"I'm ready," Jewel said, as she fidgeted a little more with her bikini top. It actually fit her pretty well, just, she wasn't used to showing quite so much skin and kept indulging the impulse to hike the fabric up or down to cover exposed areas, only to reveal new ones in the process. She just had to focus on making sure it was centered. Baring some cleavage was the entire point of it, so she shouldn't be fighting that. This horrible old song that her mom used to sing along with on the radio about a yellow polka dot bikini wafted through her head, and she blinked and tried to exorcise it.
It did feel sort of weird to have just stripped down in front of someone who'd worn a swimsuit under her clothes, but that just meant Bella was a prude and had no room to judge, especially in a one-piece. Swimming was one of the only situations in which whoever was less naked was the weird one. Then again, Jewel was a little sympathetic; she'd bought her swimsuit because the idea of it made her feel cool and daring and sexy but now she was going to be going out in public in it and those feelings were present but so were nervousness and insecurity, and she wasn't even the one Saachi had been maybe hitting on. She wished Coleen was here to just give her a push and get her over the hump. Coleen was great at doing that, at knocking Jewel out of her comfort zone enough to allow her to forget herself and have fun.
As to Saachi and her pink garment, Jewel was still trying not to pay too much attention.
So she made sure her stuff was secured in the locker, tucked the magazine under her arm, and started walking, feeling the smoothness of the little tiles contrast with the grittyness of the lines of grout against her toes.
"Let's go," she tossed over her shoulder. That was plenty, though; she assumed Saachi and Bella would follow when they were ready. It wasn't like she was stuck with them just because they'd happened to turn up at the same time as her and had made their way awkwardly through the locker room together.
The pool area proper brought a change to rough concrete floors, a brighter fluorescence illuminating the area, and a sharper spike of chlorine smell. Jewel scanned the pool, and saw that the closer section was a huge, boring, Olympic-style affair for laps or fitness or whatever, but there was also a big section of pool that went outside, with various attractions including some slides and what looked to be hot tubs and a lazy river style area. That, okay, got her interest up a little more. Years ago, Jewel had liked playing in the kiddie section at the rec center, and if they had something like that but acceptable for adults to mess around in maybe she'd have fun after all. And all around it were chairs and tables and umbrellas, so she'd definitely have a place to lie around and read.
The only weird thing was that there was almost nobody here. Two boys sat by the water, and Jewel did a quick double-take at the smaller of the pair, whose body was a mass of mottled scarring. Okay, that was pretty weird but also pretty interesting, and she was definitely going to subtly check out what was going on there. The guy next to him was taller, pale, short hair, looked positively normal by comparison.
Jewel trotted over, trying not to worry about the whole bikini thing because come on, that guy was out here in swim trunks looking like that, so what did she have to be self conscious about?
"It's so quiet here," she called out by way of greeting. "Did someone break their neck diving and they forgot to close the pool?"
A Perfectly Normal Trip to Lana'i Resort Where Nothing Bad Happens
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3449
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
Ah, he's one of those types.
Unfortunately for the boy next to him, Misha had built up an immunity to the air of wanting someone to go away but not wanting to say it because they actually believed non-confrontation worked that people occasionally put on around him. If that was how it was going to be, a little turnabout was fair play.
"Doesn't seem like it's going too well so far," he said, the double meaning of it very clearly not lost on him.
Misha turned his attention to the book that he'd brought with him after that. "The future of entertainment, huh?" It was an interesting choice, to say the least. That is, if it wasn't just a long ramble going on about how great SOTF was, because clearly it was the be-all end-all. He was just about to mention more when he heard someone else walking along and looked to see a lady actually worth watching in what might just be excusable anywhere but pool-side at a Hawaiian-theme resort, holy shit.
His reluctant companion seemed gloomy enough to lower spirits as it was, but hey, maybe like would attract like and he'd cheer up a little.
And to what she'd said, Misha couldn't help but shrug. "No idea. Sure not complaining about it though."
Unfortunately for the boy next to him, Misha had built up an immunity to the air of wanting someone to go away but not wanting to say it because they actually believed non-confrontation worked that people occasionally put on around him. If that was how it was going to be, a little turnabout was fair play.
"Doesn't seem like it's going too well so far," he said, the double meaning of it very clearly not lost on him.
