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 Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2022 12:00 pm
Brooklyn wasn’t…overly thrilled with the uniform that came with going to St. Magdalena's, but the shoes were…surprisingly comfortable. And they were whole. Her old sneakers had a hole and she could see her big toe through it, and one of them the sole was peeling away from the top so that she could touch her sock if she so choose, but…these little red maryjanes were sturdy, comfortable and…
Well. Not stylish but…sometimes. It was all right to not be stylish.
Style, however was what Brooklyn was after, and as she stepped into the brightly lit store, her eyes flickered over all of the treasures it contained.
Honestly, it was a teenaged girls paradise, and she hoped to get a few good sets of earrings, maybe a few hair pieces if she could find something cute that would fit into her pockets, but…
Moving slowly, Brooklyn began spinning one of the displays of earrings, humming to herself and looking at a few that she enjoyed, a sparkling pair of cupcakes, some frowning storm clouds and a bright green pair of frogs.
They would be perfect.
With half a glance towards the purple haired girl who was behind the register, Brooklyn spun the display once more and took off one of the pairs of earrings, letting it disappear into her pocket before she moved on to the next display, laughing as she reached out to hug a large, colorful round panda, amused and pleased with how soft it was.
It wasn’t often that she tried to take things that weren’t…useful but…she was going to be starting at a new school, it was already going to be awkward and she just…wanted to have some treasures that were hers.
The frog earrings were in her pocket, and when she walked by the earring display again, the clouds and the cupcakes disappeared into the pocket too.
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 12:03 pm
Working at a mall accessory shop wasn't exactly glamorous, or anything, and strictly, it barely paid the bills, but between Cara and Ari and more than one job, they were...mostly managing. It seriously cut into Cara's magical girl time, but without the benefit of the foster system to keep a roof over their heads, saving the world really did have to take second fiddle to Just Surviving.
Her eyes flicked up, and she spotted a girl in the St. Mag's uniform--and from attending the place up until earlier this year, Cara knew to keep just a little bit of an extra eye on this particular visitor. She knew herself, knew her classmates. Knew that given the opportunity to do mischief, a lot of them would.
And if this girl was just here to shop, then she was just here to shop.
But Cara had liberated herself plenty of merchandise in her day, and seen her sister do it too, and she recognized the techniques.
So, as casually as possible, she closed her book, stood up, and sauntered over.
"Hi there," she said, cheerily. "Anything I can maybe help you find?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 3:51 pm
s**t.
Brooklyn smiled up at the friendly looking saleswoman and shook her head, though paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. “I mean, not really, I’m starting highschool soon and I’m just looking for something that will let me still be me. We have uniforms you see, and…while they’re not bad...I really do hate looking like a store mannequin, you know?”
Glancing around the store, she sighed. “It’s St. Mags so like, the uniform doesn't really go with much. I’m not sure what they were thinking when they designed them, but, I have to say…the shoes are really nice.” Holding out a foot, Brooklyn shook it for a second, grinning.
“Any ideas of what I might get? Or, what would you get if it were you?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 3:26 pm
Cara perked up, and nodded. "I just finished at St. Mag's," she said, and she tapped a finger against her cheek. "There's a lot you can do to flair up your outfit, especially if you accessorize right."
She dropped her voice. Grinned, mostly amused.
"Like those cute earrings that disappeared into your pocket? They'd look nice." Shoplifting happened all the time, sure, but not often when Cara was alone behind the counter, and especially not when it was someone that....well...that so closely resembled her and her sister, at that age.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 3:45 pm
Brooklyn didn’t jump, didn’t break into a run like her body had started to scream at her to do. She didn’t even step on the foot of this sales woman to aid in her getaway, but her eyes did narrow as she looked at her, a scowl forming on her face where the almost excited expression had been.
“You finished at St. Mags, and now you’re accusing me of stealing things. Are you speaking from your own experiences? Sometimes.”
She swallowed and for just a moment, the scowl slipped and there was a look of fear on her face. “Sometimes people do get desperate, you know. And foster families don’t give to shits about giving you pocket money or buying you earrings. They don’t care that they get a ******** stipend to take care of you, they’re just happy to get the money and send you off to school. Well at least I’ll be away from them.”
Reaching into her pocket, she drew out the cloud and cupcake earrings. If this woman had seen her take them, fine.
Brooklyn still had her frogs, and it would be easy to keep them at the very least.
“Don’t call the cops. Please.” The hand she extended was only shaking a little, she was proud to note.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 4:53 pm
Cara waited. The scowl, the huffiness, yeah, all of that was pretty familiar to her, getting defensive and throwing the accusation back in someone's face.
But it didn't last long, and she shrugged. "Yeah, some experience. Especially with people who don't care what you get, just that they keep getting paid, and who would rather deal with you as little as possible. My sister and I....we went through the whole thing."
She reached out. Took the earrings. Glanced up, at the camera, and sighed.
