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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2013 19:24:26 GMT -5
The benefit of Cal's diner? They offer pancakes, AND toast as options. She's more often than not been here in the middle of the night for such a treat, and knows that no matter what you do order on the menu-it's pretty fantastic. And like Charlotte mentioned, less cleanup. So it's beyond perfect on those mornings when she really doesn't want to cook, but does want all the benefits of a home-cooked, or a semblance of that. It's slow enough that when Charlotte pipes up, a waitress is already at their table with a piping hot mug of coffee for her, and one of hot chocolate for Charlotte. The kindly woman has a pad of paper ready for their order, but barely needs it as she's poised and ready for the girl's order. When Charlotte is done, Selina holds up two fingers, and states "Extra bacon?" to which she gets a nod, and a wink, befre the woman goes and puts the orders in.
Reaching into her purse, Selina pulls out a small flask, and tips a bit of the clear liquid into her mug, then pauses and offers Charlotte some. "It's mint," she says, waiting until she gives her a yes, or no, to the offer. Adding a bit of cream to her own coffee, and she's set, cupping her hands around the steaming mug. Her mind is thrumming with all that they have to do, but shit, it's still too early-way too early to actually do it-another part of her brain is screaming. Not calmly telling her, but screaming. And trying to drag her back to bed. So for the time being, she says nothing, and waits for their food; Charlotte's order, and her own Belgian waffle, strawberries, whipped cream, and extra bacon. Then their itinerary can be rolled out.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2013 10:46:25 GMT -5
Sugar and fat: this is what you eat for breakfast. Or at least that's Charlotte's opinion. Anything remotely resembling nutrition that happens in the process if purely incidental. Of course, that's partly because she's never had any trouble with her weight or really cared too much about eating healthy. Which is more of a reflection on just how often she's able to eat like this as opposed to just naturally being that way, but since Selina doesn't seem shy about throwing her money around then Charlotte's not going to be shy about eating in accordance to her whims.
After she orders, Charlotte glances dully out the window until she spots the Selina pouring something into her coffee. Really? This early in the morning? Though she's somewhat surprised when Selina then offers her some. Upon finding out that it's not what she thought that it was, she says, "Oh! Er, okay." Yes, mint is nice. She picks up her hot chocolate and sips at it experimentally, tasting it with this new ingredient. Hmm, yes, mint is very nice!
Though the walk here did a very good job of waking her up, it's still early so she hardly minds the silence as they wait for their food. But just because she doesn't mind the silence doesn't mean that she's opposed to breaking it. "Um, thanks for helping with Maureen last night," she says somewhat abruptly. Because she'd kind of said so before, but not really. And while she may not really be sure if she's all that grateful for all the... other stuff, that's one thing that she really dose appreciate. Even if she still finds the exact way that Selina went about it a bit disconcerting.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2013 17:26:28 GMT -5
Considering this isn't Selina's standard breakfast fare, but will do for today, she smiles as Charlotte takes her up on the offer of a bit of 'mint.' It's schnapps, so nothing too strong, but still, some could, and would think it odd she's allowing the girl to 'drink.' On the other hand? Selina is her legal guardian, and hell, she can remember having a sip or two of wine when she was younger, and with her parents. Big difference. Nodding with a hidden smile over her own enhanced beverage, she tries to keep the 'crabby adult' look going on, but isn't able to hold on to it for too long. She's slowly waking up more, and it seems, so is the teen; as she speaks first between the two of them, seeming to open up a semi-dialogue.
"You're welcome. I like to believe when the 'Maureen's' in life enter, you might need a bit of help at times." She takes a sip of her coffee, pausing before she speaks a bit more. "What I said, I truly believe. But as for her? She didn't need to know that you've been with me less than twenty-four hours. All she wants to hear is that you're safe, warm, and behaving yourself. And...if I'm correct in speculating why you have ran away from her, she deserved to hear that you were doing better with me, than her. The fact I'd have succeeded with both bolster, and trash her own image of herself. She's a Martyr sort. She will act all sweet, cloying, be the 'dear mother' that 'tried everything for you' and still be a bitch. So while she's happy to hear that you're doing quite well, she's also...justifying your behavior in running away because 'she had done all she could' not...her being the root of you running away with her behavior. I know it's a lot of ..words, but there is a psychology behind. Long story short; she's a selfish, cloying bitch who may take in children to look better, not for the sake of actually helping, and, well, I'm not that at all. And you're doing good so far, so we'll try to keep on that trajectory. It's nice to have someone in your corner at times."
