The Alibi

[landlocked†]

((Natalie Williams continued from Sing Us A Song))

Aaahhh, The Alibi. Natalie's favorite hangout. On the job or off it, she'd rather be here than in school any day of the week, and it was a great place to laze around when her schoolwork or her parents were grating on her nerves. Even if she just wanted to draw, The Alibi was great, she could just drag along a small sketchbook and a micron pen and draw some inattentive customers - they got some real characters in there sometimes.

And the atmosphere was just so relaxing... the walls were painted a warm brown color and the lighting was very soothing. The room was lit by a series of small, circular lamps, projecting yellow light onto the wall itself, which made it dim enough to give a nice atmospheric quality but still light enough to read the menus. Each square cafe table also had its own small individual colored lantern, whose arm twisted into odd, geometric shapes. Although most of the sleek metal chairs were empty, a few groups of tables were pushed together from the last rush of customers - large groups of friends frequently did that when hanging around there.

Natalie's favorite feature in The Alibi, however, had always and most likely would always be the paintings that lined the walls, paintings of all sorts of varieties. Some of them were abstract, some of them were representational, some of them colorful, some of them stark, but each was vastly different than the other. The owner of the shop, Richard, was something of an amateur art collector - he always said that you never knew who'd strike it big and have their art become priceless - and he was always happy to hang up the odd painting of Natalie's, as well. That was the real reason Natalie loved this place so much - it just felt more supportive of creativity than some stuffy school.

Natalie sighed with some relief as she entered, letting the music playing in the cafe calm her down. The Flaming Lips... very nice. Richard always did have good taste in music. As she crossed the room towards the counter, however, she stumbled over a stray chair and her large, plastic glasses fell with a small clatter to the hardwood floor. She laughed a bit as she leaned over to pick them up and place them back on the bridge of her large, pointed nose. It wasn't that Natalie needed the glasses - she could see perfectly fine without them. But they were a fashion statement, one that was especially important to her now that she was here.

"Ugh, wow, I guess I need that cup of coffee even more than I thought I did," she said to Charlie, and proceeded to get behind the counter and get herself just that. The perks here most definitely made coming straight after school on a Friday worth it.

"Maybe I should clock in before I start pouring coffee, though... heh..."

[Hiro†]

((Charlie Beckwith continued from Sing Us a Song))

"Yeah, probably," Charlie answered, making his way behind the counter as well. Letting out a long sigh of relief, he looked over the counter, trailing his eyes along the bohemian paradise that lay on the other side. He loved this place. The mellow atmosphere, the great tunes, the paintings on the walls, he loved it all. There was no better place to go after a stressful day and let yourself unwind. Here, he could forget about the tribulations of his life and just relax.

Throwing on his work apron, he tried unsuccessfully to tie the apron's two straps around his back. Low grumbles escaped from under his breath as his fingers fumbled with the cloth material. Come on... After several unsuccessful attempts, Charlie finally surrendered to the apron and looked over at Nat. "Once you've got that coffee, can you please help me with this?" he asked. He never was very good at tying those stupid apron-straps.

[landlocked†]

"Yeah, well... I'll just clock in as soon as I'm done..." Natalie mumbled, and promptly made herself a cup of coffee with a considerable amount of sugar. She usually took her coffee pretty black and tended to avoided the fancier items on the menu with the unpronounceable names, but she did need some emergency energy, after all. After taking a few moments to savor a hot sip or two, Natalie downed the entire thing in one quick gulp. If THAT didn't wake her up long enough to get through work, she didn't know what would.

"No problem," she responded to Charlie's question and crossed the counter, seized the straps to his apron, and began furiously attacking them, tying them in all different directions. Truth be told, Natalie was absolutely terrible at tying knots - she usually just looped the strings randomly until they stayed together, which worked fine for her. Once the straps had formed something not entirely unlike a knot, she said "Uhh... done," and grabbed her own apron, doing the same thing for herself. "Better clock in..." she then muttered.

