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 Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:27 am
Clack, clack, clack. January’s knee-high boots clicked across the marble tile leading out of the entryway and into the living area of his- and his younger brothers’- new condo. All their various belongings, furniture, and boxes had been delivered and extremely haphazardly deposited by the moving party days prior, leaving the only tasks for them on arrival being… organizing and unpacking. January’s lips puckered, the tiniest pinch appearing in his brow. It would’ve been nice if he’d been able to come out earlier to give more direction while the movers were still available. It wasn’t like he wanted to shove around couches and beds and bookshelves.
But work had, of course, kept him occupied until the last second. So much so that he’d hardly been allowed to see his options before he moved his family into an entirely new place. Almost everything could be done remotely, including apartment tours and lease-signing, but it wasn’t much substitute for seeing things in person, up close.
He flicked through the photos of housing options he’d liked and saved on his phone, pink eyes darting from his screen and then out to the room ahead of him. Was it what he thought it’d be?
“I liiiike it…” January started hesitantly to his companions. “But how do we know we wouldn’t like something else more? It’s much too late to decide otherwise, and of course it would’ve been inconvenient to fly out and then have nowhere to stay. And I guess it doesn’t matter so long as we have the space we need?” He blew and popped a pink bubble with his chewing gum and sighed. “I just wish we could’ve looked at more of them. It’s too bad.”
January hadn’t had time to come out beforehand, and he didn’t really have time to continue the search now that they were here. With the amount of unpacking they needed to do, he’d be lucky if the studio was set up to work in even just a week…
“Still, it could be worse,” he admitted, as he shimmied between a stack of boxes and scooted toward the glass double doors and balcony adjoined to the living quarters. January peeked between the thick blinds to the world beyond, and it was entirely different from what he would’ve seen looking out his window as a child, the last time he was in Destiny City.
Any experience he’d had in this city before was hardly even comparable…
But! He couldn’t stand to think too hard about that! He turned on his heel, flicking pale white wavy strands away from his face as he did. “Well, what do you think?” He asked of the two younger boys with him. “If you really truly desperately hate it, it probably wouldn’t be impossible to try something else in maybe a month or two? But it would be inconvenient. And moving is kind of hard, isn’t it?”
Kapoodles GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS, FRIENDS.
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Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:14 am
Following behind his brother, November looked around at the mess awaiting them within appraisingly. “It could be worse,” he agreed with a nod, and took to walking through the place, checking all the rooms. “But it’ll do. We’re here, aren’t we? Relax. It’ll be fine.” The walk concluded back at the piles of boxes, and November took off his jacket. “Once...we can at least partially get through this stuff. I mean, unless you wanna leave it all here like this for months on end.” It felt weird to be back, even if it wasn’t quite the same place. Still, he felt like the city had a certain feel. Like an underlying sense of doom, somehow. He didn’t like it, but just pushed the feeling down and did his best to not think about it more. Wasn’t about to start off a spiral of “woe is me” with saying something about it. Too late to not come back, anyway. On the plus side, it was definitely cheaper here than anywhere else comparable. Would make keeping his brothers’ spending in check much easier. Or, at least, less worrisome.
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Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:20 am
“I’d be fine leaving it all here.” Came a gruff voice from behind a few boxes that were stacked unreasonably high. September could grab it, no problem, but he knew damned well it would be too much for his shorter siblings. With another grunt, he grabbed a box from the top, pulling it down and scowling when it was labeled “crystal china”. Those b*****d movers were about to get one angry, shouting phonecall.
Later, when his brothers weren’t around to give him looks.
“We don’t need to rush it though. We just got here. And it looks like they atleast put the boxes in the right room. Just unpack what you need to get started this week.” After living in California, he was more than a little amazed they could even afford a place like this here in Destiny City.
… Of course, it came with a price in it’s own way. The crime rate was through the roof. Property damage made insurance skyrocket, and the sheer numbers of warnings to not go out after dark was insane on all the message boards he investigated. That’s why he insisted at least in getting a high rise, away from the ground, and insisting they have some sort of guard at the door on the bottom floor. Seemed like the decision made Jan happy.
“I’m tired though. So tired I think it would take years to make me want to move again. So tired that I insist we order out tonight. I’m not leaving the house again today.” With the box of china set down on the counter, September worked his way back to the living room, then sat on the couch, heading hitting it’s back with a dull thud.
“... s**t, we need to set up the router… Don’t we?”
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Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:39 am
“I most certainly don’t want to leave it here,” January huffed to November’s query, shooting a sideways glance to the slightly more disagreeable September as he did. “Too cluttered, too inconvenient…” Just getting to a place to sit meant maneuvering through a maze of boxes, nevermind that it looked positively dreadful. Messy, cluttered. He couldn’t live like this. He couldn’t work like this!
But there wasn’t much to be done about it with the amount of day left remaining to them. All the travel was, of course, exhausting, and that was to say nothing for the three-hour time change. It was dark already, and late, as compared to how early it had felt like when they left California that morning.
It felt like there was way too much to be done before he could relax, though.