Its a lot of words for so early, but Selina knows her shit. And she knows that she knows. Why? Because she'd ran across the archetype when she herself was in the system, and even at her boarding schools. It doesn't take much to read into the tone of someone, when you can't see their face.
"So, that's etiquette, at times. Telling someone what they need to hear, so they leave you alone to let you do what you need to do. Especially when you want something; eg: talking to your brother. I keep Maureen updated on your well-being, you get to talk to your brother without always having to go through Maureen. Ta-da. Let's file that in 'social engineering' instead of etiquette, but for technicalities sake, it's both. Etiquette..is still saying nice things when you don't want to. Ah! And here is our food!" She switches topics with a flourish, pushing her hair over her shoulders. While she may be and 'adult,' she never has really played by said rules. Yes she gets a paycheck, works, pays bills..but there is so much more.
So it's when her two plates are slipped before her does she really get a genuine smile on her face. This is second best to actually getting a waffle across the pond, but hell, Charlotte doesn't need more on her plate than she will for today.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2013 2:54:54 GMT -5
As Selina starts to talk, Charlotte silently listens and sips her hot chocolate. Her expression remaining rather passive, it's difficult to gauge her reaction until she responds verbally by sighing and quietly saying, "You don't... 'get' it." And she sounds somewhat disappointed by that. Not that she feels such a large, overwhelming need for Selina to understand - she's used to nobody understanding by now, especially adults - but the woman seems so confident that she does that to find out that it's misplaced is a bit off-putting. Not that Charlotte is even certain that she really understands what's going on between Maureen and herself, but she knows what rings true and what doesn't. Perhaps Selina is simply assuming too many details about the situation.
In any event, after having said that, Charlotte doesn't feel much like saying anything else, so it's fortunate that their food arrives and gives her a solid excuse to not talk for awhile. And though nothing in her breakfast could ever be mistaken for haute cuisine, to her tastebuds at least it's perfect. Sometimes the no-frills simplicity of something like plain bacon can only be made worse by trying to get all fancy with it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2013 3:12:14 GMT -5
The quiet words are like a slap to the face. So after Selina sits there, slightly stunned at the quiet admonishment and finishes chewing her bite of bacon and waffle, she looks pointedly at Charlotte, and states, "Then how about you explain it, since I clearly was wrong. Sighing and expecting me to read your mind, assume, and get it right is not going to help me, to help you." Her words are firm, but not judging. If anything, she's encouraging Charlotte to point out exactly what she was off base about. While she may have injected a bit too much psychology into, she knows from her own experience that running away...is the only way to live.
"I ran away myself, three times." Is all she states before the two get back to their food, the quiet clinking of flatware on their plates.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2013 8:07:39 GMT -5
If a verbal slap in the face is what it takes to get Selina to stop presuming that she understands everything, then Charlotte's not going to feel sorry about doing it. She never expected Selina to understand, after all, but the woman seems to expect to. But though Charlotte doesn't immediately respond to that, the thoughtful frown on her face seems to indicate that she's mulling something over. It's not that she wants to keep it from Selina, it's that she's not certain how to go about articulating it.
And, after giving herself a moment, she finally starts to talk. "Carl was still little when my parents got into pills. He was five when they were arrested, and I was pretty much raising him by then," she explains, her face hardening a bit as she talks of things that make her angry. "So he doesn't remember what it was like before all that. And he thinks that Maureen and Conor are the best things ever. He even calls them mom and dad. But they're not my mom and dad," she adds, going silent for a moment as she takes out some of the anger that talking about it stirred up on her pancakes - sometimes it's nice to be able to cut and stab something. "If Maureen was a 'selfish bitch', do you think that I'd have left him there?" she asks rhetorically before she lifts the section into her mouth.
She's not sure if that counts as a decent explanation, but she's not really sure how to do it any better than that. While it's easy as breathing for her to know how she feels about them, knowing why she feels that way is... complicated. But she knows that the way that she and Carl took to them differently is a part of it. And Maureen is not a bad person, she's just... ugh... not someone that Charlotte ever wants to have to deal with ever again.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2013 18:53:08 GMT -5
Selina nods, eating quietly as Charlotte opens up, just slightly. What she had to go through resonates more than she likes to admit, and hurts. But what stands out is the ....anger, Charlotte has at how Conor and Maureen were replacements. There is so much weight to what Charlotte says, and it's hard to find the exact way to respond.
