Lonely Hearts Club

[Sansa]

"Jaws, huh? I think we have that in the collection...and, Venice...do sit down if you'd like. There's plenty of room. I think."

After adjusting Venice's present so that it sat orderly with its brethren, Mirabella knelt to open the mahogany cabinet that housed the family's sizable DVD collection. Alphabetically organised, it took her only a few seconds to locate the boxed set that contained the entire Jaws tetralogy. As she pried it out from between It Started in Naples and Jimmy Neutron, slightly relieving the over-stuffed cabinet, she turned back towards Megan, who was inquiring as to what they should do with the shambles that was their copy of Mouse Trap.

"Hmm. I guess if we wrap it in a few plastic bags and place it by the wastepaper basket in the kitchen we can dispose of it properly later."

Mirabella glanced over at Rachael, who was still calculatedly sipping from the coffee mug, and back to the set of DVDs in her hand. She knew that Rachael wasn't likely a fan of violence, which she knew the films contained much of, and decided to take up Rachael's advice on going through the collection.

"Actually, I mean, we have nigh on two hundred DVDs here. I'm sure there's something better that we might all be able to all agree on. I mean, Rachael, what movies do you favour? And Venice and Megan...anything other than Jaws? I mean, I'm not adverse to it if we come to a consensus on it, but I think that looking at all available options might be best. Also..."

She glanced over towards the three packages sitting in a neat pile on the coffee table. The tempation was growing...

"Before we start the movie...what do you say to opening a present or two? Couldn't hurt, I mean..."

[Un-Persona†]

Venice only glanced at the movie collection, but she could tell that the thing was massive. Who knew what kinds of movies were hidden in that monster?

"Geez, that sure is a lot. I'm not very picky about what kind of movies to watch, so anything is fine by me."

Venice stepped towards the cabinet, looking at all the titles. She saw some Oscar winners, some kids movies from her childhood, and a bunch of other movies that she had no idea of.

"Lessee..."

Mirabella had said something else, but Venice was off trying to guess some of the titles of the foreign films, so she gave an agreement to whatever she said.

"Hm? Oh, that sounds great." She said with a quick look back, to seem like she was paying attention.

"Two years of french class, don't fail me now."

[Jilly]

Megan set the board game down and out of the way of foot traffic.

She didn't even notice the hoard of movies until Bella mentioned it. Just one quick look at the thing, and Megan knew there was no way she would be able to pick something out without having to second guess herself. She decided to just wait on what Venice or the other girls would suggest, or else today would be a longer day than it was starting to turn out to be.

Then Megan caught Bella eying the growing group of gift bags. She couldn't blame her, though; they were all for her, after all. "Sure; if you wanna open one, go ahead. It's you're birthday, after all."

[Laurels]

Mirabella had asked Rachael for her taste in films. Rachael set her coffee down and tilted her head back. It was something that she hadn't really considered before. What was her taste in films like?

Huh. What are some of the films you've really liked in the past? Well, you've liked most Pixar films. Pan's Labyrinth was great, if a bit frightening. Maybe Mirabella can give some suggestions.

"Well, do you have any ideas?" she asked Mirabella. "It's your birthday, do you have some favorites?"

Mirabella also asked about opening a present early.

"If you want," Rachael said.

[Sansa]

"Hmm..."

To be truthful, even Mirabella hadn't fully perused all of the DVDs her family had amassed over the years, loyally keeping to a tried and tested few. She rarely watched any of  the plethora of obscure foreign films her mother ordered online that made up the majority of the collection, and decided that today should be no different. She didn't think the others would take too kindly to a black-and-white French film with acting that frequently fluctuated between wooden and melodramatic. Having eliminated those from the realms of possibility (along with any live-action film made prior to 1980) she was left with two dozen Disney films, a trio of nature documentaries, and a few corny monster flicks her father treasured.

Glancing through the pile at her feet she decided on the two that had most frequented the family DVD player when she was in charge of it: Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Finding Nemo.

"These two are some of my favourites...well, when I was younger, anyway. I...I mean, there's plenty of time. Let's watch both of them, huh? Snow White first?"

Rachael, Megan, and Venice were in agreement with her opening a present as well, so she shuffled towards the trio of gifts that sat beside a box of coasters, and gently picked up the nearest: the bowed box that Venice had brought with her. Unlacing it, her mind raced with possibilities as to what its contents (that rustled as she did so) could be. It couldn't be a book...some jewellery, maybe? Or...maybe she got me a headband like the one she sometimes wears...I'm sure she won't disappoint, whatever-

And then the bow fell away, and Bella saw what was inside.

"It's lovely, Venice. Thank you."