Even if January simply ignored all the boxes, it wasn’t like they’d moved all the way across the continent for nothing… He swallowed and stared at his phone, idly tapping through the settings. He’d wanted to visit May and October when they got in. They wouldn’t be here if not for them, after all… ‘Tomorrow,’ he promised silently.
January inhaled slowly. “I don’t know where the router is, and it would be a real pain to dig for it. You can use the hotspot off my phone. Oh! Order something weird, yes? Something we’ve never had before.” He passed the device off to September as he moved past.
“November and I will look for some of the sheets and blankets. So long as everything is here, there’s no reason to sleep in an unmade bed, like an animal.” He strode from the living room and peeked into the nearest of the bedrooms, where surely boxes labeled ‘Blankets’ had been stored. ...Though apparently things that had needed assemblage, like bed frames, were something he and his brothers had to contend with themselves. What a chore.
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Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:42 am
November snorted at Jan’s reaction. Not that it was at all surprising. “I thought one of you was going to put the router in your bags so we didn’t have to dig?” he asked. Should have done it himself, clearly. He shrugged and checked his phone. “Reception’s good, at least.” “Weird, sure,” he agreed. “But nothing too weird, okay? I wanna at least recognize the food as being, you know, food.” Clearly, the assumption was that Sep would do the ordering, as that was all he said on the topic, and peeked into the bedroom as well. “I’m just glad they didn’t leave everything out there,” he jabbed a thumb behind, “to sort out.” He pushed past Jan and started shifting boxes from one pile to the other. Naturally, the box in question was at the bottom. “Here’s one,” he said, and looked around. “We should...probably rebuild the bed frames, just so it’s done with.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:57 am
“Hey, that was your responsibility, Vem. I just lift things. Ya’ll will eat what I getcha tonight.” September had already started looking at places on UberEats, looking for a few places nearby that would deliver to a snazzy place like this one was. Of course he’d get them something decent, but no one got opinions. It was the first night here in this forsaken town, so might as well live it big and order a little bit of everything off this bao bun place he found after scrolling a bit.
“When you think about it, being new in town, everything is something we haven’t had before.” It was more of a thoughtful bit than he normally expected from himself, but it was certainly true. After selecting literally 1 of everything off the menu, he turned off his phone and tossed it back on the couch, not caring at the moment if it would get too lost.
“Order says it’ll get here in about 45 minutes, so… I guess I can help set up beds. Vem, we’ll get yours first, then Jan’s. I’m too lazy to set up my own so I’m just gonna crash on the couch tonight. D’yall find the sheets yet?” A hand came up to ruffle November’s hair as he pushed bast him and into the bedroom, looking at what was laid out, and what he could work on right away.
… Damn, so much work.
“There’s alot to do tomorrow. Check bus routes for Vem to DCU, check in at my job… Visit May and October… We’ll give ourselves a few days to settle in, then start reaching out to see if we can find December.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2020 6:58 am
“We’re not really new in town though, are we?” January hummed quietly as he shoved a stack of boxes toward the wall and out of the way, leaving space to build a whole entire bed in the middle of the room. Honestly, what was the point of paying people if he still had to put forth this much effort? Someone was going to hear about this- or read about it, rather. Someone was going to read an absolutely scathing review and know that January Bloom had been entirely too upset to make it to his new place this late at night after a hard day’s travel and still have more to do. “And everywhere has Pizza Hut.” He dusted his hands and glanced to his brother. “You didn’t order Pizza Hut, did you?” That wouldn’t be in the spirit of ‘weird’ or ‘new,’ but it was fine. He shrugged and continued his chore.
After scooting everything out of the way, Jan paced the length of the room. It was his first time seeing it in person, after all, and it easily could have been different than a computer or phone screen might display. “It’s kind of a big space!” He decided at length, tossing his arms out and giving a twirl. “You’ll have a bigger room than you did in Cali.”
Which meant January’s room would be bigger too. More wall for pictures and posters and shelves! Shelves for knick knacks and stuff. Mmm, January loved stuff. Any maybe a nice, huge closet… “Okay, okay!” He flicked his fingers beckoningly toward his little brothers. “Let’s hurry up and make this thing so we can check out upstairs.” He slid a piece of the bedframe toward the center of the room. “Do you think they moved anything upstairs? Oh, I hope they did. Carrying a bed up there wouldn’t be something I’d look forward to…”
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Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2020 7:13 am
“Yeah,” Vem replied with a shrug. “We’re not really new, but might as well be. Does any of this place look familiar to you? I mean...I remember some stuff, but not a whole lot.” Of course, he was a lot younger than January. He put the box with the bedding off to the side so that it was easily found, and went to the pile of bed parts. “Oh, this shouldn’t be too bad,” he said, picking up a screwdriver, and tapping it on a piece of the frame. “We’ll do yours too, Temby, otherwise it’ll never get done. No slacking off.” The screwdriver pointed at his brother, then, and he had a small grin on his face. “You can do that after we have built all the furniture the movers didn’t build.” “And god, I hope they put stuff up there, otherwise, what was even the point of them being here?” Obviously, just getting it to the place would be the point, but...so much work even then! This place was at least twice the size of their last home, by his reckoning, so that would be rough.