"No. I think you made the decision for what was best for him, even if it wasn't the best for you. Streets are more welcome than someone who wants to replace something you already have, even if it's not the best." She lets that statement sink in, before adding quietly; "I'm not looking to replace. You have parents, you just need someone in your corner to be able to steer you in the right direction, and get you back on your feet. Maureen may not have expected resistance. Not everyone connects in the same way. And thankfully so, otherwise the world would be quite boring." But the teen will have to learn, sooner or later, she's going to have to deal with difficult personalities, whether or not she likes it. It's just part of growing up.
Spooning nearly the last bite of her fruit and whipped cream, she notices that Charlotte is nearly done, too. Considering the diner has now had a steady stream of customers, Selina catches their waitress eye and nods, slipping a few bills from her wallet and anchoring them with her coffee mug. "When you're finished, we can head out. I was thinking bedroom things?" She throws out as she checks her cellphone.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2013 3:59:08 GMT -5
Hmm, now Selina seems to get it. Well, close enough. She could still argue a point or two, but it's nothing that rubs her the wrong way at least so she'll let that go. She'd rather murder the rest of her stack of pancakes than argue details right now. And, not really having anything else to say, she lets the silence just happen again.
Fortunately, silence while you're eating is far less awkward than it is at other times, if only because it allows the other person the illusion that the only reason why you're not talking may be because your mouth is busy. For Charlotte the silence is actually more that she's used to not really being taken seriously. But it seems like the fewer things that she says, the more seriously those few things get taken, so her silence is actually rewarded in that way.
Besides, now that she's fully awake and full of breakfast she's eager to finish off her last few bites of breakfast so that they can get all this shopping done - if only so that it will be over sooner. She hates shopping. Really, really hates it. Selina's question gets a shrug and she simply says, "Whatever." Like it matters which order they go in. She forks one last bit of eggs into her her mouth before declaring herself, "Done." Sliding out of the booth and readjusting her backpack, she waits for Selina to lead them onwards.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2013 23:38:42 GMT -5
Yes, Selina gets it. But Charlotte will have to learn to 'get it' as well, and not freak out for Selina not quite understanding everything, too. Yes, teen angst covers a multitude of bad behaviors, but doesn't explain the underlying reasons. Once another few words is mumbled from the girl, Selina locks eyes with her. "Whatever? This really isn't going to go well if you have no opinion on anything. Starting with your room will be the easiest, to set a foundation. It's a few blocks south of here. I noticed you liked red?"
As they leave the restaurant, Selina heads them in the direction of a large-almost Ikea-like store. It's barely seven forty five, and the store hours on the tall glass doors say 9am. But considering Liv does her job, and does it well, there is a middle-aged man waiting for them both, and unlocks the door, ushering the in, before he re-locks it. Selina starts in the direction of bedding, and spreads her arms wide to the multitude of colors, patterns, and textures. "I believe your bed is a full, and if you need a new pillow, snag one." While a few things catch her own eye, Selina feels a tap on her shoulder, and two sort of ...hand held scanners are shown, one then given to her, and one offered to Charlotte while the sales associate explains how to scan the barcode on the item, or the accompanying tag. Delighted at the streamlined efficentness, Selina smiles brightly, making a beeline to one of the 'staged' bedrooms, and plopping on the bed.
"I'd rather be in a bed right now," she laughs, glancing around at the nightstand, desk, the lighting, and the 'clothes' in the closet. It's much like an ikea, but a Gotham-brand, but just as fun to explore.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 5:50:18 GMT -5
Well, Charlotte certainly doesn't think that she 'freaked out' when Selina didn't get it. She simply said so. And it seemed to bother Selina a lot more than it bothered her. In fact she's far more bothered about being chided for not having an opinion about where they go first. It's enough to make her angrily set her jaw and say nothing during the entire walk to the store. Asking her about the color red is too redundant of a question to actually answer anyway if Selina looked over the pictures that she marked - well duh she likes red!
Fortunately, her fuming silence has eased off into her more normal silence by the time they arrive at the place. Following Selina's lead, the fact that they're being let in before store hours gets a double take, but her thoughts aren't allowed to linger on that for too long before she's confronted by the selection available. Oh, boy... It's perhaps good that the thought is interrupted by the explanation on how to use the scanners so that it doesn't seem quite so overwhelming when her eyes go back to all the options.