Natalie crossed the counter again and entered the back room. After unceremoniously yelling "RICHARD! WE'RE HERE NOW!" in the general direction of her boss's office, she dropped her stuff off on a shelf next to the clocker, punched her ID number in and signed her name on the nearby clipboard to mark the exact time she started working. It was always kind of a satisfying ritual - it helped to remind her that every second for a few hours afterwards, no matter how boring or frustrating they may have gotten, she would be getting paid for.

Without waiting for Charlie, she took her place behind the counter. Time to start.

...Right after she made herself another cup of coffee.

[Hiro†]

Charlie stared ahead in mild surprise as Natalie yanked his apron straps in every conceivable direction. She had quite an...enthusiastic way of tying knots. She'd fit right in to "Death Note", he thought to himself with a chuckle. Finally, he felt her hands release his straps. Peering over his shoulder, Charlie glanced at the knot-like thing that Natalie had tied his apron straps into. It wasn't exactly the most aesthetically-appealing of knots, but it would hold. And as far as he was concerned, that was good enough. "Thanks, Nat," he said to her as she walked off to clock in.

Following behind her into the back room, he stashed his backpack and binder next to Nat's gear on the shelf. "Welcome Agent 5," he mumbled to himself in a deep robotic voice, entering his ID number into the clocker once Nat had finished. "Your fourth late arrival has been verified and logged." Scrawling his name onto the clipboard, he continued to absent-mindedly monologue to himself, lost in his own little world of fantasy. "Please report at once to the Command Center."

Setting the clipboard down, he headed back to the main room and assumed his post. It was time to make some ka-RAZY money.

[ZombiexCreame†]

((Josie Vernon continued from Sparse))

Both Josie and Sierra honestly wanted one thing. To get away from Bayview Secondary School and all the losers that lurked there. The best friends debated on where to go. Wal-Mart? Josie's house? The movies? They finally decided to head to the mall. Maybe some window shopping would do the two of them some good.

They spent a few minutes dawdling around the first floor. Nothing new, nothing interesting. Heading up the escalator, the two of them proceeded to check out a few clothing shops. Just as they were about to cross from the south side of the mall to the west side, Josie passed by a curious looking door. The scent of fresh coffee immediately assaulted her senses.

She peered inside the window. It looked like a typical shop, but something felt different. It felt welcome and inviting. Comfortable. Interesting paintings were strewn amongst the walls and two people were standing behind the counter. They seemed familiar, but Josie didn't spend time gawking at them.

She nudged Sierra. "Hey, let's grab a bite to eat. It's on me, okay? So pick out whatever you like." The earlier sight of seeing Sierra cry burned a hole so deeply into Josie's heart that only coffee and cookies would heal it. Admittedly, Josie wasn't the biggest fan of coffee. She loved coffee ice cream and coffee candy, but regular coffee? Not so much.

Walking inside, she adjusted her purse and looked up at the menu. "Hmm..." she thought to herself. She would probably get something like a cookie or hot chocolate. Her hand dug through her purse to grab her wallet.

Josie looked over at the people behind the counter. Ah, that's right. They were people from school. Ugh. Josie really couldn't escape her classmates sometimes. They were everywhere. It wasn't exactly a bad thing, it was a little comforting sometimes but geez. They swarmed like flies. "Josie, this is the mall after all. What do you expect?"

She recognized the boy from earlier, but said nothing. She didn't want to spark up any further arguments. But he had apologized, hadn't he? If so, no bad blood, right? "Whatdya want, Sierra? Pick out whaaatever ya like!" Josie said cheerily.

[Mimi]

[ Sierra Manning continued from Sparse ]

The fingers on Sierra's left hand snapped madly to the beat of the song blaring into her ears, courtesy of the vibrant iPod stuffed into the pocket of her skinny jeans. Her other hand was interlocked with Josie's despite the girls being a significant distance away from each other. It was pretty clear that other mall patrons weren't amused by the moving roadblocks, but the friends were in their own world- as usual.