Misha turned his attention to the book that he'd brought with him after that. "The future of entertainment, huh?" It was an interesting choice, to say the least. That is, if it wasn't just a long ramble going on about how great SOTF was, because clearly it was the be-all end-all. He was just about to mention more when he heard someone else walking along and looked to see a lady actually worth watching in what might just be excusable anywhere but pool-side at a Hawaiian-theme resort, holy shit.
His reluctant companion seemed gloomy enough to lower spirits as it was, but hey, maybe like would attract like and he'd cheer up a little.
And to what she'd said, Misha couldn't help but shrug. "No idea. Sure not complaining about it though."
Bella made sure her things were tightly secured inside the pale blue locker and turned around.
Jewel had changed into a skull-patterned bikini, but Bella’s focus was on her face. That came off as kind of curt, didn’t it? She supposed this was a strange situation. They’d just met, after all. Bella bit her lip for a moment, then navigated her way around the puddle she hoped was water to join her.
Soon, the cool air inside was replaced with warm sun and the scent of chlorine.
Bella rubbed her arm for a moment, looking around her. They were actually two pools. One was clearly for doing laps. However, everyone else had been interested in the other one. It had water slides and a lazy river. She’d never been to a water park before, she didn’t think? Actually, maybe someone’s birthday party when she was younger.
However, it seemed empty. Only a few other people were here. Maybe she was actually the first to show up, or they left without her, or they wanted her out of their hair-
She tensed up for a moment.
Stop that.
Pushing the thought aside, Bella noticed something else. She almost flinched for a moment when she did.
Did that boy have a skin condition of some kind? It looked… unpleasant. Was he sure he could swim? No, it wasn’t good for her to stare, but it took some effort not to. The other boy seemed fairly normal in comparison.
It seemed like Jewel was the blunt type, though, seeing as she just trotted up and made a joke about breaking necks. Bella guessed it was just part of her personality, to make jokes about virgin sacrifices and pool accidents. That made her feel slightly better, to be honest. Slightly.
Bella walked toward, leaning forward a bit after stopping.
“Um, excuse me. Sorry if I’m interrupting,” she said with a smile, largely out of politeness. “I was wondering if you two have seen anyone else? I was originally supposed to meet up with other people, and I haven’t seen them yet.”
Occasionally her eyes would land on the boy’s condition, only to tear away a second later.
Jewel had changed into a skull-patterned bikini, but Bella’s focus was on her face. That came off as kind of curt, didn’t it? She supposed this was a strange situation. They’d just met, after all. Bella bit her lip for a moment, then navigated her way around the puddle she hoped was water to join her.
Soon, the cool air inside was replaced with warm sun and the scent of chlorine.
Bella rubbed her arm for a moment, looking around her. They were actually two pools. One was clearly for doing laps. However, everyone else had been interested in the other one. It had water slides and a lazy river. She’d never been to a water park before, she didn’t think? Actually, maybe someone’s birthday party when she was younger.
However, it seemed empty. Only a few other people were here. Maybe she was actually the first to show up, or they left without her, or they wanted her out of their hair-
She tensed up for a moment.
Stop that.
Pushing the thought aside, Bella noticed something else. She almost flinched for a moment when she did.
Did that boy have a skin condition of some kind? It looked… unpleasant. Was he sure he could swim? No, it wasn’t good for her to stare, but it took some effort not to. The other boy seemed fairly normal in comparison.
It seemed like Jewel was the blunt type, though, seeing as she just trotted up and made a joke about breaking necks. Bella guessed it was just part of her personality, to make jokes about virgin sacrifices and pool accidents. That made her feel slightly better, to be honest. Slightly.
Bella walked toward, leaning forward a bit after stopping.
“Um, excuse me. Sorry if I’m interrupting,” she said with a smile, largely out of politeness. “I was wondering if you two have seen anyone else? I was originally supposed to meet up with other people, and I haven’t seen them yet.”
Occasionally her eyes would land on the boy’s condition, only to tear away a second later.
CYBERS:
HARERAISER (Winter Castillo)The synthwave bunnygirl programmer roller weeb!
Currently: Confused? Horrified?
SECOND CHANCES
Junko KurosawaThink Johnny Knoxville but a teenage girl.
Currently: Ridng a shopping cart (in-between threads)
Bella Bianchi
Ballet dancer with pressure.
Currently: In the student lounge
(Meanwhile in the past...)
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Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 375
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:25 pm
The desire to tell The Burned Man from Fallout: New Vegas to fuck off was very much there. It burnt brightly for an instant, but in the moment between that impulse coming, and him opening his mouth, he felt the heat of it go out of him. He closed his mouth and looked away again. He didn't mean ill, really, probably. He just didn't understand where his head was at, just wanted some company as much as he didn't right now.
