((Mikki Swift continued from Pretty Girl (420 Remix) ))
Mikki fell forward a bit as she accidentally tripped on her shoelace. It did nothing to halt her pace, but it did give her mental pause. If it were another time she'd have probably stopped and fixed that little instability but waiting was for the weak and fliers were for the people.
She'd spread as much of the news in flyer form across the main school building as she could. If anyone was to enter the library, for example, it would be all they could find on the main noticeboard. Sure, she'd left the actual school stuff alone, but if another student posted something there before her, nobody would be able to tell for a couple of days when the fliers swept away.
And any time a board made of cork happened into her view, Mikki was quick to begin rearranging. A flyer here, a flyer there, a flyer almost everywhere. Fuck, Mikki was a poet now, looks like she had a new post-LA goal.
Another board popped into view as she entered the art block, stuck behind glass paneling on the edge of the auditorium. Well, stuck in a more theoretical sense, since the panel was unlocked and Mikki was sliding it to the side as she took a spare pin and stuck it through a flyer, a flyer that still, after all these weeks, still bore the same simple logos and hashtag. Of course, it's not like she needed to remind herself, she did design the thing after all.
As she finished her handiwork and sauntered towards the stairwell, Mikki noticed she'd completely forgotten what time of day it was. Was it between classes? Was it her lunch time? Was there a class going on right now she was supposed to be at? Was it a free period? She'd have checked her timetable but the more pressing concern lay in the fact she had no clock on her, since her phone died a few hours ago since her charger snapped a few days ago and it survived on compassionate sizable significant donations and right now she was Puerto Rico.
Well now she was slightly concerned. She'd ask the next person who came through what the time was, but for now she still had fliers to distribute. Mikki began making her way up the nearest stairwell, absentmindedly pulling a piece of gum out of her outer coat pocket.
Huh. Forgot I had this. Wonder if it's still good.
She unwrapped it and popped the tiny flat brick into her mouth.
My teeth didn't shatter. Cool. It's good.
are you having a bad time?
open once fenfen post-posts
"Yo."
Axel's mouth curved up in an easy grin as Mikki intruded on his section of stairwell.
>> Axel Fontaine continued from give me love like them
This particular staircase in this particular part of the art block was practically his territory. Three and a half years of high school and way too many writeups had done a lot to teach him how to do truancy correctly, and he'd figured out that no one willingly walked this way. He'd give the occasional straggler a look and he'd get an apology and a hurried scramble out of his way in return. There were advantages, occasionally, to having a reputation.
He still tensed up a bit at the approaching footsteps, not that there was much he could do if a teacher actually found him. He'd dumped his shit haphazardly on the stairs beneath him, couldn't exactly make a clean getaway. But he relaxed the moment Mikki came into view. He'd been seeing her a lot lately, it felt like, and not that long ago he'd have zero issue with that, but now? It was weird. It was weird and he was pretty fucking sure it would keep being weird as long as she and Andy were together. It was weird how quickly she'd gone from just being a chill ex he thought about fondly sometimes to being a staple fixture in his life that he wasn't allowed to look at for too long. And it was weird that he still kept looking.
This all probably broke some section of the bro code.
"Not like you to cut class. Phone out of battery again?"
Axel raised an eyebrow. He was already almost sure of the answer. Mikki was the most hopeless space case he'd ever met.
Axel's mouth curved up in an easy grin as Mikki intruded on his section of stairwell.
>> Axel Fontaine continued from give me love like them
This particular staircase in this particular part of the art block was practically his territory. Three and a half years of high school and way too many writeups had done a lot to teach him how to do truancy correctly, and he'd figured out that no one willingly walked this way. He'd give the occasional straggler a look and he'd get an apology and a hurried scramble out of his way in return. There were advantages, occasionally, to having a reputation.
He still tensed up a bit at the approaching footsteps, not that there was much he could do if a teacher actually found him. He'd dumped his shit haphazardly on the stairs beneath him, couldn't exactly make a clean getaway. But he relaxed the moment Mikki came into view. He'd been seeing her a lot lately, it felt like, and not that long ago he'd have zero issue with that, but now? It was weird. It was weird and he was pretty fucking sure it would keep being weird as long as she and Andy were together. It was weird how quickly she'd gone from just being a chill ex he thought about fondly sometimes to being a staple fixture in his life that he wasn't allowed to look at for too long. And it was weird that he still kept looking.
This all probably broke some section of the bro code.
"Not like you to cut class. Phone out of battery again?"
Axel raised an eyebrow. He was already almost sure of the answer. Mikki was the most hopeless space case he'd ever met.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
-
Somersault
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:56 am
She could have rolled her eyes, could have just died on the spot right then and there, but no. She was stronger than that. Instead, she curved her lips into a small smile.
Jesus H. Motherfucking Christ.
((Keisha Higgins-Bell continued from Hell You Talmbout))
What the hell did Keisha do in her past life to deserve this? There was nothing unholy about just trying to go around and find out her next class, and if she ended up taking a slight detour to find some news, there was nothing inherently bad about that. In today's day and age with all the fake news and shit, it was more important to get the realest news, the most current news, and the best news. That was exactly what she was doing now, and that should have been totally fine in the eyes of the big man upstairs. Not as if she killed a bitch, or whatever.
Maybe technically no students were meant to really be in this particular section of the school at this particular time, but there was a time and a place for everything, and right now it was Keisha's time to be in this place. With her phone at her fingertips and her boots on the tiles, she was walking through the hallway like she was meant to be there. Which she was. Definitely.