Sierra's humming began to get louder as she anxiously awaited the chorus of the song (which was basically the only part of the song she knew), and when it finally came, she wasn't shy about belting out the long awaited lyrics.

"MMBOP!! BA DU BA DOP! Ba du bop, ba du ba dop!!" The small girl just about screamed at the top of her lungs, oblivious to the group of shoppers that stared at her as she sang the ancient song.

Sierra followed suit as Josie stopped to take a peak inside the coffee shop window. The aroma engulfed them like a pack of savage beasts- which it might as well have been. Coffee had never really tickled her taste buds the way it did for most kids her age, but a certain display of surgery sweets caught the girl's eye. She never was one to turn away from dessert. She needed it as much as it needed her.

Sierra felt a tap on her shoulder and turned toward Josie, quick enough the catch her mouth moving. Figuring it'd probably be a good choice to cut her beloved Hanson short, Sierra pulled out the earbuds of her iPod and spoke.

"Watcha thay?" She asked with a smile, which only grew when Josie re-offered to buy her lunch. "You're tho going to regret offering."

Sierra tagged quickly behind Josie into the shop. The strong scent of coffee was only magnified on the inside, but it didn't bother Sierra all that much. She followed Josie over to the counter after taking in her surroundings (they had some really nice paintings, afterall.) and immediately recognized the workers.

"Heeey, nithe to thee you again, Chuck!" She smiled. She wasn't going to hold a grudge against the boy, as the fight was even his fault in the first place and he did apologize. She looked at the second employee and gave her a warm smile as well. "Hi! You're Natalie Williamth, right?" It was pretty obvious, especially since her name was printed right there on her name-tag, but asking her name seemed like a good way to strike up a conversation. "I'm Thierra, with an Eth, but like, I kinda have a lithp and can't say Etheth. And this is Jothie, with an Eth, too."

[D/N]

(Andrea Raymer continued [chronologically] from One Whole Hour Ago)

"and you spin me right round baby right round like a record baby right round right round"

Her blue eyes sparkled and her hands shook with the slightest of tremors as she spun the tiny white discus on the table like a dreidel, before sighing and popping the caffeine pill back into its case. Taking any of them now would be pointless, given that she'd had a hit of Rit earlier and was currently guzzling the processed, commercialized, and syrup-stuffed version of the pill. Still, her latest meeting with Doc Mac had left her with both a new prescription and a burning desire to get out and stuff as much as possible into her bloodstream.

Bah, she could wait. It wasn't like she was THAT addicted to the stuff.

Instead, Andrea Raymer idly wiped the last bit of whipped cream off the brim of the cup and licked it off her index finger. Truly, there was nothing like the 600 empty calories afforded by a super-sized sugar-filled coffee mixture. It was pumped with all the essentials of an unbalanced diet that might make her fat eventually, but could still be remedied by skipping lunch and merely grazing at dinner.

"like a record baby right now da da I don't know any more words"

Her appointment with Mr. Latte just about finished, she couldn't help but crave a second before she moved off to meet her new young friend. It'd help make her fashionably late, she considered as she tossed a couple of the scattered papers on the table into her bag and stepped up towards the shop's counter.

The Alibi wasn't the greatest coffee house in town. The drinks were decent, but the atmosphere was far too desperately hipster and colorfully artistic for her liking. She gravitates more towards the dark and moody downtown coffee houses where tortured poets wearing all black would sit in the corner for hours, stroking their goatees and penning their works. But given that she WAS at the mall, it was more than serviceable, and Andrea grinned as she saw that Natalie Williams and Charlie Beckwith had taken up shop.