He sighed. Not in exasperation or annoyance, just trying to let the tension out of himself, as he tried to figure out how to respond.
Fortunately he was granted a momentary reprieve from the boy's attention as a pair of girls stepped on to the scene, and he tilted onto his side slightly to try to not seem rude as the three of them stood around on the poolside. The black haired one in a bikini that made it very hard to not stare inappropriately - he tore his eyes away quickly after he realised that was exactly what he was doing - cracked a joke that made him snort just a little air from his nose, a light smile dancing across his lips for once, before he thought about the tanned girl's question.
He had been mostly left alone here. The resort had seemed unusually quiet for this time of the year, so what she was saying explained a bit. If there was a big trip planned, of course no-one would be here, all the tickets would have been reserved. But apparently she hadn't seen them yet. That was a blessing, he supposed. A resort with only a few people in it, at least for the time being. No big crowds, or screaming kids. Even if Burn-y Sanders was being a little annoying, at least he wasn't as annoying as that.
"Not really. Few staff and all that, but no-one else, 'cept you three." he noted, trying his best to match her polite tone. He hoped she wasn't too worried about her friends. They'd probably get here eventually and spoil his peace, but if that happened, he could go back to his room and return to that tranquillity. In the mean time however, he was going to enjoy the quiet burbling of the water, and the pale, cloudless sky that hung above them whilst he still could. Even if that meant braving a little company and conversation. He didn't want to waste his parents money, after all.
He turned back to the other boy, his own question still unanswered. His eyes flicked over to the other two for just a second as he thought about answering, sighing internally. If he drew him into a conversation about SOTF, he was going to look like such a nerd to the two of them. They probably didn't even watch SOTF. The tanned girl seemed like she was the sort to spend her time outdoors or something, and the black haired one with the skull bikini - eye contact, Zach - seemed like she was probably too counterculture for anything as mainstream as SOTF.
And yet, he still had to answer.
"Yeah. It's about how SOTF is, well, real. Kinda like the gladiatorial games the Romans had. There's no script, no tropes, no like, guiding hand. Just people doing what they do when the rules go away, you know? Something like that. I'm only a chapter in."
He sighed. Not in exasperation or annoyance, just trying to let the tension out of himself, as he tried to figure out how to respond.
Fortunately he was granted a momentary reprieve from the boy's attention as a pair of girls stepped on to the scene, and he tilted onto his side slightly to try to not seem rude as the three of them stood around on the poolside. The black haired one in a bikini that made it very hard to not stare inappropriately - he tore his eyes away quickly after he realised that was exactly what he was doing - cracked a joke that made him snort just a little air from his nose, a light smile dancing across his lips for once, before he thought about the tanned girl's question.
He had been mostly left alone here. The resort had seemed unusually quiet for this time of the year, so what she was saying explained a bit. If there was a big trip planned, of course no-one would be here, all the tickets would have been reserved. But apparently she hadn't seen them yet. That was a blessing, he supposed. A resort with only a few people in it, at least for the time being. No big crowds, or screaming kids. Even if Burn-y Sanders was being a little annoying, at least he wasn't as annoying as that.
"Not really. Few staff and all that, but no-one else, 'cept you three." he noted, trying his best to match her polite tone. He hoped she wasn't too worried about her friends. They'd probably get here eventually and spoil his peace, but if that happened, he could go back to his room and return to that tranquillity. In the mean time however, he was going to enjoy the quiet burbling of the water, and the pale, cloudless sky that hung above them whilst he still could. Even if that meant braving a little company and conversation. He didn't want to waste his parents money, after all.
He turned back to the other boy, his own question still unanswered. His eyes flicked over to the other two for just a second as he thought about answering, sighing internally. If he drew him into a conversation about SOTF, he was going to look like such a nerd to the two of them. They probably didn't even watch SOTF. The tanned girl seemed like she was the sort to spend her time outdoors or something, and the black haired one with the skull bikini - eye contact, Zach - seemed like she was probably too counterculture for anything as mainstream as SOTF.
And yet, he still had to answer.
"Yeah. It's about how SOTF is, well, real. Kinda like the gladiatorial games the Romans had. There's no script, no tropes, no like, guiding hand. Just people doing what they do when the rules go away, you know? Something like that. I'm only a chapter in."