Even if there wasn't anything really interesting to be found here, Keisha reasoned, she could at least go scroll through her snaps if the reception wasn't so shitty. That wouldn't be such a big waste of time, and Spelman wasn't gonna go revoke her ass due to one missed class. If they did, they could just go on and pass whatever they called sisterhood straight into the garbage. She would also be screwed, but she was trying to be optimistic here. That was the least she could do.
It was when she looked up from her phone, still strolling mindlessly, that she realized that she was also screwed in this present moment. Of course she had to stumble upon the ass that tried to kiss her when he was drunk off his own ass, and Space Cadet #1. The fake smile helped her pretend she wasn't inwardly fuming, but maybe there were opportunities to be made from this. Hadn't they been together?
Keisha squinted, deep in thought.
They definitely had, didn't they? Jackpot. Not that Axel was all that bad, but things between her and him were definitely Awkward Avenue after that encounter, and Mikki...was on another planet right now. No big loss.
She softly coughed to gain their attention.
"Sorry, but am I interrupting something?"
Hopefully they couldn't catch the grin in her voice.
Jesus H. Motherfucking Christ.
((Keisha Higgins-Bell continued from Hell You Talmbout))
What the hell did Keisha do in her past life to deserve this? There was nothing unholy about just trying to go around and find out her next class, and if she ended up taking a slight detour to find some news, there was nothing inherently bad about that. In today's day and age with all the fake news and shit, it was more important to get the realest news, the most current news, and the best news. That was exactly what she was doing now, and that should have been totally fine in the eyes of the big man upstairs. Not as if she killed a bitch, or whatever.
Maybe technically no students were meant to really be in this particular section of the school at this particular time, but there was a time and a place for everything, and right now it was Keisha's time to be in this place. With her phone at her fingertips and her boots on the tiles, she was walking through the hallway like she was meant to be there. Which she was. Definitely.
Even if there wasn't anything really interesting to be found here, Keisha reasoned, she could at least go scroll through her snaps if the reception wasn't so shitty. That wouldn't be such a big waste of time, and Spelman wasn't gonna go revoke her ass due to one missed class. If they did, they could just go on and pass whatever they called sisterhood straight into the garbage. She would also be screwed, but she was trying to be optimistic here. That was the least she could do.
It was when she looked up from her phone, still strolling mindlessly, that she realized that she was also screwed in this present moment. Of course she had to stumble upon the ass that tried to kiss her when he was drunk off his own ass, and Space Cadet #1. The fake smile helped her pretend she wasn't inwardly fuming, but maybe there were opportunities to be made from this. Hadn't they been together?
Keisha squinted, deep in thought.
They definitely had, didn't they? Jackpot. Not that Axel was all that bad, but things between her and him were definitely Awkward Avenue after that encounter, and Mikki...was on another planet right now. No big loss.
She softly coughed to gain their attention.
"Sorry, but am I interrupting something?"
Hopefully they couldn't catch the grin in her voice.
Well this was interesting.
It's not like Mikki expected to spend the entire period alone, in fact the idea gave her hives, but the idea of running into Axel was something down the lower end of her priority list. The reality was somewhat the same. Of course, it'd slipped her mind that this was Axel's usual truancy hangout, something that wasn't exactly Mikki's idea of a good time, this being under the assumption that she wasn't currently an accidental truant herself.
"Me? Nah bro, I'm kinda-"
Mikki looked off into nowhere in particular.
"I'm pretty sure I've got a free period now, so I decided to get some work done."
She held up the hand of spartan fliers in her hand. Some of them were crumpled from the force of her hand.
"Networkers gotta network."
Of course, new opportunities presented themselves in the head of the moment, and luck decreed that Keisha Higgins-Bell would happen upon the two of them. Mikki never really had anything to do with her, given that their circles were so far away from each other comparatively that they might as well be living on Mercury and Pluto respectively, but Mikki had an idea of how her crowd worked.
"Sup Keisha. Nah, not interrupting anything. No more than this guy, at least."
She held up the fliers again.
"Just doing some networking for the big you-know-what."
Mikki once again looked off to the nowhere place, before snapping back to reality.
"Gonna make sure it's the most interesting thing that happens at this dump before college, y'know?"
Interesting was the order of the day, it seemed.
It's not like Mikki expected to spend the entire period alone, in fact the idea gave her hives, but the idea of running into Axel was something down the lower end of her priority list. The reality was somewhat the same. Of course, it'd slipped her mind that this was Axel's usual truancy hangout, something that wasn't exactly Mikki's idea of a good time, this being under the assumption that she wasn't currently an accidental truant herself.
"Me? Nah bro, I'm kinda-"
Mikki looked off into nowhere in particular.
"I'm pretty sure I've got a free period now, so I decided to get some work done."
She held up the hand of spartan fliers in her hand. Some of them were crumpled from the force of her hand.
"Networkers gotta network."
Of course, new opportunities presented themselves in the head of the moment, and luck decreed that Keisha Higgins-Bell would happen upon the two of them. Mikki never really had anything to do with her, given that their circles were so far away from each other comparatively that they might as well be living on Mercury and Pluto respectively, but Mikki had an idea of how her crowd worked.
"Sup Keisha. Nah, not interrupting anything. No more than this guy, at least."
She held up the fliers again.
"Just doing some networking for the big you-know-what."
Mikki once again looked off to the nowhere place, before snapping back to reality.
"Gonna make sure it's the most interesting thing that happens at this dump before college, y'know?"
Interesting was the order of the day, it seemed.
Axel eyed the flyers. Knowledge of upcoming parties tended to get to him pretty quickly, and this one was no exception. It was kind of cute, actually, how excited Mikki was about it, in her weird Mikki-ish way. It must have taken some effort, after all, to print out so many flyers, and it took some balls to probably cut class to hand them out (yeah, "pretty sure I've got a free period" his ass). The hype wasn't unwarranted, he supposed. Assuming her plans didn't go to shit, and Axel seriously hoped someone marginally better at logistics was in charge of the actual details here, this was gonna be the actual factual party of the year. That and prom, maybe, but what loser actually cared about prom?
