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 Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:54 am
Since the last time that Manuela and Riley had seen each other Manny had been pestering her mother to invite her over. Now, on a day when the ceremonies were ending early, she had finally agreed and called the other girl's house. She'd suggested a time when most of the people in the church would already be gone, figuring that it was best to avoid any awkward situations that could be caused by an early arrival during her sermon.
Manuela, in preparation for their playdate, had avoided her dresses for the day, instead donning a pair of torn-kneed jeans and a navy cardigan. The girl had become a bit of a fashion diva, spending a good deal of her time thumbing through magazines and patching together outfits. She was excited for Riley to get here so she could show her some of her scrapbooks, thinking that the other girl would be a good consult. So today, instead of assisting her mother with the ceremonies, she was simply sitting impatiently in the back row, staring up at the clock.
Finally, people were starting to leave.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:12 pm
Riley had been exstatic upon hearing from Kai that he was to bring her over to Manuela's. Manny had been the first friend she had made and the friendship had stuck, at least for her. Though if she had known their activities would most likely include clothes she might have been less enthusiastic. But perhaps Manny could show her that dressing up wasn't all about frills and ruffles, the things that Riley so dispised.
In any case, she had sat in he booster seat for a good ten minutes, waiting for Kai to let her loose. He had decided to have them wait in the car for a bit, since there was a service going on and they were a few minutes early. Finally when people started to filter out Kai leaned over and unsnapped her buckle, "Ok, Riley, but do be-"
The girl threw open the door and jumped out into the sun before he could finish. "-quiet." She hurried past the departing people and ducked into the building, looking around with bright silver eyes for a familiar face.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:17 pm
Manny kicked her feet as people filed out the door, pouting as each second passed. Then a girl about her own age came into view, and she leapt from her seat. "Riley!" she shouted cheerfully, running up to hug the other girl, "How've you been?" She was more than a little excited, nearly tripping over her own feet as she reached her friend. True they were blocking the door a little bit, causing the congregationers to funnel out around them.
Estelle was still at the front of the church, tending to the few people that had come up to speak to her. This was her job, and even though she loved her daughter this still came first. "Please keep your voice down Manuela," she said sternly before turning her attentions back to an older woman asking her advice.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:29 pm
"Hey!" Riley grinned, calling back just as loud as when Manuela had first cried out. Though at Estelle's comment she lowered her voice to a rough whisper as she hugged the other girl back. It was a bit of a tight embrace, but it was affectionate. She wasn't used to the sort of question Manny offered up, since when she went to play it was usually more of a hello and then right down to business. But she answered none the less.
"Good, I guess! Been doing lots of stuff," She smiled, thinking about her adventures with cookie-houses and self-defense lessons.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:38 pm
"That's good," she quirped, looking around the room, "Mama's going to be busy for a little while longer, but if you want to go upstairs I can ask her for the keys." She wasn't sure whether Riley would want to stay down here for a while to talk to Estelle, but either way she could find something fun to do. It was just that her scrapbooks and her room were in the upstairs house.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:43 pm
Not being the type that liked chatting with adults, or really flat out small talk in general, it was obvious what her choice would be. She grinned, looking all too relieved at the idea of leaving this quiet-zone of sorts. "Yeah, lets head up stairs!" Due to past experience, Riley had faith in Manny at picking games. After all, their game of ball and then tops afterwards had been very fun. She was sure she could come up with something just as amazing.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:48 pm
Manuela nodded, running over to her mother. She tugged on the older woman's skirts, saying in a harsh whisper, "Mama Estelle, can I have the house keys?" Estelle nodded her off, handing over a small ring of keys. "Thank you," she said softly, before waving Riley over to the stairs. "Come on, I've got something to show you," she said to the other girl, eager to unveil her project.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:53 pm
Riley jumped into a scuffling, indoor "jog" to hurry over and meet up with Manny. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She was eager, but she'd let her friend lead the way. It was her house, after all. Annnd...well the door was locked. Best let Manny, who had the keys, handle things.
This left Kai to hover in the back of the room. He had come in a bit late, since Riley had rushed out. When he say that she was fine and had obviously found her companion he settled in a seat in the back. It looked like he was going to get a bit of a break. It was a nice idea.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:59 pm
Manny jogged up the stairs happily, stopping suddenly when she reached the door. She wasn't very good with keys, but after a bit of fumbling she managed to get the door unlocked. Pulling the keys out however, eluded her, so she left them dangling there are she pushed the door open and headed in. Their arrival was met by the smell of leftover biscuits from breakfast, and Manny commented on them as she kicked off her shoes. "There's some leftovers in the kitchen if you're hungry, I think there's some gravy left too," she said, hoping their home didn't disappoint her friend.
The front room wasn't much, holding only a couch, and armchair, and a small television with basic cable. Attached by a halfwall was the kitchen, just wide enough to accomodate the two person family. Two hallways went off at either end, one leading to Estelle's room and the other to Manny's and the master bathroom. It was cozy, and just right for them.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:13 pm
Riley was hardly one to be critical about living arrangements. After all, she didn't live in a house and until recently hadn't even had a specific apartment that she stayed in. She had been jumping from room to room depending on which brother was watching her for the night. Only recently had things been shifted around so that she had a room in Victor's apartment and Kai went to live with Liam.
One way to please Riley and make her more then dedicated to you was to offer her food. She loved food, and not in the sense that she cared so much what she was eating. But this was a more natural of impulses. Having a bird's metabolism made one very hungry very often. "Leftovers? Yessss~!" she breathed, twitching her feathered ears acutely.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:18 pm
"Yeah," she told her, "Mama Estelle made them fresh this morning, they were really good." Cooking was one of the things her mother was good at, and she was proud about that. And it was cool that Riley was interested in food, there was certainly enough of it in the house. That and she coiuld go for a bite herself. "I could throw some in the oven if you want them warm," she offered, heading over to the kitchen.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:26 pm
"Throw them in the oven?" Riley looked astounded. Her brothers NEVER let her touch the oven. Or the stove. Or anything that could very well start a fire. They probably had good reason, since she was prone to accidents, but that didn't mean she saw it that way. "Wow that's cool!" Maybe it was silly to excited about such a thing, but...she was easily amused, for the most part. She grinned, "Sounds yummy!" Not that she would have minded them cold. She was far from being a picky eater.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:36 pm
Manuela wasn't really sure what was cool about that, but whatever worked. Grabbing a pan from the cupboard she tossed a few of the biscuits onto it. While the oven preheated she put some gravy in the microwave, she looked over to Riley, "You can sit anywhere really, Mama doesn't have any rules against eating in the living room. Hearing a little ding she shifted the biscuits into the oven, guessing that they would only need a few minutes.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:43 pm
"Alright," taking to Manny's suggestion Riley drifted back to the living room, which really wasn't all that far away. She flopped onto the couch, bouncing a bit as her bum hit the cushions. She then shifted so that she could peer over the back and watch what her friend was doing, obviously quite curious. Manuela seemed like she could take care of herself pretty well. She had to admit she was a bit envious. Her brothers didn't let her do too much on her own, no matter how much she insisted.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:48 pm
Manny hummed as she reached up on her tiptoes to stir the gravy, reveling in the smell. While that finished up she got two bowls down for them. She spooned the gravy into them, then rinsed the container out. As she finished that the oven timer dinged and she mimiced it, "Ding! Food done." Grabbing an oven mit she pulled the pan out, tapping the top of one of the biscuits with her uncovered hand. Still nice and soft, and plenty warm. She turned the oven off and placed two biscuits in each bowl, then carried them out to the living room, holding one out to Riley, "Hope you like it."
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