She smiled ruefully at the contents. She knew that most people gave money if they didn't know what to give someone, but she'd never received a purely monetary gift in such an unusual fashion. Still, a tiny part of her couldn't help but be slightly upset. Oh. Money. That's not a particularly swell present. No, wait, what am I thinking? I'm so ungrateful. It's the thought that counts. Blaugh. Silly Bella.

Tearing her eyes away from the pile of coinage and towards the wall-mounted television and DVD player, she decided to take charge of this lackluster party - which is my fault; who has a twelve hour party without any concrete plans? - and get things moving.

"The movies, then...you're all in agreement, right?"

[Un-Persona†]

Venice once again glanced over her shoulder, hearing her name with some contempt and disappointment attached to it. She saw the green ribbon from her present, and put two and two together rather quickly.

"Is it that bad? Maybe I could have pulled for a few dollars more? Ugh, so dumb."

Mirabella, deciding that she didn't want to open any more gifts, abruptly changed the subject to movie watching.

"Ya-huh, it was that bad."

She lightly leaned her head against the collection, but that was just enough to make a dvd case to fall and bounce off the top of her head.

"Owwwww-ah" she whined inside her head while rubbing one hand on it.

[Jilly]

Hearing the disappointment in Mirabella's voice started to work on Megan's mind. Even though she thanked Venice for the money, there was just...something off with the way she said it. Megan bit her bottom lip, growing anxious about how her own gift would be received. If not, hopefully whatever Rachael brought Bella would save the day.

And then, with beautiful timing, one of the DVDs smacked Venice right on the head. Oh boy, if there was one thing Megan wouldn't regret about the party, it would be seeing that split-second of a fall and Venice's reaction. Megan could feel her bite getting tighter as she tried to keep the snickering to herself. She didn't notice what DVD fell, but if it had been Jaws or something, her diaphragm might've exploded. Or imploded. Whatever.

At any rate, she was focusing too much on trying to not laugh to answer Mirabella's suggestion. She herself wasn't much of a fan of really old cartoon movies, but it was something to do.

[Laurels]

Mirabella suggested they watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarves first. Part of Rachael felt a sense of gloom take over her.

Oh wow. Snow White. Interesting choice.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was a film that would always stick with Rachael, no matter how old she got and how her tastes changed. When she was five, Bridget showed her Snow White while their parents were out on a date. After the first ten minutes or so, Rachael was inconsolable. She didn't know about the scene of Snow White running through the forest, seeing trees with terrifying faces and logs turning into crocodiles. Something about seeing a young girl who represented innocence screaming and running for her life before eventually collapsing in despair made Rachael stay away from the film for a few years. She did watch the film again when she was eleven, but she still remembered how that one sequence made her never want to watch the film again.

She then noticed that Mirabella had opened Venice's gift. She saw that Venice gave her cash, something that made Mirabella sound somewhat upset.

I thought cash was something you usually gave for weddings. Well, it looks like she got a lot, so that has to be nice.

Rachael's attention turned back to the movie.

"So, I guess we should start watching?"

[Sansa]

"Oh, I'm so glad you agree. Righto. Snow White it is..."

Mirabella inserted the DVD into the player and skipped to the main menu, but as she did so she heard a sharp smack from where Venice was sitting. She saw a DVD case beside the girl, who was nursing her forehead, and realised what had happened. She mashed her fingers against the control panel, starting the dramatic overture of the film, and rushed to Venice's aid.

"Aaaagh, Venice!"

She glanced over at the DVD case. It was a stylised copy of The Birds, the case made into the shape of a raven. The sharp beak had been dulled through the years of ownership the DVD had endured, but it was still somewhat dangerous. Mirabella gently picked it up and placed it with the ruined copy of Mouse Trap.

"Oh, Venice...I'll...do you want anything? And your present...if I didn't sound very grateful before, it was because I was surprised, okay? It's really lovely, really."

She stood up and moved towards the bag of popcorn she'd brought in with her, placing it on the coffee table.

"Does anybody else want anything? Something to eat or drink?"

[Un-Persona†]

"Oooooooowwwwwww" Venice continued to cry in her head.

Bella had come to help Venice, picking up the DVD that had smacked the crown of her head. It was a rather blunt feeling, and the pain was dull, but it still hurt. Mirabella asked the usual, if she was okay, is she could do anything. It was the third thing that hurt the most. That pretty much confirmed that Venice was a horrible gift giver.

"But no one even said anything about the present but you!"

Patting her own head, Venice assured Mirabella that she was fine. She sat down to the table that had the bowl full of popcorn, took one, and fed herself. Snow white seemed an odd choice, but she wasn't one to judge. Besides, she figured that she hadn't seen this movie in forever, so it might be worth it.