She makes a slight face as Selina plops down on one of the beds, all too aware of the task at hand to do any such thing herself, even if she more than agrees with the thought. Instead she hesitatingly starts to ask, "So, um..." If she were here with her parents, or one of her foster families for that matter, and assuming they gave her gave her the choice to begin with she would be asking what the budget was or something like that. But, already having some sense of how Selina is different, the question is instead, "...anything?" And far from asking this question like a kid in a candy store, instead she sounds completely daunted by the idea. How do you even pick when everything is an option?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 6:29:31 GMT -5
"Yes. And doing what I'm doing is how you figure it out," Selina replies, her hand patting the ample space beside her. "Anything.I have a list, if it helps to frame what you should be aiming for," her fingers proffer the slip of paper; one of many, as to not overwhelm the teen on their first stop. But she should start getting used to the fact that odd, and out of the ordinary is Selina's life, and by extension, her own now.
"How about you look around, then narrow down the choices for a comforter, sheets, then go from there. That is the main thing in your room; after that, it's just wall accents, a lamp or two, a different desk if you like, bathroom stuff like a caddy, towels, so forth. Think of it like college shopping?" That's the closest thing Selina can even think to call it. Even though her own college experience was much different, and even boarding school was..horrid, this is something fun. "And I believe things are color coded, or even....put together like rooms? So if you see the majority of a set-up, you can always swap out things. Kinda like life..." she muses, her coffee still not quite kicked in yet.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 20:40:54 GMT -5
When Selina offers the list, Charlotte is quick enough to look at it. At this point, anything that might make any of this easier is extremely welcome. And it does... at least it doesn't look too long. Then again, she can recall Selina mentioning so many more things that aren't even on this list, so that she knows that's a false comfort... Still she forces herself to focus on the idea of first few bedroom things like Selina suggests. Though the comment about it being like college shopping causes Charlotte to give Selina a blank look as she says, "Yeah, because I know everything about college shopping..."
That's the point where Charlotte decides that, if anything, further rambling from Selina is probably not going to be helpful so she wanders away to look around. And, somewhat to her surprise, she finds that all of these comforters just seem so... bland to her. Don't they have any really cool ones like some of those pictures she was looking at last night? She impatiently walks past all the single-color stuff, the boring pattern stuff, until... Ah, the intricately detailed, artsy, nice stuff! Also more expensive than all the stuff she passed, but Selina did say anything. Sorting through the area that seems to be a hotspot for those, she finds one that's the right size and the right colors - red, black, and white. It happens to be sort of a floral design, though she doesn't really care one way or the other about that - it's the delicate, asymmetric curves that catch her eyes. Yep, this is the one! Having passed by so many things that she actually kind of hates by comparison, she scans the tag since she can be pretty sure that there's not going to be another one to compete with it.
Okay, next on the list - sheets. Now that she knows what her comforter looks like, she know that black ones would probably look best with it. Knowing the color means that she just needs to pick the fabric - and since silk and satin both seem more than a bit... much to her, she chooses a high-quality cotton. So that's an easy choice. Let's see... wall things and lamps? Wait, where was that... She wanders back through the bedroom displays until she finds the awful baby-blue one. Ugh! But though the lamps with stands that look like black tree branches try and fail to make that ugly color look any better, they're cool-looking and will look good with her other stuff. But the desk in her room probably won't come to think of it... Where does she find those? She wanders over to the more office-stuff area to look for one.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 21:01:59 GMT -5
When the list slips her fingers, Selina smiles a bit. For now, she is just going to lay on the bed, enjoying it. It's not that she needs a new mattress, but this one is so nice. Maybe for the office? Yawning, she can hear footsteps leading away from her, and the blank stare she's given with the crass words. "Watch your tone, please. Think of it like...starting a new route in life. Get all the necessities." She says thoughtfully. Sitting, Selina knows she has a few things to pick up, but it's in a different part of the store, so she will wait.
It's only after a few more minutes of doing nothing that she finally extracts herself from the bed, and meanders around, looking at this and that. Her own flat is filled with off-white, cream, grey, black and shades or purple. It's a very calming space for her, so she is intricate in what she chooses. And considering Charlotte's choice in color, her room will be distinctly her own. She is looking for a few new silver accents, so she calls out to Charlotte; "If you see anything ...silver, let me know. Also, if anything catches your eye for your brother, remember, Christmas is around the corner!"