"More advertising than networking, yeah?" He shrugged. Probably the smart thing to do now would be to edge his stuff out of the way, make some room for her to pass, get back to the League livestream he'd been watching. He did the first part, at least, and then bombed the second part spectacularly.
"You in a rush? I-"
Another voice broken in, and Axel jumped almost imperceptibly, though even a basically invisible show of weakness was enough to get him pissed off. Usually he was real good at detecting intruders on his little slice of truant paradise, but he had been maybe, slightly, just a bit distracted. His eyes shifted from Mikki to the newcomer and goddammit, really? It was too much to hope for someone he actually wanted to see to turn up—numbers there were real fucking limited—but the least he could have asked for was a neutral party and not someone whose presence immediately reminded him that, oh yeah, he was a complete goddamn moron. He pushed his hand through his hair awkwardly, his expression neutral.
"Nah. Nothin'. Just, y'know. Talkin'."
He glanced back at Mikki.
"Don't see how it couldn't be at this point. Think the whole school knows by now, flyers or nah."
Did he need a new spot? He probably needed a new spot. Or he could stop cutting class for the last few months of his senior year, but what was he, fucking Mother Teresa?
"More advertising than networking, yeah?" He shrugged. Probably the smart thing to do now would be to edge his stuff out of the way, make some room for her to pass, get back to the League livestream he'd been watching. He did the first part, at least, and then bombed the second part spectacularly.
"You in a rush? I-"
Another voice broken in, and Axel jumped almost imperceptibly, though even a basically invisible show of weakness was enough to get him pissed off. Usually he was real good at detecting intruders on his little slice of truant paradise, but he had been maybe, slightly, just a bit distracted. His eyes shifted from Mikki to the newcomer and goddammit, really? It was too much to hope for someone he actually wanted to see to turn up—numbers there were real fucking limited—but the least he could have asked for was a neutral party and not someone whose presence immediately reminded him that, oh yeah, he was a complete goddamn moron. He pushed his hand through his hair awkwardly, his expression neutral.
"Nah. Nothin'. Just, y'know. Talkin'."
He glanced back at Mikki.
"Don't see how it couldn't be at this point. Think the whole school knows by now, flyers or nah."
Did he need a new spot? He probably needed a new spot. Or he could stop cutting class for the last few months of his senior year, but what was he, fucking Mother Teresa?
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
-
Somersault
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:56 am
Keisha smiled slightly at Mikki's remarks, as she took the opportunity to step closer to look at the flyers contained in the other girl's hand. Great. Just wonderful. Not that Keisha wasn't up for a good-ass party, but the fact that Mikki was just getting off her ass and promoting it rather than doing anything potentially interesting pretty much meant that this shit was bust. Well, it was kinda surprising to see Mikki be really focused on something, but she was quite into that whole DJing thang, so maybe it made sense in a strange kind of way. Wasn't as if she was the one deciding her future career prospects anyways. Props to her for at least having some measure of ambition, even if it actually working out in the long-run had worse odds than pigs learning to fly. At least she was working towards her dream. That was honestly more than she could say for a good chuck of the people at George Hunter. People had to have plans if they didn't want to achieve jack-shit in the real world, and so she had many.
By this point, the awkwardness in the area was palpable, and as much as she wished she could have just went fuck it all and strut off for greener pastures , she instead stood tall, tilting her head as Axel tried to explain himself. Tried, being the operative word. She pursed her lips as she continued staring, almost daring him to come up with a better explanation.
So, fine. Maybe she was being a little bit more pissy than usual (or at least more pissy than most of senior year), but this excursion had definitely become a waste of time, and dealing with the hell beast known as Madison Springer when her attentions were focused on a friend had a tendency to make a woman more than just a little bit more short-tempered, mmkay? Wasn't as if she had went up and socked Axel in the face, even if her hands were aching for a little fist-to-face action. Not that she was really contemplating doing such a thing, but it was a possibility, although one that was rapidly disappearing.
"Have to agree there," Keisha stated, fidgeting with her hair, before stopping herself. It had taken half-an-hour just to coax her hair into a semi-neat box braid bun, and it wouldn't be cool to mess all that up now. "News certainly does travel fast."
That was from experience.
What was also an experience, though, was this kind-of boring conversation, which maybe just needed a little bit nudging towards something a bit more interesting, and maybe Mikki's earlier statement had given her a bit of an idea.
"So yeah, big party, probably gonna be amazing. What's gonna be exciting after that, though?"
In their senior year? In this entire year? In this life? Keisha didn't actually know what she was probing for there, but an answer was gonna come up. Even a shitty one would do.
By this point, the awkwardness in the area was palpable, and as much as she wished she could have just went fuck it all and strut off for greener pastures , she instead stood tall, tilting her head as Axel tried to explain himself. Tried, being the operative word. She pursed her lips as she continued staring, almost daring him to come up with a better explanation.
So, fine. Maybe she was being a little bit more pissy than usual (or at least more pissy than most of senior year), but this excursion had definitely become a waste of time, and dealing with the hell beast known as Madison Springer when her attentions were focused on a friend had a tendency to make a woman more than just a little bit more short-tempered, mmkay? Wasn't as if she had went up and socked Axel in the face, even if her hands were aching for a little fist-to-face action. Not that she was really contemplating doing such a thing, but it was a possibility, although one that was rapidly disappearing.
"Have to agree there," Keisha stated, fidgeting with her hair, before stopping herself. It had taken half-an-hour just to coax her hair into a semi-neat box braid bun, and it wouldn't be cool to mess all that up now. "News certainly does travel fast."
