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Post by Francis York Morgan on Jan 4, 2011 23:35:51 GMT -8
"Zach, this guy's kind of a show-off, isn't he?" York smiled to himself. "Well, that's all right by me. It's good to be confident in one's own abilities."
As if to prove the man's point, he started laying out his cigarettes and lighter on the table. It didn't feel nearly as impressive to have to do everything with only one hand, and it was hard to light up with a flourish with so many people crowded around... But you had to make do with what was available. Being resourceful was one of the most important qualities a field agent could possess.
Cigarette held carefully between his teeth as he fiddled with his lighter, York said aloud, "Well, Brad it looks like you'll be joining Atlas and and I at the non-singing table. But don't worry, if 'Hooked on a Feeling' comes up, we can always just recite the 'ooga-chaka' part."
He paused, thoughtfully. "Still, no matter what song it is... If it was on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack, I immediately start thinking of the scene where the cop gets his ear cut off. An unfortunate auto-association, and there was an element of foreshadowing as well; I found myself having to deal with a very similar case ten years after that film came out. Just imagine the same scene, except replace 'Stuck in the Middle' with 'Roxy Roller', Mr. Blonde with a six foot-three Canadian transsexual, and instead of taking the ears of her many unfaithful boyfriends, she- Well, let's just say the movie was much better, in my opinion."
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jan 5, 2011 15:38:34 GMT -8
Now that the insinuations were flying freely around the table, the meaning made suddenly quite clear, the young man blushed deeply. They thought that - that he and Ash were - were-? He opened his mouth in an attempt to articulate a point, but Ash cut him off before he could find the words. His eyes flicked back towards her as she squeaked out her denial - no, no they weren't. She was right, of course, she was only saying what he was about to.
So then...what was that strange clenching feeling in his chest when she said that?
An odd terseness in his face, he settled his eyes back down upon the table, ignoring the newcomer's comment about how he was getting tipsy (the back brace comment, on the other hand, only served to make him hyper-aware of his posture - in fact, he straightened his back further than it already was). He didn't care. He finished off his first drink and waited for the waiter to bring the second. His head was down, and he was starting to lean a bit on the table, unsure what to do or say anymore. A steady haze was starting to cloud his mind, dashing his thoughts before he could quite grasp them.
He wondered, in one of those half-formed thoughts, if really he should have another drink.
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Todd Thorne
Full Member
WHOREwhoreWhOrEwhoreFUCK
Posts: 164
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Post by Todd Thorne on Jan 5, 2011 16:00:35 GMT -8
Todd pouted just a bit. It looks like only Red was the only one interested in karaoke. Alas he was hoping for a bigger group...well maybe once people got a couple more drinks in their system they would be more tempted to join in on the fun he and Red would be having! He noticed Michael was pounding his drinks down and hoped he could convince him to join in soon!
"Well Red it looks like it's just you and me at the moment for Karaoke fun. As for a song choice not sure." Todd thought a moment and tapped his chin "Stuff from the 80's is always fun...you want to sing "Take on Me"? I always loved that video!"
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Post by Tamika Weir on Jan 5, 2011 16:51:32 GMT -8
"Sure." Tamika shrugged. She was pretty sure she'd heard the song somewhere before, though it wasn't one she particularly liked. As she headed over to the karaoke machine with Todd, she took a deep breath. "Ok, go up there, sing, go back and sit down. How hard can that be?" Tamika picked up one of the mics and stared at it for a bit, while Todd set up the machine. As the song began to play, Tamika sang quite calmly.
Talking away I don't know what I'm to say I'll say it anyway today's another day to find you Shying away I'll be coming for you love Ok...
She surprised herself at how well she did. Even though she hadn't sung anything in years, her voice still came out perfectly. Todd's...singing, threw her off a bit sometimes, but after a bit she began to ignore him and just pretended she was singing alone.
After the song finished, she turned toward Todd. "Thanks. That was fun. Maybe we can do this again sometime?" "Or maybe with someone who doesn't think yelling=singing." Tamika then turned and headed back to the table, returning to her seat in between Atlas and Brad. Once seated, she leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to hold back the memories of the last time she sang. "Just focus on how relaxing singing was, despite Todd's...attempts. Don't worry about what you can't change." Yet still, she felt herself spinning her switchblade in her hand, trying desperately to keep the calm demeanor she currently had.
