recolle | So... (Closed)

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So... (Closed)

WHO: Chloe & May
WHERE: A Fish n Chips place
WHEN: Backdated to the day before Founder's Day
WHAT: Lunch!
WARNINGS: hah, no.

Chloe was standing at the entrance to the fish and chips, leaning against the door and waiting for what she currently assumed was going to be a somewhat burly fellow. She was still fairly new to social media. They didn't bother with such things at vineyards in the lee of the basques. WiFi wasn't a priority out there, so she'd only had a couple years to get used to the notion of twitter. Memes were a bit confusing a times.

So, she was about to be disabused of her previous notions about who this 'May' was. Ah, but it was an excuse to make use of this strange app. She needed to make new friends and get out there more. It would be good for her, that and she also needed something to eat. A hopefully pleasant combination.

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She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, looking over at May with a curious and sympathetic eye. "The American Dream, as they say. The idea that anything is possible. It is why people come to this land, no?" She sighed softly to herself and smiled. "But you say that you started with nothing. Were you an orphan too?"

"That's a little awkward to ask someone you just met, iddnit?" Though May couldn't help the use of the word 'too', despite her casual deflection.

"A little, but something you said made me wonder," Chloe said, glancing to the side and shrugging. "I just know that it can feel difficult at times as an orphan, even if you're adopted young like me. I was very lucky to have a mother like mine."

"Well, why don't you tell me a little about her?" Anything to get the topic away from their apparent shared background. She didn't really like thinking about it, especially in a friendly situation like this.

"My mother is very special to me," she said, happy to burble on about her. "She's a very generous, kind soul, who lives apart from all the troubles of the world. She's very concerned about others, but she lives a simple life. She owns a vineyard near the foothills, and we used to always work in the fields there. I grew up knowing how to tend plants with her. I wish that I could be as strong a person as she was."

"She sounds super nice. Like a Disney mom or something," including being talked about in past tense, but May didn't comment on that, or make any assumptions out loud.

"I'm kind of that way about my old man. He taught me everything I know."

"You know, I never thought about it, but yes. She's a bit like something out of a fairy tail. A very warm one, without beasts in castles and the like." Thankfully, those assumptions would be off. She was just using the past tense out of habit more than anything else. Her mother was fine.

"Oh? What is he like? A sailor like you?"

"Jack of all trades, actually. But would you believe me if I said he made most of his fortune gambling? I live pretty well off of his savings," another implication of past tense. "Though I should proooobably clarify he's in prison, not dead," but at least she was clearer about it.

She blinked and looked at her curiously. "Are you aright, since he's in prison like that? But how would he end up there if he was a gambler?" Then again she had said jack of all trades, so maybe gambling wasn't all the old man did?

"Eh, long story, but he's set for a dime in there, unless he gets time served for good behavior. And he's a charmer, alright." May nodded, humming to herself as she popped a shrimp between her lips.

A dime? Oh, ten of something? Probably ten years in that case. That would make sense, wouldn't it? She considered pressing but decided it best not to do that. After all, that wasn't really her business. "I see. Well, at least you have a good relationship with him. Mother is still at the vineyard, so we speak by phone when the chance is there, but six hours difference can be tricky."

"Visiting time for me is pretty limited, too, but I at least get to write him letters," she didn't seem to be particularly broken up about him being in prison, at all, all things considered.

"I would imagine so, yes." She definitely noticed that May didn't seem that upset, which was a little odd, but maybe it had happened a while ago? "But, you keep in contact and that's the important thing. When will he get out?"

There was a nonchalant shrug in response, though May notably broke eye contact as well, idly chewing on a shrimp tail.

"Dunno. The date keeps changing..."

"I suppose that sort of thing's always hard to know," Chloe said, noncommittally and nodding, glancing to the side. It was kind of hard to avoid that being awkward, but life was sometimes that way. She cleared her throat and tried to think of something else to talk about. Floundering a bit, she finally settled on an easy but abrupt shift.

"So... what do you do, for fun?" It wasn't an elegant shift, but if May wanted off the topic, it was an easy escape.

"You mean besides shitposting on the internet?" May chuckled, eating some of her fries.

"I work out, stay out on my boat and soak in some waves. Less so in the winter, but it's definitely a thing I do. I also love pro wrestling and stuff like that." Not that she was a wrestler herself. Plus she didn't want to tell Chloe she picked pockets and sold phony jewelry for fun, either. Not yet.

"Shitposting?" Chloe said, her eyebrow raising. "I'm afraid I don't actually know what that is." That might have explained a great many things about their first online meeting, honestly. She wasn't completely naive, but some aspects of online culture were really lost on her.

"But, professional wrestling, oh, so that's where you got the little video the other day?" Yes, that at least made sense.

"It's basically posting about nothing. It doesn't contribute anything, but if you're good at it, you can at least make people laugh. I like it when I either get bewildered or amused reactions. I don't actually like to get people mad with them."

"Ah, so it is like the cat videos that some people complain are everywhere, and others show their friends?" Ok, maybe she did understand the concept of a shitpost partially, even if she'd never heard it called that, though were cat videos shitposts? She wasn't sure, but the point seemed to make sense either way. "Or that little video you made with the man on the scooter."

"Now you're gettin it, girly!" May raised her glass, as if in toast, before chugging down almost the entire thing in a single gulp, only to let out a fairly sizeable, but still oddly cute sounding, burp when she pulled it away.

She blinked, her eyes going wide for a moment before she laughed. "Ah, so it is mostly levity in that case, yes?" she said before saluting and taking a sip instead of a full drink. "Somehow that seems easier to understand, but I'm used to taking things seriously. It will take getting used to."

"Well that's just why people like you need people like me in your lives. If you're super serious all the time, life's pretty dull. So I think I'll stick with you for a bit, if you don't mind."

"I would like to think I am not always serious. But I do have a little trouble with American humor," she said, tying to give herself an excuse for it. It wasn't like she was always serious. She had fun. She just didn't have a very well-developed sense of humor. "But still, I do not mind the company. It has been... interesting."

And really, she got a little lonely at times.

"Oh? And what's interesting code for, huh?" May hums, leaning in closer.

"Mmmm, I would say just interesting for the moment," she admitted, not shying away when May leaned in. "I do not yet know quite what to make of you. You aren't unpleasant, but you aren't like anyone I've ever really known. So, like I said... it's interesting."

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