[MrMissMrs Random†]

Rosemary gaped openly at the manse that was Mirabella Strong's house from her spot in the backseat of her mother's car. She knew from Bella's mannerisms and the few times she spotted Bella's mother and her own chatting after swim meets that she probably came from an affluent household, but actually seeing the dwelling that her team member resided it... was still a bit of a shock.

She looked down at the dark tights that covered her legs then to the side where her gift was, wrapped up in blue tissue paper and a cream-colored paper bag. The present was an un-cut edition of David Copperfield with the original illustrations inside; Rosemary chose it since from they're conversations both she and Bella shared a love of Dickens. She hoped her gift wasn't unoriginal, or worse, that Bella already had a much better version of the book already in her library. She had found her gift at a hardback sale in a used bookstore she frequented. It had a quote already written on the back of the front cover.

"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts." That was what it said; she didn't know how appropriate that was for a birthday greeting, more like something a wise old mentor would tell the hero before they set off on their journey, but scribbling it out would be almost like defiling the book, so she left it be. After taking a deep breath she moved to open the door, before being chastised by her mother to take off her hoodie, saying it would be impolite not to follow the instructions in the invitation.

I'm already wearing a skirt, what more do you want? She mentally groaned. Different from her usual casual clothes, Rosemary had dressed up in a black, knee-length skirt, with a lavender silk button-up blouse borrowed from her mother and black tights with silvery flats. Even with the tights covering her legs she still felt uncomfortable outside of the pool with bare arms. But she did as she was told and left the sweat shirt in the car, taking the present with her and walking up to the door.

Her mother, just like whenever she decided to go to a party like this, would wait on the driveway until someone answered the door before driving off- even asking to talk to the party throwers parents if she didn't know them. It was a bit annoying, but Rosemary never showed any open hostility towards it.

Rosemary took a deep exhale, before knocking on the door.

[Jilly]

((Sorry about the hold up, folks.))

Another knock came from the front door, piercing through both the opening score of Snow White and the awkwardness that hovered in the air.

Megan sat in silence and delicately reached for the popcorn, resisting the urge to just grope around the bowl and grab a handful like she would normally do when it was just herself or with one of her guy friends; that always seemed to tick Gavin off especially, but if she was going to enjoy popcorn she was going to enjoy it. Seeing him get mad at something so silly was also a pretty fine bonus.

Whoever this next person was, hopefully they would be able to turn this series of unfortunate events around.

[Laurels]

Rachael adjusted her position slightly. They were going to watch Snow White, and she was sure she would enjoy it. The overture was pretty nice, something Rachael had forgotten about the film having not watched it in years.

There was suddenly a knock on the door. It looked like more people would be showing up after all.

Rachael took a piece of popcorn and ate it. She wondered who it could be.

[Sansa]

The melodic tones of the opening theme were interrupted by a sharp knocking on the front door. Oh, someone else. This ought to be helpful! Oh, but we've run out of coffee! Oh dear... She was sure there was some cola in the fridge, though. I could bring that out if worse comes to worse.

"Just a minute!" She called, moving to welcome the next guest. She opened the door to find Rosemary, a fellow swim girl and writer. Oh good. Venice won't feel quite as alienated. I should've thought of that before. Rosemary was a sweet and kind girl, and Bella was glad of her company.

"Hi Rosemary! I'm glad you could come. You're just in time, really - we've just started to watch Snow White - the Disney version. Rachael, Megan, and Venice are here as well, and there's some popcorn if you'd like some. You look really lovely. Come, make yourself at home."

Her speech ran quick-paced from her mouth, and by the end she was panting for breath. Maybe with an extra guest she might feel more at ease. It was then that she noticed the car on the driveway. Rosemary's mother, no doubt. I remember seeing her talking to mum at swim meets. She seems quite nice. Oh, what do I do? Do I invite Mrs Michaels in? Oh, I hadn't prepared for this. Calm, Bella. Calm.

[MrMissMrs Random†]

"Hey, Bella." Rosemary used her free hand to give the girl a small wave. She seemed a bit out of breath, but that was probably to be expected when you're the host of a party. Her face turned a bit pink at the compliment paid to her dress. "Thank you, and you look as beautiful as always."

Rosemary turned around and gave a thumbs up at her mother who nodded from her seat and waved with a smile before heading out.

"Sorry, my mom likes to make sure I make it to the door safely." Her cheeks continued to be a bit pink, only now out of slight embarrassment. The girl entered when Bella welcomed her, and she looked around a bit. The house as a whole felt much more comfortable to her inside than the palatial outside.

"Should I take off my shoes?" Rosemary asked the birthday girl. She knew from tutoring sessions certain families were like that.