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Post by Atlas on Jan 5, 2011 17:11:40 GMT -8
Atlas listened to Tamika and Todd sing karaoke. It was a mixed feeling for him. On one hand, Tamika's voice sounded beautiful. The voice calmed him moreso than the alcohol did and he wouldn't mind if she was on the karaoke machine all night long. On the other hand, Todd's singing...not so much. "I thought the point of karaoke was to sing and not yell the lyrics..." he thought as he chugged his beer.
When Tamika sat down in her seat, he turned to her. "That was great! You should seriously become a musician, you'd make millions." he said to her, sounding a bit drunk. "I don't think I'll go up yet. I'm not exactly a good singer sober, and I'd probably sound even worse than Todd while drunk." he laughed.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jan 5, 2011 17:25:22 GMT -8
When Atlas suggested she and Michael do a duet, her face (which had been returning to its normal color, thanks to Emily's words) turned red again. She was an alright singer, not very good, but not painful to listen to either, and so it wasn't the idea of singing that left her feeling flustered. That much she knew. But the idea of singing with Michael brought back the fluttery feeling in her stomach that had appeared when they'd been having tea earlier, and again when it'd been suggested that she and Michael were a couple.
All thoughts of Michael and karaoke flew from her mind though when she heard the word doctor. Brad was a doctor, she thought with a mix of shock and horror, nearly knocking over her drink. The only thing that kept her from making a run for it then and there was Brad's explanation that he wasn't a medical doctor, and was instead a PhD. But he was still a doctor and not all the doctors her parents had sent her to were medical, what if Brad was a doctor of psychology or-or--
Needing something to hang onto she pulled Bo-Bo from her bag with a shaking hand. She felt slightly safer, clutching the little doll that could only be seen by those sitting next to her, but it still wasn't enough. Ash was trembling subtly, and shot a nervous glance at Brad. He'd seemed nice when she first met him but so had the first doctor before the drugs, and the talks she wasn't suppose to know about. Trying to calm herself down she barely noticed Todd and Tamika go up to sing.
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Post by Francis York Morgan on Jan 5, 2011 18:42:04 GMT -8
York clapped loudly when Tamika sat back down at the table. "Bravo, Tamika! Your voice actually sounds quite lovely when you're not shouting at people. You know," he continued to muse after Atlas' response, "I don't believe you ever told me what you actually do for a living..."
Just then, the waiter came by with their food. York's order covered nearly the entire table; one could almost imagine the wood beneath creaking under the strain. He blew smoke across it and grinned widely, looking as if he would have flung out both his arms if he had the space. Or both his arms.
"Emily, too bad George isn't here, because this is a feast fit for a king!" he exclaimed. Then, gesturing with his cigarette towards the white-suited man, he whispered to Ashlin: "Oh, and if Michael's feeling faint due to hunger pains, tell him he's free to help himself. I know the feeling, and it's pretty unpleasant... I know you two apparently just met, but have you cooked anything for him recently? I'm not exactly an expert in romance myself, but speaking from personal experience, the way to a man's heart is definitely through his stomach."
He cocked his head. "By the way, Zach would like to know: Who's your vulpine friend?"
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jan 5, 2011 19:46:04 GMT -8
In spite of himself, in spite of the situation, momentarily, Michael found himself staring at York's cigarette. He wasn't sure what he was thinking about, really, more half-formed thoughts and wants drifting through his mind. The music from the karaoke drifted around him, only partly heard as he sipped from his second drink.
It dawned on him, dimly, that Ashlin was shaking. For a moment, it eluded him why...then he saw Bo-Bo, saw the way she kept looking at Brad. Of course. A doctor. Ash had said something about that, hadn't she?
Aiming to comfort the girl, he shifted his hand beneath the table, blindly aiming to place a hand gently upon her knee.
However, in his swaying and haziness, instead of putting his hand on her knee, he placed it high up on her inner thigh.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jan 5, 2011 20:33:48 GMT -8
Still shaking over the doctor revelation it took Ashlin a moment to realize that York was speaking to her, and a moment longer to comprehend what he was actually saying. When she did though she was torn between a strange mixture of feelings; fear over Brad's newly revealed status as a doctor, worry over Michael's health (he was feeling faint?) and a rather flustered embarrassment over Agent York's apparent attempt in helping her to woo Michael. Feeling rather overwhelmed, and just a bit speechless she decided to focus on the one simple questioned posed to her by Agent York (on behalf of Zach apparently.)