Natalie was more along the lines of the Alibi's clientele. She was bright and vivid, an artist. Andrea wasn't much for straight-up art. She preferred words, but still, she got a kick out of Natalie's spacey demeanor, and Natalie was one of those who seemed to get Andrea's not-quite-100%-serious way of speaking. Plus, she'd call any fellow caffeine and nicotine fiend a friend of hers, even if said friend didn't appreciate it. Andrea smoked on an extremely limited basis and didn't consider herself addicted, which she was perversely proud of considering her other vices. Charlie Beckwith was a geek and didn't seem too interested in conversation, but he was welcoming enough and hey, a moderately friendly face was a moderately friendly face.

She moved to the counter behind the two new arrivals.

"Well hello girls. Fancy meeting you in this den of despair and dangerously addictive yet wholly legal substances."

Half-joking of course. Andrea knew the scene girls and had bumped against them at a concert or two in the past. She'd shared the occasional half-smiles in the hallway between those who inherently shied away from the traditional high school society. Or course, Andrea considered it far too much work to put THAT amount of effort into your wardrobe and makeup on a daily basis just to set yourself apart from the crowd, but she didn't begrudge them for that. Although she had to admit she was jealous of the fact that Josie had her outpierced by a good margin at the moment.

"And to my good friends and baristas of this glorious hipster paradise, I will have another large Caramel Latte, definitely to go, this one. Or possibly to go, in fact, uh, why don't get started and I'll let you know for sure before you pour it. I am a busy person and have important places to go and people to meet, you know! I can't just spend my life sitting here drinking!"

[Hiro†]

Charlie stared blankly onto space, his eyes shifting in and out of focus behind the lenses of his glasses as his mind floated up in the stratosphere. Business was always slow at the beginning of his shifts. The customers wouldn't start to roll in for another hour, so often he was left with little to do but stand at the counter and keep watch for the sporadic early customer. Not that Charlie minded. He was paid by the hour, so as far as he was concerned, less customers just meant less work to do, and more time to spend relaxing and soaking up the ambience.

However, his trance was broken as the door to the coffee house swung open and a loud voice filled the room. "Heeey, nithe to thee you again, Chuck!"

Charlie's body jerked upright as his mind snapped back to reality. Blinking, he looked over at the direction the voice had come from. A shiver ran down his spine as his eyes came to rest on Josie and Sierra, sending all the memories of the unfortunate fight between them and Harold rushing back. What a mess that had been...but Sierra seemed to be greeting him cheerfully enough. She even called him "Chuck." And Josie wasn't grabbing him by the throat and throttling him. Perhaps they had forgiven and forgotten already.

Shaking off the initial anxiety of seeing them, Charlie returned Sierra's smile and waved to her. "Hi Sierra, hi Josie," he replied. "How's it going?"

...She called me 'Chuck,' he thought, giggling to himself. Chuck wasn't one of his usual nicknames, nor was it one that he particularly liked. But if Sierra was calling him it, he figured he could let it slide. She was pretty cute after all, and if it meant he was on nickname basis with her...then he couldn't really complain.

Just then, another voice piped up, once again dragging Charlie's mind back down to reality. This time it was Andrea Raymer, another one of his classmates and recurring customers. Now there was an awesome girl if he ever saw one. She was smart, she was beautiful, and she was fun. Sure, she had a tendency to get philosophical at the slightest provocation, and can get a bit arrogant at times, but honestly it didn't bother Charlie much. She reminded him a bit of himself, truth be told. And besides, if he could put up with Harold Fisher, then he could put up with Andrea easily.

Charlie looked over to Andrea from the corner of his eye as she ordered a new drink. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander further down, surveying her modest curves. As much as he tried not to be too overt about it, he was still a boy when all was said and done. And Andrea was one of those girls who he just couldn't help but take a peek at every now and then. She had a pretty face, a nice backside, and cleavage that nestled comfortably in the spot between "small" and "big" labeled "just right." What a beauty. The corners of Charlie's mouth curved upwards into a small smile as his cheeks heated up ever so slightly.