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3449
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
The scarred boy gave a response way less interesting than his appearance. Oh well, Jewel knew people had different senses of humor and hers was a little too much fun for most. Bella followed up with a more direct query; Jewel had forgotten that she was looking for her friends but given the lack thereof they'd presumably lagged behind or else ditched the girl. Jewel thought again of the awkward one-piece-swimsuit-under-clothes thing and decided that Bella was probably indeed the type to get ditched, but she kept that to herself.
Jewel was busy enough sneaking peeks at the guy with the scars that she almost didn't notice that his pale companion was giving her the same treatment. She caught his eyes flicking upwards to meet hers, and had to consciously suppress the impulse to shift the cups of her swimsuit again, which would do nothing except give her nervousness a little placebo shot at the cost of doing something awkward that drew more attention to her. She'd picked this to look good in it, and she thought she probably did, just she'd more thought that she'd be one girl among many similarly attired rather than standing with only Ms. One-Piece as comparison. Saachi seemed to have fallen behind somewhere which was a shame because even if she was weird Jewel was pretty sure what she'd had in her arms was at least as skimpy while also being ugly pink, which Coleen liked to say instantly made any article of clothing sluttier.
She shifted a little bit and rolled the magazine in her hand into a loose tube for lack of anything better to occupy her fingers; it at least kept her from picking at her clothes. The guy had explained that it was just them and then started talking about his book. Jewel hadn't paid it much attention but his words changed that in a snap.
SOTF? Her interest was piqued. The general thrust of the argument as described didn't blow her away or anything, but first chapters were about setting the stage, whetting the appetite. She could forgive a little belaboring of the obvious.
"Hey," Jewel said, lowering herself to a crouch and leaning forward a bit to take a look at the cover, "that's cool. I'm reading about SOTF too."
She held out her magazine vaguely, letting it unroll. It was called Island News, and while it was technically not officially sanctioned the editors did a good job landing interviews and commissioning decent features. She'd been reading the cover story, a retrospective on the sixth through tenth years of SOTF touching on some of the memorable moments and contestants and ranking the hotness of all the winners. The first half decade had been in the last issue, and the next issue would presumably continue the recap. The magazine was published quarterly, and Jewel made sure to keep her subscription current, despite the relative lameness inherent in actually being subscribed to a print magazine.
For a moment, Bella and the guy with the scars were set aside. Yeah, they were still weird; Jewel really wanted to ask the guy what had happened to him but of course wouldn't just do it like that. But one of her favorite topics had come up, and she didn't know how many other opportunities she'd have to indulge it on this trip.
"I'm Jewel, by the way," she added, her eyes on those of the boy with the book.
Jewel was busy enough sneaking peeks at the guy with the scars that she almost didn't notice that his pale companion was giving her the same treatment. She caught his eyes flicking upwards to meet hers, and had to consciously suppress the impulse to shift the cups of her swimsuit again, which would do nothing except give her nervousness a little placebo shot at the cost of doing something awkward that drew more attention to her. She'd picked this to look good in it, and she thought she probably did, just she'd more thought that she'd be one girl among many similarly attired rather than standing with only Ms. One-Piece as comparison. Saachi seemed to have fallen behind somewhere which was a shame because even if she was weird Jewel was pretty sure what she'd had in her arms was at least as skimpy while also being ugly pink, which Coleen liked to say instantly made any article of clothing sluttier.
She shifted a little bit and rolled the magazine in her hand into a loose tube for lack of anything better to occupy her fingers; it at least kept her from picking at her clothes. The guy had explained that it was just them and then started talking about his book. Jewel hadn't paid it much attention but his words changed that in a snap.
SOTF? Her interest was piqued. The general thrust of the argument as described didn't blow her away or anything, but first chapters were about setting the stage, whetting the appetite. She could forgive a little belaboring of the obvious.
"Hey," Jewel said, lowering herself to a crouch and leaning forward a bit to take a look at the cover, "that's cool. I'm reading about SOTF too."
She held out her magazine vaguely, letting it unroll. It was called Island News, and while it was technically not officially sanctioned the editors did a good job landing interviews and commissioning decent features. She'd been reading the cover story, a retrospective on the sixth through tenth years of SOTF touching on some of the memorable moments and contestants and ranking the hotness of all the winners. The first half decade had been in the last issue, and the next issue would presumably continue the recap. The magazine was published quarterly, and Jewel made sure to keep her subscription current, despite the relative lameness inherent in actually being subscribed to a print magazine.