That was from experience.
What was also an experience, though, was this kind-of boring conversation, which maybe just needed a little bit nudging towards something a bit more interesting, and maybe Mikki's earlier statement had given her a bit of an idea.
"So yeah, big party, probably gonna be amazing. What's gonna be exciting after that, though?"
In their senior year? In this entire year? In this life? Keisha didn't actually know what she was probing for there, but an answer was gonna come up. Even a shitty one would do.
Shit, what did Keisha mean by "after that"? Did she mean in school? After they all finished school? For the rest of her life? She probably meant something but Mikki completely missed out on what she meant. Which was weird because she was actually paying attention, unlike a lot of the time when people from Keisha's crowd talked to her even a little bit. The only real option here was to barrel forward in the conversation pretending she knew what was going on and probably try and throw it back in Keisha's face if she implied Mikki was in the wrong. Consequences could be dealt with later.
"I mean there's prom, if you're into that whole thing. I think like Charelle or Forrest or me had the idea of DJing the whole thing if we got permission from whoever we need to get permission from. That's if we're not completely dead from-"
Mikki held up the flier again.
"Y'know, this thing."
She also just realized she was standing with her back to Axel. Fuck, she had to learn how to be a better speaker person, especially if she was gonna host a giant party with every-fucking-one in attendance. She stepped to her right and put her back to the wall, while at the same grabbing into her shoulder bag for another flier, holding one out on each end.
"Speaking of, you should both take one. Printed out too many of them, so now I gotta jet 'em. Has everything for the party on it. Or if you wanna just take a picture, that's cool too."
She turned back towards Axel.
"Although you better keep one, you're always losing shit if I remember right, don't think a phone pic can help with that."
"I mean there's prom, if you're into that whole thing. I think like Charelle or Forrest or me had the idea of DJing the whole thing if we got permission from whoever we need to get permission from. That's if we're not completely dead from-"
Mikki held up the flier again.
"Y'know, this thing."
She also just realized she was standing with her back to Axel. Fuck, she had to learn how to be a better speaker person, especially if she was gonna host a giant party with every-fucking-one in attendance. She stepped to her right and put her back to the wall, while at the same grabbing into her shoulder bag for another flier, holding one out on each end.
"Speaking of, you should both take one. Printed out too many of them, so now I gotta jet 'em. Has everything for the party on it. Or if you wanna just take a picture, that's cool too."
She turned back towards Axel.
"Although you better keep one, you're always losing shit if I remember right, don't think a phone pic can help with that."
Jesus, what was Keisha getting so deep for? It was like fourth period on a Tuesday, Axel didn't have the mental energy to spend on this plans-for-the-future shit. He glanced down at the livestream on his phone, still playing on mute; it was a shitty one-sided game of a bunch of smurfs stomping on a bronze team and somehow it was still less painful than this conversation. What was Keisha's deal, anyway? Like okay, sure, he'd tried to make a move on her one time, and sure, that hadn't worked out, and yeah, just being within ten feet of her made him feel like an asshole, but like, she didn't have to be a bitch about it. She wasn't, technically, she hadn't actually done or said anything rude, but he could just kinda feel it. Like the look in her eyes was a silent fuck you. Or maybe he was reading into things. Mikki wasn't exactly helping, either way.
"Fuck you," he said in a tone that was supposed to be playful but just sounded tired as he took the flyer from Mikki's hand. She wasn't totally wrong about the losing things thing but really, who was she to talk? He scanned the info—nothing he didn't already know—before shoving it unceremoniously in his pocket. He'd be going, obviously. He wondered if it'd be weird to ask Hel to go with him, after everything that had gone down. Knowing what he knew about Kara she'd probably consider just the invitation cheating, but also, fuck Kara.
His gaze turned to Keisha, who he probably shouldn't totally ignore, much as his instincts wanted him to. It was a stupid line of conversation, but maybe it'd be over sooner if he indulged it for a moment.
"Yeah, after that's kind of a wide net t'cast. After that's, like..." He made a totally meaningless gesture with the hand not currently occupied by his phone. "Life, or whatever, I dunno."
Yeah, indulging had been a mistake. He could have this conversation when he was high, maybe, but right now? No.
"Fuck you," he said in a tone that was supposed to be playful but just sounded tired as he took the flyer from Mikki's hand. She wasn't totally wrong about the losing things thing but really, who was she to talk? He scanned the info—nothing he didn't already know—before shoving it unceremoniously in his pocket. He'd be going, obviously. He wondered if it'd be weird to ask Hel to go with him, after everything that had gone down. Knowing what he knew about Kara she'd probably consider just the invitation cheating, but also, fuck Kara.
His gaze turned to Keisha, who he probably shouldn't totally ignore, much as his instincts wanted him to. It was a stupid line of conversation, but maybe it'd be over sooner if he indulged it for a moment.
"Yeah, after that's kind of a wide net t'cast. After that's, like..." He made a totally meaningless gesture with the hand not currently occupied by his phone. "Life, or whatever, I dunno."
Yeah, indulging had been a mistake. He could have this conversation when he was high, maybe, but right now? No.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
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Somersault
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:56 am
Oh, yay, answers. Shit answers, but it wasn't as if she was working with Albert Einstein or Octavia Butler here, so she guessed that made sense. Still meant that she was skipping class only to be stuck in a discussion with people she would normally have no business being around, unless she was totally wasted, but helped soften the sting just a little. Not enough to rectify this shit show, but just enough to take most of the edge off. Keisha guessed that had to be enough.