"Um he's Bo-" before she could finish the name though she felt a hand land on her thigh, her upper thigh. Jumping up she squeaked out the rest of the doll's name "-BO!" However the small jump had the unfortunate side effect of pushing the hand (that she know realized was Michael's) up a bit further. Wide eyed and bright red she turned quickly to look at Michael. She- she was feeling rather speechless at the moment, face burning, and oddly-oddly tingly.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Jan 5, 2011 20:59:02 GMT -8
Tamika gave Atlas a slightly nervous smile. "Thanks Atlas," she said with a nervous edge that had not been there before. He was drunk. Anyone could tell. And she had no idea what he might do. "Don't worry. This is Atlas. He's not violent. There's no way he can be as bad as Dad..." She spun her switchblade faster in her hand. She had no clue what to do. Atlas was going to get wasted at this rate. And she didn't want to have to drag a hungover Atlas to see Brian tomorrow morning. She could try to tell him to not drink so much, but whenever she tried that before...
Her switchblade fell from her hand as several of the scars on her arms suddenly hurt a bit. It clattered to the floor, a bit more loudly than she would have lucked. Quickly, she ducked under the table and slipped the switchblade back into her pocket. As she sat back up in her chair, she realized York had said something and she had completely ignored it. "Oh well. He probably was just saying I had a good voice for a murderer or something like that."
Her attention was snapped away from her previous thoughts as Ash suddenly squeaked, "BO!" She looked at Ash questioningly and asked sounding concerned, "Hey Ash, are you okay?" She watched as Ash turned toward Micheal. "What the hell did you do Micheal?" "Do you want to go get some fresh air or something?" Tamika secretly prayed that Ash would say yes. Then she could leave the drunk people for a bit without feeling to guilty.
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Post by Francis York Morgan on Jan 6, 2011 0:10:41 GMT -8
"Bo... BO? Bo-Bo," York repeated to himself, sitting up straight in his chair and looking contemplative. "Did that answer your question, Zach? What's it in reference to, anyway?"
<Can we leave soon? This is getting us nowhere.>
"Are you kidding me? This is almost as good as renting a movie!" York exclaimed around a mouthful of jalapeno popper, watching Ashlin and Michael flirt shamelessly while Tamika scurried around under the table. He relented slightly when he felt the presence in his head cooling.
"I know it's hard for you to be in a crowd, Zach... So many distinct and conflicting personalities can be disorienting. But we'll have time to speak with each of them in turn, privately, and you'll have all the room you need. Is there someone here you're particularly interested in?"
<I told you, the man in the white suit. Michael Tillotson,> the voice responded promptly. <Did you see the way his eyes were following your cigarette after you lit it? And that's definitely not social drinking. He's obviously trying to drown himself in alcohol, and he's probably the type who could do it in the shallow end.>
"Point taken. He actually looked a bit worse before he came over here... Clearly some previous, probably recent incident that he's trying to forget," York said, absently tapping a French fry against the side of his plate as if knocking ashes from the end. "As for the cigarette fascination... Pyromaniac, you think? Or maybe he's just a raven in a white suit, attracted to bright objects."
<It's too early and too crowded to tell,> Zach groused. <My guess is it'll be easier to talk to his employer, Mr. Stewart. Shouldn't be too hard to find 'the man who owns half the town' in a community this size->
"My God, these grilled cheese sandwiches are AMAZING!" York interrupted, waving his partially eaten portion of food in the air. "Even without the pickles, and I've never encountered that before. All the buttery richness without the grease. And that golden color: Incredible! ...I'm sorry, Atlas, your fish and chips seem to have somehow disappeared into my order. I thought I saw it under the salad, but I can't be sure... Good thing the police are here to help us look."
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Post by Emily Wyatt on Jan 6, 2011 4:42:10 GMT -8
Emily cringed when Todd sang. the man was tone deaf...she knew she shouldn't talk she was just a horrible ...but hey she wasn't the one subjecting everyone to her screeching at the moment. But from Todd's gleeful expression it was obvious he didn't care one way or another. She wasn't sure if it was just from the alcohol in his system or just his over confident personality...either way it was hard not to laugh along with him.
When he sat back down she leaned over winked and said, "Hey nice job Todd you didn't break any windows this time with all that screeching. I think it's a new record!"
Todd just gave her a thumbs up and toasted her with the remainder of her beer. Emily's praise for Tamika was more genuine, she actually had the voice of an angel. It reminded her of her mother's singing voice. She leaned over and patted the girl's hand and gave a wry smile, "Hey Tamika that was beautiful, I would kill to have a voice as sweet as yours! Unfortunately like Todd I sing like a banshee."