"Coming right up!" Charlie answered to her request. Ringing up the order on the cash register, he gave a thumbs-up over his shoulder for Natalie to see. "We got an encore request on the sap-milk-stew, on wheels." He had a habit of nicknaming all of the items on the shop's menu. He thought it made things sound more interesting; took the edge off of the boredom and officiality of work. Plus he liked to be silly every now and then, and coming up with ridiculous nicknames seemed right up that alley.

[Solitair†]

"Hiya, Nat!" called a voice from the entrance of the store.

Cassidy Wakemore was one of the few girls smaller than Sierra, almost qualifying for midget status. It was hard to see Cass if someone wasn't looking for her (that is, looking down), but once people saw her, they'd probably remember her pretty well. She was one of the few students at Bayview with blue hair (dyed of course), and she wore different styles of outfits for every day of the week. Today she had on a fedora, a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows and shoulders, and leather pants. She had a guitar case slung over her shoulder by the strap and carried a notebook and pencil in her hand.

"Ooh, the Flaming Lips. Nice." She grinned and gave the place a once-over. Still as awesome as ever, though the brown walls combined with yellow lamps always reminded her of rather... unfortunate implications. Still, it was a great place to meet people (including Nat) and they made a mean caramel latte.

[ZombiexCreame†]

Josie rolled her eyes as Sierra chatted with the teenage workers. They were obviously kids from their school and this reminded Josie that she really needed a job. Her pocket money was growing shorter these days.

"Guess I'll just have to sell myself on the corner..hehe, just kidding." Josie couldn't help but let that inappropriate thought pass through her head. Hey, it was amusing to her.

Back to Josie's initial annoyance. Josie was never really one to socialize. She just wasn't good at it, especially with people she didn't know. Josie knew that she would never in a thousand years be someone like Sierra. Sierra was so cheerful. So well-liked. Josie was...more like a stick in the proverbial mud.

Standing awkwardly with her arms folded over her chest, she grit her teeth as she examined the menu above the counter. "Oookay, Sierra. Pick out something," she muttered impatiently.

After a few idle moments, Josie realized that someone was standing behind her and speaking. The feminine voice was speaking to her. "Ugh, someone else. Does this ever end? Well, I am at the mall. It's not uncommon to see familiar faces all up in this joint."

Josie turned around and was met with the face of Andrea. At least it was someone she was friendly with. Andrea is another kid at Bayview who stood out more than most. She was known for dying her hair a lot of colors, which Josie thought was pretty rad. On top of that, Josie had even seen her at a few concerts, which definitely scored some extra points.

"Oh hey, Andrea. What's up? Haha yeah...Sierra and I aren't too big on coffee, but we love desserts. So you know," Josie said with a grin.

She looked forward as she heard another voice greet her. It was a male voice from behind the counter. Charlie, the boy who apologized to Sierra and Josie. He was being friendly, at least. "Hey. Chuck," Josie greeted, mimicking Sierra. "Not much, just browsing the mall for...you know, the usual. Tarot cards, voodoo dolls, Ouija boards..." Josie trailed off with a slight grin tugging on her lips.

Yet another person walked into the shop. Josie didn't even have to turn around to realize it was yet another student from Bayview. Josie also didn't even have to guess that it was another person who was "different" in some way, shape or form. But curiosity got the better of her and she turned around. A short chick with blue hair. Nice.

"You're slowing up the line, Jos, just order!"

Josie scratched her head and squinted her eyes, then looked over at Natalie and Charlie. "I think I'll just have the chocolate cake. Decked with strawberries, please. How 'bout you, Sierra?"

[landlocked†]

Natalie was pouring herself another cup of coffee as she heard a few students enter the shop - exactly how many she wasn't quite sure, but whatever, it wasn't a big deal, Charlie could handle things until it got really crowded. She wasn't exactly in the mood to socialize, anyway - maybe once the caffeine started to kick in a little bit.

