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 Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:28 pm
"Do you even remember how to talk to people? I get that it's your first day back into society, but you haven't been giving the best of impressions. Even dad's weirded out by you. Usually he's too half-past-drunk to notice the s**t right under his nose." His brother's biting words came from behind a smile. He waved elsewhere, toward the back of the crowd, where a slim hand returned the gesture. Leagues of the wealthy and the do-gooders arrived for the impromptu relief fundraiser. The Bootanical Gardens incident was some weeks in the past now, but empathy and funding efforts continued to capitalize on the travesty.
"Yes, I remember." Elex's lips tightened. Generosity is the new status symbol. Less is the new more. Bankrupt yourself on handouts and free lunches until you earn your social accolades. What a degenerate system. How boring.
Erol stepped away from his younger brother. "Mom's watching, okay? Don't ******** up." He half-turned in response to company acquired. "Hey, janice…" The older Yorke's affect transitioned seamlessly from overwrought politeness to genuine affection.
Right. Go work on getting laid. Elex left their corner of the room at once, straightening his pinstriped jacket as he went. Elsewhere, his mother spoke to the noteworthy and the famous, the connected and the envied. Her eyes found only grandeur or disappointment. Tonight, her gaze would only land on him if he sullied her better reputation. It sounded more and more like a goal as seconds passed.
Dozens of tables sat readied for a complementary luncheon not yet served. Alcohol was both free-flowing and poorly-guarded, leading Elex to abscond with one of the many champagne flutes. Schörl's cutting words beat at the back of his mind. He searched the crowd through the autumnal decor of silk plants and squashes, half-expecting a familiar face. He could name families on sight, yet no longer recalled first names to accompany surnames. He recognized the Hawthornes, the Beauregardes, the Courcels…
Elex paused. The Courcels. They had a younger daughter I spoke to once. Kimi? Maybe she's still around. He approached the farflung group at stride. A pivot, a tuck, a skirt between closing parties navigated him through the crowds with fair ease. As he approached, he called for company. "Kimi?" Perhaps he'd get lucky.
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 6:18 pm
High-end events were just not her thing. They never had been, and yet Kaida was stuck going to them whenever she couldn't use work or other responsibilities as an excuse. At least the latest one had her sister Kimi with her. Although Kimi wasn't entirely happy having her sister as a chaperone, or that she was there, she wasn't the sort to pass on a chance to be...well, her. The elder Courcel sister was the first to notice someone coming over to them, but Kimi was the first to react when she heard her name. The younger racked her brain a few seconds before grinning brightly.
"Elex! I was wondering when your parents would get you to one of these again!" And he was an amazing escape from the couple of social climbers she had been talking with. She turned back to them with a polite smile. "Sorry, I'll see you another time!" The two seemed to get the hint and meander off, still chattering between themselves. "Your timing is impeccable."
"Care to introduce me, kiddo?" Kaida raised a brow at her sister, who simply shrugged before nodding.
"Kaida, this is Elex Yorke. Elex, this is my older sister Kaida Courcel. She's my chaperone, even though I don't need one, since Papa predicted he'd be stolen by business partners as soon as he walked in, and Mama's stayed late at the lab tonight." Probably to get out of the fundraiser, because she liked crowds of social climbers as much as she liked the fact her eldest was in school for music and choosing to be a burlesque dancer. Kaida stood and held out a hand.
"Nice to meet you. However you get out coming to these or being noticed by my sister if you have been coming, I envy you." That earned her a glare from her younger sister, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 9:14 am
Disappear for a few months when you get youmafied and you can miss all the events you want. Is that a price you're willing to pay, Kaida Courcel? Elex lifted the champagne glass to lips to quell any response of the sort. He tried not to cough the lot of it out for the burn and the bitter taste. Drawing attention to his disappearanceguaranteed brown-nosing and gossipmongering — if not by the Courcels, then by the nameless in earshot. "It must be a stroke of luck," he responded, as his gaze swapped from older to younger. Bad luck.
"Nice to meet you, Kaida." My mother often said you'd turn out a hussy. "I'll spare you the small talk."
'Older sister' prompted a reach for the nearest table. On it already sat a set of champagne flutes, of which he stole one flagrantly. The glass tucked nicely between two thin fingers. Hand outstretched, Elex bequeathed the offering to Kaida wordlessly. If she spent any meaningful time away from these gatherings, she would need just as much assistance. "All you need to meet someone is boredom and confined spaces." All you need to forge a friendship is shared hardship. "We met during one of the Beauregardes' fundraisers. His speeches always wear out the evenings." He wagered she had no one else to talk to; he vaguely recalled the occupant on the other side of her seat snoring faintly.
Another sip and he was half-tempted to retire the glass altogether. What was the hype over alcohol?
"My brother's supposed to be watching me," he admitted forthrightly. Elex watched the crowd for signs of the man before his gaze returned to Kaida. Tan, blonde, beautiful. "He might come over if he sees you. We should keep walking. Avoid that embarrassment." A nod of his head and Elex moved to slip past them, toward the ambulatory surrounding the broad gathering area. Glass panes formed a wall framing the vew out to the courtyard — another source of scandal and gossip.
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