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Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2020 12:37 pm
“We might as well be new in town. The world’s changed in the past decade, you know. It’s better to come in feeling new than raising expectations for ourselves that things have stayed the same when it clearly hasn’t. And no, No Pizza Hut. If we’re gonna get pizza, at least have some class.” With a sigh, September went into the room too, nudging Jan out of the way as he started pulling pieces into place with Vem’s help. They had been lazy before, getting frames that locked into place rather than lots and lots of screws. There were a few though… Ugh, work.
“Given that a third of the boxes are missing and that there’s no mattress hanging out in the hallways, I’m gonna say yes, they did. You can always, you know, go upstairs and check if you’re so worried.” He snatched the screwdriver away from Vem and got to work, muttering curses at the name even though he did smile a bit.
“Let me know how the bathroom upstairs is too. I want a nice, long jacuzzi bath after all that traveling. Vem, you take a shower, you’re young, deal with it.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:44 am
“Maybe there are some new buildings and new faces, but no amount of surface reconstruction could erase all that sweet nostalgia,” January quipped. Children. Where had all the imagination gone? All the wonder? “Don’t you just like to look at all the old stuff?” He prompted, scooching to the side as September moved to take over his piece of the bed frame. Heck, Jan certainly wasn’t going to be the one to fight him for control over it.
“We could drive by the park I used to take you to, or the old school, or the old house…” Maybe not the old house. He swallowed. “Or we can drive by the places those things used to be, at the very least.”
January settled into his new spot on the floor, drawing his legs up as he leaned back on his arms. “If there are boxes upstairs, they’ll still be there after we’ve finished the chores down here. And if there aren’t, then at least we can enjoy this few extra moments of hope?” He cast his pink gaze toward the ceiling, white and bland. Maybe they should paint after they were settled? That would be a fun family project…
“We really aren’t in a huge hurry,” he added. “Of course it’s a pain that nothing is put together, but it wouldn’t be so terrible to get out sleeping bags and lay on the floor, and eat dinner together and complain about everything we’re going to- Hey.”
An arm snapped out, swatting lightly at September’s shoulder. “Don’t curse like that. You’re too young. Especially not in front of your younger brother! You’ll upset November’s delicate ears!”
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Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:24 am
Vem quirked an eyebrow a moment, and then put both hands to his ears lightly. “Oh, my poor, virgin ears, they can barely take such harsh language,” he declared in a suitably over-dramatic way. “Because, you know, I’m twelve, and what’s this?” He stuck his tongue out after that and said, “C’mon, let’s get to work...the sooner we’re done, the sooner you can laze away the night in the tub, Temby,” he nudged September again with a grin. “I can hear it in your profane voice, that’s all you want in life.” Truth be told, November didn’t care about the tub, showering was what someone did as quickly as possible, as far as he was concerned. Therefore, he wasn’t going to fight over the tub, and hardly considered it worth mentioning...thus he did not. He also wasn’t too worried about everything being put in its proper place, but having the beds built was definitely a desirable situation to him, and he wasn’t about to do them all himself.
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Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2020 8:38 am
"I'll save the nostalgia trips for when I'm old and bitter. For now, I'll just be content to be bitter." Bitter about these damned beds, that were quickly coming together with little help from his siblings. Of course, he was exaggerating about the bitterness, but this place didn't feel like home. This city was strange and unwelcoming, and surely he couldn't have been the only one hearing about the 'terrorists' in the city. this place was dangerous, even with the ritzy place they decided to live in.
But ultimately, home was where January and November were. Even with all the scowling in the world, he was fully unprepared to simply leave them to their own devices. Who knew what sort of chaos they would get into?
What he himself would get into if left alone for too long?
"Fine, fine, I'll be a little more careful. Can't have the nag's ears falling off before the first class... But seriously, hurry up with the food, my stomach is about ready to eat anything, and the closest thing is a human foot." He was teasing, trying to bring a little more humor back into his rather sulky atmosphere, and nudged Jan with his socked foot. "though if you really want it, we can camp out here in the living room. Or the balcony. That's pretty big."
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 3:58 pm
“Oh, yes, I know," January cooed dramatically as he reached to cover both of November's ears with his hands. "Who could know where he picked up such vulgar language from. It certainly wasn't from me..." He glanced away, and then in a more muted, grumble of a tone, muttered, "Probably from that filthy bar..." He huffed softly and tipped his head to lay against his own fingers where they covered his little brother's ears before November began to work on the bed frame, and January was shaken off.
He settled back against the nearest wall, pastel pink gaze wandering around the room as his two younger siblings set to assembling the bed. At least it wasn't a thought-intensive task, though the pieces with more design flourish, like the headboard, were heavier than January was willing to contend with at this hour.
He wondered if anyone in the apartments beneath them would hear them scuffling about...
His attention fell back to September, and he gave a tiny smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "And waste all the effort you've already gone to in ensuring your little brother has a beautiful assembled bedroom set to sleep on? That seems rude." At the prompt of food, January had to ask, "Where did you order from, anyway?"
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