She put a less sugar in it this time and downed the second cup more slowly, letting the taste and the music wash over her. In her dreamy state, things seemed to become hazy for a bit until Natalie realized that it was just the steam from the coffee fogging up the lenses of her glasses. As she absently took them off and wiped them on her apron, she heard Charlie give her an order - sap-milk-stew on wheels... Umm. What did that one mean again? Charlie's nicknames never made any sense to Natalie, but once she turned around and got a look at who was ordering, things became a bit clearer. Andrea Raymer wasn't exactly a regular, but Natalie saw her at school enough that she stuck out in her memory, and she usually had the same order every time, a caramel latte.

"Coming right up... uh, do you think you could think of a shorter nickname or something...?"

As she proceeded to pour the cup and mix in the cream, sugar and caramel, she heard someone speak to her, as well as someone else placing an order. "Hey, uh... Chuck," Natalie said, amused by the nickname he'd been given as well, "you mind taking that one?"

"You're Natalie Williamth, right?" ...Whuh? She gaped at the girl that said her name for a few moments after she introduced herself as Sierra - did that many people at school really know who she was? She definitely didn't recall talking much to the tiny girl or her friend, but apparently word about Natalie had spread somehow, as much as she tried to stay obscure. I guess my art really is that good.

...Sweet. After a few more moments of silence and staring, Natalie's face cracked into a grin. "Nice to meet ya," she responded, "Uh, Sierra. And... Josie?" Hopefully she was saying her name right - it was hard to tell exactly what she had said with that lisp. "Uh, yeah, I'm Natalie... I uh... guess you've heard of me, though."

She hadn't realized she had finished Andrea's order as she spoke... whoops. As she crossed over to the counter and placed the drink in front of her, she offered her the same calm grin. "Here ya go, Andrea... so, what, that going to be your only one?" Natalie certainly hoped so. Andrea was an okay girl and all, but she tended to order at least two cups at a time, and Natalie really wasn't in the mood to work too hard. Though on the bright side, her own coffee was starting to make her feel at least a little bit more alert, which turned out to be a good thing, as she might have missed her name being called from the entrance.

"Yo, Cassie!" she called back, almost knocking over the drink she had just put down as she waved to her friend. Natalie was comfortable around more less all of the people that came into The Alibi, but seeing a familiar face was definitely welcome, Cassidy's in particular. She was always someone that seemed to act exactly the way she wanted, not some way she felt obligated to by society or something along those lines, and Natalie has always admired that about her. "What's up? I feel like I haven't seen you in a while... guess I've been holed up in my room painting a lot lately. You want anything?"

[Solitair†]

"Oh, just a caramel latte," Cassidy said as she leaned beside the front counter. "Same as usual.

"And yeah, I've been busy too. Thinking about getting into a band. Found out there was already a band on campus. Blank Nation. Ever heard of them? Turns out they were full up when I inquired about joining. So now I'm stuck here." She began to open her guitar case, revealing an acoustic bass guitar. "Figured I'd get some practice in, try to pick out the notes in the radio songs, you know? If it bugs you, I'll switch to life drawing, ok?"

[Hiro†]

((OOC: Posting from a little terminal in Montreal, so sorry if it's a bit short. ))

As Natalie mused about his new nickname, Charlie groaned inwardly, rolling his eyes. I hope this isn't gonna turn into a trend, he thought. It's cute when Sierra does it, but it's gonna lose its novelty quick if everybody starts doing it.

Pulling his mind back down to reality, he continued to type the onslaught of orders into the register. Business had sure picked up quickly. So that was a dirt-mound with hearts and a sap-milk stew... He was feeling merciful that afternoon, so he decided to cut Nat a break and just give her the proper names. She never quite got the hang of his nicknaming. Either she wasn't using her imagination enough, or he was using his too much.

"Caramel latte, comin' up," he said as he printed out a receipt for Cassidy. Entering Josie's chocolate cake into the register, he paused to hear Sierra's order.

[Mimi]

Sierra couldn't help but feel unnerved as the tall girl gawked at her through her large glasses. Her big, brown eyes darted to Natalie, the floor, and then back again. The fears were quelled, however, when Natalie sent the pleasantries back- thoroughly relieving the small girl. She had always had a pretty irrational fear of annoying people and having them hate her, but then again, who didn't? Having people dislike you was never any fun, a fact Sierra knew first hand.