She bit into her cheek, considering her options. Now, there was the obvious of just going on forward and trying to find out Axel and Mikki's long-term goals for the future, which would probably be as unsubstantial as still being alive in five years, but it was on the table as a possibility, albeit a very crappy one.
"I guess taking things one step at a time could work," she replied with a deadpan look on her face. Sure, sure, take it easy, take it slow, but really, she was just trying to buy time for her to come up with something that didn't just sound like an "mmhmm".
Fuuuuck. Now, this wasn't the first time she had ever been stuck in a conversation with people she had little in common with, but this had to be one of the handful of times she was grasping at straws for a conversational lifeline. Even most of her debate team meetings went better than this, and she didn't like a single nerd on that team.
Leaning over to Mikki to grab one of the fliers, she attempted to look like she was studying the poster intently, while in reality she was simply searching for something to make this shit less awkward. Wasn't as if she was gonna glean anything from reading over the flyer. The party was happening, people knew that, people knew that Mikki and her musical collective whatever-whatever were gonna be there, and..what else?
That was pretty much it, but maybe getting Mikki to talk would help tide everything over. Still gripping the paper with two hands, she spoke, looking up at the other two people, but mainly Mikki.
"So, this party real important to you? Hoping it can help you launch..." She looked down at the flyer again. "The career of DJ Taipan? That's pretty cool shit."
Was it? Really? Keisha didn't know, but maybe it was, and so the conversation went on.
She bit into her cheek, considering her options. Now, there was the obvious of just going on forward and trying to find out Axel and Mikki's long-term goals for the future, which would probably be as unsubstantial as still being alive in five years, but it was on the table as a possibility, albeit a very crappy one.
"I guess taking things one step at a time could work," she replied with a deadpan look on her face. Sure, sure, take it easy, take it slow, but really, she was just trying to buy time for her to come up with something that didn't just sound like an "mmhmm".
Fuuuuck. Now, this wasn't the first time she had ever been stuck in a conversation with people she had little in common with, but this had to be one of the handful of times she was grasping at straws for a conversational lifeline. Even most of her debate team meetings went better than this, and she didn't like a single nerd on that team.
Leaning over to Mikki to grab one of the fliers, she attempted to look like she was studying the poster intently, while in reality she was simply searching for something to make this shit less awkward. Wasn't as if she was gonna glean anything from reading over the flyer. The party was happening, people knew that, people knew that Mikki and her musical collective whatever-whatever were gonna be there, and..what else?
That was pretty much it, but maybe getting Mikki to talk would help tide everything over. Still gripping the paper with two hands, she spoke, looking up at the other two people, but mainly Mikki.
"So, this party real important to you? Hoping it can help you launch..." She looked down at the flyer again. "The career of DJ Taipan? That's pretty cool shit."
Was it? Really? Keisha didn't know, but maybe it was, and so the conversation went on.
"Oh hey, DJ Taipan. That's me."
Before Mikki knew it, she was monologuing.
"I mean, like, I'm not hoping this'll launch my career or anything. It's already kind of my career. I've been paid to do parties, I've made my own mixes, I have so many followers on Soundcloud and Twitter and Instagram, I got retweeted by...someone famous, I can't remember which one it was. Steve Aoki? Maybe? Either way he was super famous and that's, like, where I am, a sign you're gonna make it?"
Mikki stopped to take a breath.
"The only thing that's stopping me from being the biggest DJ and mixer and stuff in the world right now is the fact I live in Chattanooga. I mean, it's alright here but like, it's not where I'm gonna live. There's nothing here. But you know where there's heaps of stuff? Los Angeles. It's where you wanna go if you wanna make it in the industry, and not just be good. Be great. And I know I'm great but there's always gonna be parties over there and they're always gonna need people to make those parties pop. And I can make a party pop. And the parties'll probably have some big-name producer who'll scoop me up and make me into the thing I know I am, y'know?"
She took another breath.
"And it's not like I haven't put in all the work, y'know? I've dedicated goddamn thousands of hours to this for years. I've done all my work. I'm not, like, Katrina, who prances around filming herself pretending she's a pop star like she's gonna be anyone someone wants to see who can't even sing worth a damn. I mean, she'll probably end up on a reality show or something, but she has no idea how the music industry works in the place she's gonna want to go if she wants to be anybody, but you know who does? Me. Because I'm not, like, hoping that I'm gonna be a star or anything - I know I'm a star, I'm just waiting for everyone else to catch up. And that's the tea on that."
Mikki paused, realizing she'd been near ranting about being DJ Taipan for a while now. Her hands were out, performing, as though they were talking for her. She brought her hands back to her side and suddenly felt very open and insecure.
"So yeah, I'll see you both there when it happens, right? Otherwise those trees died for nothing."
She laughed briefly at her own joke, but she still felt exposed.
Before Mikki knew it, she was monologuing.
"I mean, like, I'm not hoping this'll launch my career or anything. It's already kind of my career. I've been paid to do parties, I've made my own mixes, I have so many followers on Soundcloud and Twitter and Instagram, I got retweeted by...someone famous, I can't remember which one it was. Steve Aoki? Maybe? Either way he was super famous and that's, like, where I am, a sign you're gonna make it?"
Mikki stopped to take a breath.
"The only thing that's stopping me from being the biggest DJ and mixer and stuff in the world right now is the fact I live in Chattanooga. I mean, it's alright here but like, it's not where I'm gonna live. There's nothing here. But you know where there's heaps of stuff? Los Angeles. It's where you wanna go if you wanna make it in the industry, and not just be good. Be great. And I know I'm great but there's always gonna be parties over there and they're always gonna need people to make those parties pop. And I can make a party pop. And the parties'll probably have some big-name producer who'll scoop me up and make me into the thing I know I am, y'know?"
She took another breath.