She felt her eyes widen as York's order arrived. That was enough to feed her for a week..seriously where did he put it all? Secretly she wondered if the table could really hold so much weight.
She was in the middle of picturing the table collapsing when what York said to Ash cut through her thoughts. A man's heart is through the stomach eh? Might explain her dismal track record as of late. All the more reason to keep practicing. If she tried enough times she was bound to make something edible...she wondered if York would be willing to give her some pointers since he was such a foodie? In her mind it was settled she was definitely bringing her brownies AND a bagel sandwich for York tomorrow! She smiled with high hopes of someone finally appreciating all her hard work...
Ashlin's high pitched "Bo!" startled her from her musings. Was she okay? She didn't look okay? Emily narrowed her eyes slightly did Michael do something inappropriate? He didn't seem like the type...
When she heard Tamika suggest getting some fresh air to the shaken women Emily thought it was a wonderful idea. "I think that sounds like a lovely idea, I could use a chance to stretch my legs. Would you guys mind if I joined you?"
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Post by Atlas on Jan 6, 2011 6:20:40 GMT -8
Atlas wasn't able to notice Tamika's nervousness. How could he? He instead opted to continue happily drinking his beer and watching the scene unfold in front of him.
Around this time, the food was beginning to arrive. "Finally!" Atlas thought. There were a number of plates coming for York. "Damn, York, you eating enough to last you your entire case in one night?" he asked. "I don't envy whoever stuck with that bill!"
Suddenly, Atlas heard a loud, squeaky "BO!" come from Ashlin, causing him to laugh. It was louder than his usual laugh and a bit more obnoxious to. He didn't care though. He couldn't help it. Seeing Ashlin squeak like that was too funny for him not to burst out.
Amongst this large order, the waiter didn't bother to sort Atlas's fish and chips from the crowd. "Alright let me look." he said as he fished around York's dishes. He checked under the salad as York had suggested. Lo and behold, there it was. "Here it is! Thanks York!" he said as he placed the dish in front of him.
Now came the moment of truth: the quality of the fish. He took a fork and broke off a piece. He then jabbed the fork into the fish and placed it in his mouth. The crunchy, delicious cooked batter combined with the fresh taste of the haddock below made Atlas's face light up. "Mmm, this fish and chips is REALLY GOOD!" he said a bit louder than usual. "What's that expression you said, York, about a man's heart in his stomach. Whoever this chef guy is, I want to marry him! Even if he's a dude and it's not legal. MAKE IT LEGAL! I'll fight the courts if I have to." he kept going on.
Even if he was drunk, he was happy as a clam with his dinner order.
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kevin
Junior Member
Posts: 63
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Post by kevin on Jan 6, 2011 9:02:39 GMT -8
Kevin spent more time making some calls outside than he intended.
He walked back to Emily and the others, looking at her apologetically. All of his “co-workers” seemed to remember about him when he couldn’t take a job; it was getting kind of frustrating.
“Sorry, I had to make some calls, it’s about work. I’ll tell you about it later, in more private situation.”He smiled at her slightly, talking in a hushed tone and then turning to look at the others, speaking quite loudly this time.
“Well-well, Todd, and here I thought you and I were the only attractive males in this town. Guess we have some competition after all.” He smirked in his usual, arrogant manner, sitting back down on his chair.
There seemed to be even more people here now. And boy all of them looked way to intriguing to miss any of them out of his sight.
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Post by Dr. Bradley Karrde Smith on Jan 6, 2011 13:01:47 GMT -8
The sharp, squeeky "BO!" from Ashlin brought Brad back out of the analyzing stupor he'd been in. He had quietly sat, observing the actions of his fellow diners for a good long while. The only interruption had been listening to Tamika sing. He enjoyed the song before, but it was beautiful when she sang it, and it was obvious the joy she had while singing. With a voice like that, I wonder if she's had formal training...
Upon her return though, something was wrong. She had started fiddling with whatever she had under the table again, just like when that Michael fellow had entered the bar. At one point, she'd even dropped it. Brad tried to spy what it was, but she was up in her seat before he'd gotten a chance.
Now, she had asked Ashlin to get some air. Something was very wrong, so he would do something to cheer her up. Brad leaned over to the redhead who was waiting for a yay or nay from Ashlin. "When you get back, what's say you and I see sing a song?"
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