"I'm only taking these back because my boss checks the footage sometime, but....how about I get them for you? I get a really good employee discount, and I'd be glad ot help out a fellow St. Mag's kid." She paused. "My name's Cara. You?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 5:06 pm
For a moment, she just scowled some more at the woman–Cara. “...Brooklyn. You’re serious? You really wouldn’t mind? I don’t like charity but. If you’re offering I’d be stupid to refuse.”
And it was better than getting the cops involved and going to juvie. That was. That was never what she wanted to end up doing.
“I wasn’t taking anything expensive. I just thought they were cute.” Shoving her hands into her pockets, Brooklyn shrugged, now seeming a little embarrassed, but…rather pleased that this woman…that Cara knew what she was going through. That she. Well.
“How. Did you manage to survive? You even graduated and have a job. There are times where I’m just like. I don’t even care anymore, you know? Sometimes I just. Want out.”
Permanently, or. Whatever.
Running away, dying. It all ended up amounting to the same thing in the end anyway. You couldn’t survive on your own at fourteen.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:02 pm
"Yeah, I'm serious. Wouldn't offer if I wasn't," Cara said, and she shrugged. It would be fair to make that kind of offer and then yank it back--not to someone like Brooklyn. Too many other people would have done it. Had done it, to Cara or Ari, over the years.
"I get it. Really." She sighed. "Nobody thinks you should get to have nice things, right? But you should." Because....you had to find your own nice things. However you could, wherever you could. When no one else cared, you had to care about yourself.
"Anyway, I....I've got a sister, and I couldn't....you know, we couldn't leave each other behind," she said. "You just....you gotta find something, you know? And it can be spite, because they don't want you to make it, so do it because ******** them, you know?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:15 pm
“Oh trust me. I’m fueled by a lot of spite. It’s what gets me through the day.”
The smile that Brooklyn managed this time was almost real, and she gave a snort that might have been trying to be a laugh. “I’m…what’s the school like? Is it going to be terrible, because seriously I’m.” The words were coming out in a rush now, she needed to know, and something about the fact that Cara had lived her life, was still doing okay after living how Brooklyn lived…it.
She almost trusted her. And that.
Was so dangerous.
“I’m happy to get out of the house I’m in, even if it’s just for the school year, and I’m gonna assume that I’ll be fed, which sounds nice, but…what’s it really like? Don’t hold anything back. I need to know.”
Hesitating, her eyes flickered back to the stuffed panda she had hugged and she sighed. “I need that too, but. I doubt I’d get to keep it for more than five minutes. I can hide the earrings, but.”
You couldn’t hide a large stuffed animal in your sleeves.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 6:38 pm
"Good, good," Cara said, and she nodded firmly. "Spite can carry you a long way."
This was nice. She was connecting with this girl, who clearly needed someone to treat her like she was a person worthy of care, and it didn't seem like she had an Arianna to look after hero, so...whatever, Cara would just have to be the big sibling she didn't already have.
"It's gonna be a little bit terrible, yeah," Cara sighed. "The nuns are super strict. But the food is good and always there, and no one's gonna take it away from you for stupid reasons, as long as you eat during the designated times. Classes aren't too bad, and they're really serious about the quiet hours rules, but it's better than like, half the foster homes I've been in just for the fact that you always know why you're getting punished, if you are."
Her eyes followed Brooklyn's over to the panda bear.
"....And there's no rules about keeping stuffed animals in your dorm."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 6:53 pm
Brooklyn gave Cara a sharp look and hesitated, walking over and scooping up the panda. “…If that was you offering to get it for me too…I fully accept that offer.”
But.
Looking at the stuffed creature with a rather wistful expression, she glanced at the older girl. Maybe no rules about it in my dorm but. I think the family that I’m with would see that I can’t keep it…do you think. I mean. If you.
Looking away, Brooklyn shrugged. “Maybe you could just keep it until I’m in the dorms. You could bring it as a move in gift. If you wanted…” It was dangerous. Putting such trust in a stranger but…the panda was worth it, if this went well.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 10:35 pm
Oh. Oh, yeah, this was definitely very familiar. Cara looked over at the plush, and nodded.
"I can do that. When's move-in day this year? It'd be nice to say hi to some of my old classmates, anyway." Lots of reaosns for her to drop by and make sure that Brooklyn was settling in okay. Maybe she'd introduce her to a few oft he girls Cara had gotten along with in school, so that she'd have people to look out for her there.
No one else was gonna take care of them, after all.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:06 pm
Brooklyn chewed her lip for a moment and nodded, holding back the smile that was threatening to spread across her face. “It’s next Thursday, and classes start Monday. I’m. Thank you. I really…if you really mean this, I really do appreciate it.”
She wasn’t going to over thank her though, and she wasn’t going to give back the earrings that still lingered in her pocket. If this was a prolonged trick…at least she would end up with something cute.
“I’m…going to go but…I’ll be really happy to see you and the panda and the earrings on Thursday.”
Without saying another word, Brooklyn shoved the panda into Cara’s arms and swiftly left the store, unwilling to hear laughter or to be told that it wasn’t true. If she left, she still had something, and she still had her dignity…if Cara showed up…she would have two more sets of earrings and a very cute panda…and if she didn’t…
Brooklyn wouldn’t be surprised.
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