"And it's not like I haven't put in all the work, y'know? I've dedicated goddamn thousands of hours to this for years. I've done all my work. I'm not, like, Katrina, who prances around filming herself pretending she's a pop star like she's gonna be anyone someone wants to see who can't even sing worth a damn. I mean, she'll probably end up on a reality show or something, but she has no idea how the music industry works in the place she's gonna want to go if she wants to be anybody, but you know who does? Me. Because I'm not, like, hoping that I'm gonna be a star or anything - I know I'm a star, I'm just waiting for everyone else to catch up. And that's the tea on that."
Mikki paused, realizing she'd been near ranting about being DJ Taipan for a while now. Her hands were out, performing, as though they were talking for her. She brought her hands back to her side and suddenly felt very open and insecure.
"So yeah, I'll see you both there when it happens, right? Otherwise those trees died for nothing."
She laughed briefly at her own joke, but she still felt exposed.
Axel could easily have checked out at this point. He'd heard Mikki's hopes and dreams enough times over that he'd probably get a B, B+ if someone handed him a multiple choice test on them. But there was something about her, the way her face lit up and her words ran over themselves until she had no choice but to stop to breathe, the way her hands told half the story for her—it was hard to look away. It was familiar, yeah. It was really familiar. Every part of Mikki Swift was real fucking familiar.
He glanced back down at his phone, pushing his hair back with his other hand. The stream was over, not that it had ever mattered.
"I'd get at you for character assassination if Katrina didn't deserve it." Axel grinned, and even he was surprised by how easily it came to him, all things considered. "Anyone ever tell you you're good at telling stories? You're, like, good with your hands."
Hahahahaha fuck he said that out loud Jesus fucking Christ. Somehow he played it cool despite a voice in his head considering ways he could die before Andy inevitably killed him.
"But yeah, babe. Course I'll be there. Never was any doubt."
His grin softened into something a bit more sincere. Keisha's presence was more or less forgotten until, oh shit, he suddenly remembered she was there and also, oh shit, she'd heard that, but like, nothing to do but let it go and hope she didn't care, yeah?
He glanced back down at his phone, pushing his hair back with his other hand. The stream was over, not that it had ever mattered.
"I'd get at you for character assassination if Katrina didn't deserve it." Axel grinned, and even he was surprised by how easily it came to him, all things considered. "Anyone ever tell you you're good at telling stories? You're, like, good with your hands."
Hahahahaha fuck he said that out loud Jesus fucking Christ. Somehow he played it cool despite a voice in his head considering ways he could die before Andy inevitably killed him.
"But yeah, babe. Course I'll be there. Never was any doubt."
His grin softened into something a bit more sincere. Keisha's presence was more or less forgotten until, oh shit, he suddenly remembered she was there and also, oh shit, she'd heard that, but like, nothing to do but let it go and hope she didn't care, yeah?
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
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Somersault
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:56 am
Okay, now this was when she could just tune out whatever Mikki was saying. Maybe if this was someone she was actually close to and didn't just randomly see at parties, she would actually pay attention to whatever was being said, but instead, she just kept her faux-interested face up. Not as if she was this bish's closest girlfriend or whatever, so no need to be her shoulder to cry on. Besides, it wasn't as if Keisha was willing to take on any more hot messes as friends. She already had way too much shit on her plate, so crossing her arms and occasionally nodding seemed like the best option.
"Mmm. Mmhmm."
What was interesting about the whole situation, though, was the fact that the other girl had seemed so much more intense about this than practically every single other thing at school. Had Space Cadet finally landed back on earth? It was an unlikely prospect, but perhaps something worth discussing. Not at this time, and certainly not with these people, but other occasions, ones in which she actually knew the people. Even the ones who were kind-of sticklers. At least they would be able to have polite, if not pleasant conversation Now, this? The worst.
Still, the worst could be the fest for gathering info, and so Keisha continued with her routine. The dead-ass joke at the end almost prompted her to respond, but she was stopped in her conversational tracks by Axel, who began...a stream-of-consciousness line of compliments about Mikki?
Her face morphed from surprise to a gleaming grin, before she quickly tried to set it back to neutral and contemplative as soon as possible. Ooh, that was a goldmine of shit to use for future gossip-mongering. Technically, it wasn't even gossip, because those few statements made it very clear that Axel had something in his heart (or his pants) that still yearned for Mikki. Who was taken. By Andy Silverman, basketball player and band dude. For a moment, she tried to focus her mind, remember all of these prevalent details for future for, before she went and realized that he had stopped speaking.
Which meant that eyes were probably on her once more.
She put a quick grin on. "I mean, I'm always up for a good party. What's not to like?"
What to like from this conversation? Many, many things. The party? Sure, but she had to sound enthused about that, lest they get worried that she was picking up on any conversational bombshells. Keisha already was doing that, but she didn't need this ending in screaming.
"Mmm. Mmhmm."
What was interesting about the whole situation, though, was the fact that the other girl had seemed so much more intense about this than practically every single other thing at school. Had Space Cadet finally landed back on earth? It was an unlikely prospect, but perhaps something worth discussing. Not at this time, and certainly not with these people, but other occasions, ones in which she actually knew the people. Even the ones who were kind-of sticklers. At least they would be able to have polite, if not pleasant conversation Now, this? The worst.
Still, the worst could be the fest for gathering info, and so Keisha continued with her routine. The dead-ass joke at the end almost prompted her to respond, but she was stopped in her conversational tracks by Axel, who began...a stream-of-consciousness line of compliments about Mikki?