Meandering over to the office supplies, she sighs. Christmas is not her favorite time of the year. She recalls more yelling and fighting than she'd like, even though her years in France...were fun. Having just enough, with people that mattered. It wasn't all about the hoopla. And the commercialism. It was about family, friends, and what you could share. But she still needs to get the office gifts. And her employees; all three of them. Maybe later she'll do it, or just ask for a list, and purchase something off that. Unless you -really- know the person, it's easier to get them a gift card, but some people do frown on that. With everything that's on her mind at the moment, she's mildly overwhelmed, and sits behind a desk, looking a bit dejected herself. It's got to be the early hours. She really is not a daywalker at all.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 22:58:04 GMT -5
Now that she's gotten into it, deciding what she wants isn't really that difficult. Mostly because the comforter she picked is kind of unique and when she narrows down her options to just things that match it best then there really aren't that many things to choose from. And in the end she finds it kind of freeing to not have to pay attention to the price tags - she can go for the things that look the best instead of the cheaper thing that only sort of works. She does hit a bit of a snag at first when she hits the bathroom things, because while she could keep going with the same color scheme and such, she'd kind of like it to be different. But then she's back to everything being an option again. Ugh. Then she notes that it's the comforter that made the bedroom come together, so what would the bathroom equivalent of that be? Looking down her list, she realizes that it would be the shower curtain, since that would be the thing to have the most fun with. So, that first... Though she heads to look for that, she notices something silver on the wall of one of the living room set displays. " Sliver thing!" she announces to Selina, only lingering there long enough to point her toward it before she continues on the hunt for a shower curtain. She'll let the woman decide if she likes it or not without her. Determined now to find something she really likes for the shower curtain, she finally spots one: It's mostly white, but it has a line drawing of some flowers in black with just a few small, bright yellow hummingbirds on it. Yeah... It kind of reminds her of her bedroom stuff, but different at the same time. Okay so what bathroom stuff goes with that? Favoring white as her main color, black as the accent, and very rarely throwing in something small that's bright yellow, she finds going down the list easy again. The big towels are white, the hand towels are black, and the soap dispenser is bright yellow. Not her favorite color, but it'll look cool all put together and everything. She's actually kind of surprised when she realizes that she's reached the end of Selina's list. That was... not that hard. Huh. Shrugging that off, she wanders back out of the bathroom stuff to find Selina, and when she does she hands the list back to her and simply says, " Done."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 23:27:35 GMT -5
Selina was perusing lamps, and tapestries when she hears the voice call to her. It's a point to what Charlotte is looking and, and her face lights up. It's a nice accent piece that would work wonderfully on a space of wall that has been so lonely. Nodding her approval, Selina scans the barcode near the item, and then meanders about, looking at this, then that, before Charlotte finds her, and dutifully hands the list over. Raising a brow, Selina nods, taking back the list, before re-thinking it and handing it back.
"How about you hold onto that until we get to the register. They should have a list complied...and I want you to make sure everything is on the list. Then...how about the salon?" It will give the two of them a bit of a break from shopping, while also helping Charlotte get into the mindset of ...clothing. Which can be a hard thing to tackle, especially with the finicky weather of Gotham. Walking to the register, there is already a small stack of this and that, as well as a small electronic list with photos for the two of them to look at from what they scanned with the handheld device. "Oooh. Good choice on comforter. And the desk. Any idea what you want to do with the old one?" Its not a trick question, but it does give Charlotte a purpose- what to do with the old desk; gift it, donate it, whatever.
Once the two have agreed upon the items, Selina pulls out a card and swipes it at the register, signing the electronic tablet and pocketing the receipt. It's nearly 9am, and perfect time to get to the salon before the 'ladies who lunch' crowd piles in for their treatments. Knowing that the question of how they are going to get the items home, Selina anticipates the question, telling Charlotte; "They deliver, so we'll have a bit of fun when we get home unloading, putting together, and unpacking all of it." With a smile she waves her hand toward the door, and down a few blocks in the now bright sun, waiting for the teen to join her. Once they are back outside, Selina pulls Charlotte close in a half-hug, her arm around the girl's shoulders for a second or two before releasing her. "I'm proud of you. You did quite good; and picked out some fantastic pieces. How about we go get a bit pampered?" She asks.
The salon is sleek, but feminine. But not over the top. Once they get there, a woman with seemingly impossibly long hair greets them, inviting them to pick out nail colors right off the bat. Selina of course gravitates toward a lush purple for her toes, her fingertips classic in a french tip with a twist; instead of white, she gets a very pale shade of lilac, almost unnoticeable. The two are ushered into massage chairs to soak their feet, while the blonde woman introduces herself as Sheryl, and asks gently questions about what they'd like done to their hair today.
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