The bell above the glass door chimed twice as two girls entered, one right after the other. The first girl being someone Sierra saw often walking to and fro class, though she didn't share a single class with her. Andrea Raymer was smart, a fact that everyone knew, but it was just about impossible to catch her when she wasn't bouncing off the walls- something that left even Sierra's jaw on the floor. She could begin to imagine how Andrea could keep going and going, but it was truly remarkable to the small girl. Giving Andrea a wide smile before moving on, Sierra was actually really glad to see the second girl.

She and Cassidy had never really had a one-on-one conversation, but seeing her always made Sierra smile. Whether it was her odd clothes (but odd clothes were okay. Sierra could appreciate odd) or just the blunt fact that it felt good to be taller than at least one person. It didn't matter, really, because whatever it was it always managed to coerce a smile.

Obliviousness caught up with her once again, as the small girl failed to realize she was next in line. The prodding and badgering from the peanut gallery snapped her back into reality and she bashfully stepped toward the counter.

"Th-thorry," Sierra blushed and began surveying the rack of candies behind Natalie and Chuck. When she couldn't find when she was looking for, she immediately frowned and turned toward Natalie. "Do you guyth have Cow Taleth?" She asked quietly. It had been forever since she had had the treat and she was having quite the craving for it, but the answer to her question was just a confused star from Natalie.

"Y'know, like they're the little brown thingieth with the cream thtuff in the middle?"

[D/N]

Charlie shot her a smile that Andrea easily returned, and turned to deliver the order to Natalie. Nice enough guy. Maybe she'd toss him on the list of people to shoot the shit with when she saw him at school. Granted, they probably didn't have much in common, but that was just a minor hindrance, and it was important to keep up a good rapport with people. Talk was fun. Sure, there were plenty of times when she preferred to sit off in a corner by herself, musing about the human condition and observing upon others, but by no means did she think one should do that exclusively. That just wasn't healthy, psychologically speaking. And she valued her mental health, because after all, she kept her brain's neurons firing pretty much 24-7.

Natalie was finishing her drink, and already asking if she wanted another. Well, Natalie did know her. "Only one? Uh, yeaaaahhhh..." Andrea drew the word out, unsure.

"Yeah yeah, I'm just about to move on," she finally decided. She turned to Josie and Sierra. "Can't use up my entire caloric requirements at one place, can I? The cake's good though, when you need like that big chocolate rush and everything. Good pick. Anyway, I'm up to the usual. I should technically be finishing up this essay I got due, but yeah, that can probably wait till like eleven or whatever. How bout you?"

She did have to take off soon, though. This was the first time she was meeting this new kid for a sale and she couldn't keep him waiting TOO much longer. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a rumpled and disorganized collection of bills, picking out a five and setting it down on the counter, then shifting the messenger bag on her shoulder as Cassidy Wakemore entered the store.

Cassidy was another of the girls at Bayview who stood apart, and not just because she was like three and a half feet tall. The girl dressed herself in a bizarre fashion that Andrea couldn't help but admire, and marched to no one's beat but her own. Cassidy also played pretty well, from what other people had told her at least. It was good that there was still one place in the mall that the more eclectic personalities could gather at. Maybe she could go down to some of the Captain Multifranchise stores and trail the more generic members of the species later on.

Grabbing the latte from the counter, she heard Cassidy speak up about the band at school, and couldn't help but reply.

"Blank Nation, that's like, Animal's band. I've seen'em jam. They're uh, kinda poser, especially with the singer guy. That's OK, that's cool, I don't mind poser. I like the guitar guy though, fuckin' rocks."

Well, truth be told, she'd only heard them play the one time, so she didn't have enough info to accurately call them "posers", especially given that the word didn't convey any real meaning. But that singer did rub her the wrong way, and that was enough for her.