Her face morphed from surprise to a gleaming grin, before she quickly tried to set it back to neutral and contemplative as soon as possible. Ooh, that was a goldmine of shit to use for future gossip-mongering. Technically, it wasn't even gossip, because those few statements made it very clear that Axel had something in his heart (or his pants) that still yearned for Mikki. Who was taken. By Andy Silverman, basketball player and band dude. For a moment, she tried to focus her mind, remember all of these prevalent details for future for, before she went and realized that he had stopped speaking.
Which meant that eyes were probably on her once more.
She put a quick grin on. "I mean, I'm always up for a good party. What's not to like?"
What to like from this conversation? Many, many things. The party? Sure, but she had to sound enthused about that, lest they get worried that she was picking up on any conversational bombshells. Keisha already was doing that, but she didn't need this ending in screaming.
Oh man, Axel was gushing over her. This brought Mikki back to their old days, when they were a bunch closer but then they just sort of didn't do anything about it, nothing real at least. And now she was with Andy and this was starting up again and she was sort of flattered but this was not appropriate Axel? Especially with Keisha right there? But if Keisha wasn't there she wouldn't really mind? I mean it's not like she'd actually cheat or anything, since she did really like Andy and all and wouldn't do that to him?
Fuck, being a teenager was so complicated. She couldn't wait until she left high school and the world actually made sense.
"That's great, like...I'm really looking forward to everyone I know being there. Want everyone to have a good time, y'know?"
She smiled, probably a bit longer than necessary, but remembered Keisha was there and spun back around.
"Alright, awesome, well I'll see you both there then? I gotta jet, still gotta do some last minute ish."
With the paper now in the posession of both her stairway compatriots, Mikki looked at her non-existent watch then checked her dead phone.
"Catch you two around though?"
There wasn't really much to add now, was there? She began making her way up the stairs with a slight wave.
"Bye!"
That was a really weird time. She didn't expect to have to explain her entire goal for life in an impromptu monologue towards someone she once had a thing for and/or with, and someone she didn't really care for. Maybe it was just the powers of the auditorium at work. Maybe she was just super tired and easily suggestible without realizing it. Or maybe she just needed to work on this damn party more.
There was probably part of the gym she hadn't hit yet. Time for another recon mission.
((Mikki Swift continued elsewhere))
Fuck, being a teenager was so complicated. She couldn't wait until she left high school and the world actually made sense.
"That's great, like...I'm really looking forward to everyone I know being there. Want everyone to have a good time, y'know?"
She smiled, probably a bit longer than necessary, but remembered Keisha was there and spun back around.
"Alright, awesome, well I'll see you both there then? I gotta jet, still gotta do some last minute ish."
With the paper now in the posession of both her stairway compatriots, Mikki looked at her non-existent watch then checked her dead phone.
"Catch you two around though?"
There wasn't really much to add now, was there? She began making her way up the stairs with a slight wave.
"Bye!"
That was a really weird time. She didn't expect to have to explain her entire goal for life in an impromptu monologue towards someone she once had a thing for and/or with, and someone she didn't really care for. Maybe it was just the powers of the auditorium at work. Maybe she was just super tired and easily suggestible without realizing it. Or maybe she just needed to work on this damn party more.
There was probably part of the gym she hadn't hit yet. Time for another recon mission.
((Mikki Swift continued elsewhere))
So like, was it just him or did Mikki smile at him for maybe a little longer than she needed to? It was probably just him. Like, wishful thinking, probably. But wishful thinking that had some basis in reality. Maybe. He kept smiling back at her until she looked away, and he probably looked like a dumbass, but it's not like it would be the first time, and that is your best friend's girlfriend, Axel, what the fuck, slow your roll. Somehow that kind of relevant fact kept slipping his mind. But like, to be fair to him, it's not like he'd done anything? He'd just smiled like a fucking idiot and made a bad innuendo and that was an accident that he couldn't be held responsible for.
He wondered what Hel would say. They didn't do jealousy, really. Not that there was any reason for them to be jealous. What the fuck was he thinking.
Axel pushed his hair back for what felt like the eighteenth time in the last five minutes as Mikki looked away, back toward Keisha, who had absolutely had a shit-eating grin on her face worse than his own for a sec before she tried to disguise it. Fuck. She was gonna float every bit of this through her part of the George Hunter rumor mill, which if he remembered correctly was a particularly well-connected part. He probably wasn't important enough to matter to them, so it probably wasn't gonna amount to anything, but still, he'd super rather "Axel still has a thing for Mikki" not to come back around far enough to get back to Andy. He had enough reasons to kick his ass.
Andy would probably have already known if he wasn't so goddamn oblivious to fucking everything, though. Axel wasn't great at subtlety. Hel definitely knew, judging from the looks they'd shot him when his eyes inevitably followed Mikki whenever she left the room.
"See you." He tried to sound nonchalant, waving at Mikki without looking at her as she departed. The party was gonna be a hell of a thing. He shook his head slightly, as though to shake off the last few minutes. Maybe he should work on some new material. You could only play the same songs for the same girls so many times before they started to catch on. ...You would think. Reality was he could play fucking Wonderwall forever and he'd still get laid.
It occurred to him that Keisha was still there, and not feeling the need to spare her any social courtesy, all he bothered to do was raise an eyebrow at her before returning to his phone.
>> Axel Fontaine continued in Evergreen
He wondered what Hel would say. They didn't do jealousy, really. Not that there was any reason for them to be jealous. What the fuck was he thinking.
Axel pushed his hair back for what felt like the eighteenth time in the last five minutes as Mikki looked away, back toward Keisha, who had absolutely had a shit-eating grin on her face worse than his own for a sec before she tried to disguise it. Fuck. She was gonna float every bit of this through her part of the George Hunter rumor mill, which if he remembered correctly was a particularly well-connected part. He probably wasn't important enough to matter to them, so it probably wasn't gonna amount to anything, but still, he'd super rather "Axel still has a thing for Mikki" not to come back around far enough to get back to Andy. He had enough reasons to kick his ass.
