a smile on her pretty face. It is my job, after all. And pretty faces are meant for pretty smiles."
He offered her one in turn, his wide mouth looking even wider with his bright grin and citrus eyes.
"Do you go to school here too? I haven't seen you in any of my classes, or I'm sure I would have remembered. My theatre classes are not the types of places where someone can wall flower successfully and I have a suspicion you would have been center stage with the spot light."
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:46 pm
Despite her best efforts, he wasn't leaving, and that was a problem.
"It's not my responsibility to smile for anyone," she retorted, crinkling her nose as she deliberately pursed her lips. There was, however, a bit of color to her face that hadn't been there before, and she glanced away from the brightness in his eyes. There had to be some sort of punchline on the way, and Suri was steeling herself for it, whatever it might be. People just didn't act this way unless they wanted something, and she had nothing to give this strange man...no matter how bright his smile might have been.
"No, I'm not a student," she quipped, just a bit too sharply, and she forced herself to regain composure, to find her center and keep from getting her feathers ruffled. If she allowed this man to get under her skin, then what chance did she have against more devious foes? No, she was better than this.
"Certainly not a theater student," she continued, tapping her fork against the edge of her tupperware. "I graduated from the physics department, where we don't need to be in center stage to feel accomplished." As if to indicate her level of done with the conversation, she began to twirl her fork into her spaghetti leftovers, taking a decisive bite of her lunch.
"The arts building is that way," she repeated, covering her mouth as she pointed once more.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 7:00 pm
Elijah grinned at the way she said theater student, as though she looked down her nose at the concept. He wasn't surprised. He had always been something of an odd one in his family. They had never actively discouraged him in his choice of profession, but they'd never really understood it either. Not many people did.
He watched her take a bite of her food and he chuckled, spreading his hands wide.
"Being center stage is the best place from which to reach the most eyes and minds." He said. "I bring joy and lighten minds, which is something sorely needed in this city, I think. Case in point..."
He pointed a finger at her, wiggling it in circles. "You still haven't smiled. Which means I have utterly failed in my mission in life."
Eli made a dramatic face, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. "I must be the single worst entertainer in history, if I can't make someone who seems so dearly in need of one, smile!"
He unfolded from his position with easy, smooth motions, pushing himself up to his feet. The tall man brushed his clothes off and sighed dejectedly.
"I apologize for my poor performance, Miss." He said as he offered her a sweeping bow, before he held out his right hand to her, fingers open. "I will leave you to finish your meal in peace and I hope you will forgive me for being an ungainly clod?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 9:44 pm
Suri did not like this man, or the way he presumed to have presidence over her emotions or capacity to smile. It was not his place to tell her what face to make while she took her lunch break.
She did, however, like being apologized to. It made her feel like she had leverage, and leverage was power.
The woman made him wait for it, staring at his open hand with an incredulous sweep of her nose. But after two, maybe three seconds, she made a point of lifting her palm from her lap and delicately settling it over his, her fingers curling slightly as she made contact. She tried not to think of the last time she'd touched a stranger who wasn't about to lose a starseed. It was too far back to merit mentioning.
"I suppose I could make an exception..." she mused, tapping her chin as if making a lengthy consideration. Her eyes darted up to him, calculatingly dangerous, and despite her irritation, she gave the smallest of pursed smirks.
"But no bothering people in the park, do you understand me?" Suri retorted, wagging a finger as if he might have been one of her students. "Just...talk to people like a normal person. None of...whatever you were doing." She gestured vaguely to his torso and his jelly legs with her free hand, then looked down at her lunch and sighed.
"There's no point in eating cold leftovers," she said with a resigned frown, sliding her tupperware back into its insulated bag. "Do you really need directions to the art building? I could show you the way." A normal woman might have been uneasy about walking alone with strangers, but Suri was in broad daylight, and if anything happened she always had an ace up her sleeve.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:16 pm
Abasing himself seemed to finally have the effect he was looking for as she softened towards him. He kept his smile hidden and offered her only the most solemn of expressions as she took his hand. Stooping quickly before she could pull away or catch what he was doing, Elijah turned her hand and brushed his lips across the back of her knuckles. It was only a fleeting contact and only enough pressure to impart a little warmth before he released her, straightening up again.
"You have my word." He said as he lifted a hand, fingers together and palm forward. He bowed his head as he did it, feigning shame for his earlier behavior and the promised reform. "No bothering people in the park."
The corners of his lips twitched as he straightened and his orange eyes were bright. She offered him a concession and he happily took it as he swept his arm out, indicating she should proceed him.
"By all means, please. I can only imagine that you have a better grasp on the way than I do and I would be grateful for the company along the way." Eli said as he let the smile bloom across his face. He knew the way quite well after his years here, but there was no way he was going to pass up the chance to walk with a pretty girl. If he needed to play the rube, then so be it. He'd never taken himself all that seriously to begin with anyway. The benefits to it with this one far outweighed the draw backs, as far as he was concerned.
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