The Kids Are All Wrong

[KamiKaze]

((Mary Cheung continued from The Arrow in Your Heart))

[+] Transcript

Mary is seated with her legs crossed. It appears to be some time after the previous announcement. She is wearing the same outfit as before, but she has her cheek bandaged up. She adjusts her pigtails for a moment, before smiling and proceeding. Her voice is a little fast and notably harried in spaces.

MARY: Hey! It’s me again. Ya girl, Mary!

She points to herself with both hands and an exaggerated grin.

MARY: We’re holding up well here, Uh… we couldn’t find Dale, but we cleaned Rebecca up and moved her out of the way, It’s the most we could do, right?

Mary fiddles with her pigtail in thought for a few seconds with a nervous look on her face, before speaking again.

MARY: You’re probably wondering how I feel about this right?

She points at her cheek

MARY: Uh, yeah. I’m a little angry, because like… the one thing everyone compliments me on is my looks. So if this scars, it’s on him, right? But like… there’s a bright side to it.

Mary fidgets in space for a few seconds, before speaking again.

MARY: Bright side… right. Uh, did you know that some time prior to the World Wars, it was common for academics in like Germany, and uh, I think other places, to duel, like, at universities, and they’d have sword fights, it was seen as a badge of honor for them to get scarred in the face from this, and they’d even prevent it from healing properly by putting horse hairs in! And like… and like…

Mary catches her breath.

MARY: Yeah… yeah… it was seen as a way of showing off your dueling p-prowess, in a way? And like, sign of courage, and maybe potential husband material. Uh, look it up, I’m probably ruining all the deets. So uh… point is, I’ve seen like, Jared Clayton! He has scars on his face, and there’s others, too. Other celebs, I mean. Uh, never was big on the SOTF scene, but I’m familiar with people associated with it. Did you know I once spread a rumor about myself at school, where I got a job doing extra stuff where I got to meet Kenny in person? I dunno if that’s still floating around, but maybe I ruined it, right?

Mary laughs, continued fidgeting with her hair.

MARY: I guess what I’m saying is, this--

She gestures to her face again.

MARY: -- is a badge of honor. I have scars now, maybe. It might take a while to get used to. But I’m not putting horse hairs or anything in. I cleaned and disinfected, because like, does Junji ever wash his hands? There’s probably pee and poo and food and man seed and all sorts of yuckiness all over them, so I’m taking the extra steps to make sure I don’t go septic. Also, it doesn’t mean I won’t pay him back if I see him again.

She laughs again. She pauses, as if in thought. She looks nervous, and fidgets for a few more minutes. Mary bites her lip, before speaking again.

MARY: Uh… do we have plans? I kinda want to go back to the cruise ship, see Leo, do what I can for him. I wasn’t before, maybe I’ll feel up to it. And like… there’s a place called a ‘shop boat’--

Mary makes air quotes with both hands

MARY: -- A shop boat, and I dunno what’s there, but I want clean clothes that look cute and some makeup. And maybe a place to take a bath. I’m tired of looking and feeling terrible, and I’m certainly not dying with the Playboy logo on my chest, nor with unflattering track pants, so! I’ll ask Leah, I guess, see what she says.

She makes another peace sign.

JEWEL: I think that's a good idea. Finding closure and something better than the track pants, I mean. If you end up on the edge of death in those, it's, you know, not ideal. Speaking from experience.

...the shop boat's kind of fucked up, though, just as a warning.

((Mary Cheung continued in I Was Young Not Too Long Ago.))