Andy would probably have already known if he wasn't so goddamn oblivious to fucking everything, though. Axel wasn't great at subtlety. Hel definitely knew, judging from the looks they'd shot him when his eyes inevitably followed Mikki whenever she left the room.
"See you." He tried to sound nonchalant, waving at Mikki without looking at her as she departed. The party was gonna be a hell of a thing. He shook his head slightly, as though to shake off the last few minutes. Maybe he should work on some new material. You could only play the same songs for the same girls so many times before they started to catch on. ...You would think. Reality was he could play fucking Wonderwall forever and he'd still get laid.
It occurred to him that Keisha was still there, and not feeling the need to spare her any social courtesy, all he bothered to do was raise an eyebrow at her before returning to his phone.
>> Axel Fontaine continued in Evergreen
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
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Somersault
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:56 am
What in the flying fuck?
Someone was about to be fucking dead in this scenario, and spectacularly, that someone didn't seem like it was about to be Keisha. She would've thought the shit-eating grin would've given her away like a rancid-ass fish, but somehow, Axel and Mikki seemed to continue their awkward relationship tango. Wasn't the guy Mikki dating one of Axel's band dudes? This was spicy. Spicy as saffron. Perhaps it wasn't too surprising, as Axel had a reputation for being pretty active in the bedroom (with gals and guys), but come on. Weren't they friends?
But, she decided to just save the chastisement for later, or never, really, and just concentrate and keeping her face as neutral as possible. No need to meddle in the romantic shit of straight white people, although she would happily talk shit about it. If her, or any of her friends' asses weren't on the line, it was free reign for the gossip mill. No shits needed, or given.
Still, it was kind of painful to be stuck in this once-again awkward conversation. It wasn't her fault this time, or last time, for that matter, but it still wasn't exactly the most comfortably position to be in, frankly. The smiles that lingered for just a bit too long, the brushes through the hair that happened just a bit too often, every single element of it was causing her to cringe internally just that much more. Body language could tell stories, sure, but this shit was like an entire season of a soap opera; with every single element of overwrought emotion that implied.
All scenes had to come to an end, and so Keisha watched as Mikki tried to make a graceful exit, which may have worked if it hadn't been for the two minutes of conversation that had preceded it. Her mother had raised her with manners, though, and so she waved back, smile still just a bit too sharp to be seen as free of malice.
No need to give any sort of verbal reply, however. Perhaps she was hungry as hell for all the juicy shit happening, but she wasn't stupid enough to pretend as if she hadn't been an interloper into this encounter. Not that she wasn't gonna use the info she had learned, but being fake buddy-buddy or whatever? Nah. The eyebrow raise she could spot from Axel only advanced that judgement, and so she felt as if it was as good a time as any to go and spread this information well.
Turning in the opposite direction and finally beginning to walk to class, she found herself still unable to remove the smile from her face, spreading almost like a disease. Involuntary, maybe, but certainly not unwanted. She'd gotten something she'd wanted: information, along with more info about what was probably gonna be the last big party before graduation. Opening her phone and scrolling over to her notes app, her eyes were lit up by the glow of the screen.
So much to add, so much to share, but so little time.
She'd do it, though. No question about that.
((Keisha Higgins-Bell continued elsewhere))
Someone was about to be fucking dead in this scenario, and spectacularly, that someone didn't seem like it was about to be Keisha. She would've thought the shit-eating grin would've given her away like a rancid-ass fish, but somehow, Axel and Mikki seemed to continue their awkward relationship tango. Wasn't the guy Mikki dating one of Axel's band dudes? This was spicy. Spicy as saffron. Perhaps it wasn't too surprising, as Axel had a reputation for being pretty active in the bedroom (with gals and guys), but come on. Weren't they friends?
But, she decided to just save the chastisement for later, or never, really, and just concentrate and keeping her face as neutral as possible. No need to meddle in the romantic shit of straight white people, although she would happily talk shit about it. If her, or any of her friends' asses weren't on the line, it was free reign for the gossip mill. No shits needed, or given.
Still, it was kind of painful to be stuck in this once-again awkward conversation. It wasn't her fault this time, or last time, for that matter, but it still wasn't exactly the most comfortably position to be in, frankly. The smiles that lingered for just a bit too long, the brushes through the hair that happened just a bit too often, every single element of it was causing her to cringe internally just that much more. Body language could tell stories, sure, but this shit was like an entire season of a soap opera; with every single element of overwrought emotion that implied.
All scenes had to come to an end, and so Keisha watched as Mikki tried to make a graceful exit, which may have worked if it hadn't been for the two minutes of conversation that had preceded it. Her mother had raised her with manners, though, and so she waved back, smile still just a bit too sharp to be seen as free of malice.
No need to give any sort of verbal reply, however. Perhaps she was hungry as hell for all the juicy shit happening, but she wasn't stupid enough to pretend as if she hadn't been an interloper into this encounter. Not that she wasn't gonna use the info she had learned, but being fake buddy-buddy or whatever? Nah. The eyebrow raise she could spot from Axel only advanced that judgement, and so she felt as if it was as good a time as any to go and spread this information well.
Turning in the opposite direction and finally beginning to walk to class, she found herself still unable to remove the smile from her face, spreading almost like a disease. Involuntary, maybe, but certainly not unwanted. She'd gotten something she'd wanted: information, along with more info about what was probably gonna be the last big party before graduation. Opening her phone and scrolling over to her notes app, her eyes were lit up by the glow of the screen.
So much to add, so much to share, but so little time.
She'd do it, though. No question about that.
((Keisha Higgins-Bell continued elsewhere))