For a moment, Bella and the guy with the scars were set aside. Yeah, they were still weird; Jewel really wanted to ask the guy what had happened to him but of course wouldn't just do it like that. But one of her favorite topics had come up, and she didn't know how many other opportunities she'd have to indulge it on this trip.
"I'm Jewel, by the way," she added, her eyes on those of the boy with the book.
Bella frowned.
“I see.”
They were really the only ones here? Maybe she really was ditched. Or she was here before anyone else. Or maybe they left without her, thinking she wasn’t going to show up. Maybe she somehow misinterpreted where they were going. A lot of possibilities.
She tried to press out the doubt, just like she tried to keep her gaze away from the boy’s unfortunate condition. But she had to stay polite.
“Thank you, anyways.”
Put on another smile. Maybe hide that doubt a little?
Jewel seemed more interested in the other boy’s book. And to be fair…
“It does sound interesting,” she said quietly, glancing down towards it.
It was kind of accurate, wasn’t it? SOTF, like many reality TV shows, was unscripted. Maybe she, Jewel, and this boy had something in common after all. But she wasn’t sure if she should stick around? Jewel was seemingly curt, and the boy seemed tense. Not sure about the other one, the one with the skin condition.
She wondered if she should just leave them to it, or if she should continue the conversation.
“Oh, um. Since we’re spending the week together, I’m Bella.”
It was the second time she’d said that today. And once again, she lifted a hand to shake.
“I see.”
They were really the only ones here? Maybe she really was ditched. Or she was here before anyone else. Or maybe they left without her, thinking she wasn’t going to show up. Maybe she somehow misinterpreted where they were going. A lot of possibilities.
She tried to press out the doubt, just like she tried to keep her gaze away from the boy’s unfortunate condition. But she had to stay polite.
“Thank you, anyways.”
Put on another smile. Maybe hide that doubt a little?
Jewel seemed more interested in the other boy’s book. And to be fair…
“It does sound interesting,” she said quietly, glancing down towards it.
It was kind of accurate, wasn’t it? SOTF, like many reality TV shows, was unscripted. Maybe she, Jewel, and this boy had something in common after all. But she wasn’t sure if she should stick around? Jewel was seemingly curt, and the boy seemed tense. Not sure about the other one, the one with the skin condition.
She wondered if she should just leave them to it, or if she should continue the conversation.
“Oh, um. Since we’re spending the week together, I’m Bella.”
It was the second time she’d said that today. And once again, she lifted a hand to shake.
CYBERS:
HARERAISER (Winter Castillo)The synthwave bunnygirl programmer roller weeb!
Currently: Confused? Horrified?
SECOND CHANCES
Junko KurosawaThink Johnny Knoxville but a teenage girl.
Currently: Ridng a shopping cart (in-between threads)
Bella Bianchi
Ballet dancer with pressure.
Currently: In the student lounge
(Meanwhile in the past...)
The biggest turn-off he'd possibly ever seen had turned her attention away from him, it seemed. Good. People liked to lay eyes on him a lot and sure, 8 times outta 10 he knew why, time and scalpels had thickened his skin, all the usual, but he still preferred to take an active part in dragging himself into the spotlight.
For a moment he thought about telling her from experience that the sort of bone she had on her really wasn't as fun to look at as she clearly thought. But that'd just leave the mood as dead as his love for Matushka, and he wasn't here for more of that.
So instead, he took a breath and then put his discord away. And besides, it looked like he could still have a little fun anyway.
"Misha. Nice meeting you."
He took Bella's hand and shook it, grip not reaching firm enough to make her uncomfortable. Well, not physically, but she'd be all fine and dandy, he was sure. His hand would feel unnaturally warm.
Sailor stripes was a much better look than skulls. Misha could get behind a fashion sense that didn't feel like it tried to breed apathy in everyone exposed to it. But of course, it could just be a fluke. That kind of thing happened a lot more than some thought.
For a moment he thought about telling her from experience that the sort of bone she had on her really wasn't as fun to look at as she clearly thought. But that'd just leave the mood as dead as his love for Matushka, and he wasn't here for more of that.
So instead, he took a breath and then put his discord away. And besides, it looked like he could still have a little fun anyway.
"Misha. Nice meeting you."
He took Bella's hand and shook it, grip not reaching firm enough to make her uncomfortable. Well, not physically, but she'd be all fine and dandy, he was sure. His hand would feel unnaturally warm.
Sailor stripes was a much better look than skulls. Misha could get behind a fashion sense that didn't feel like it tried to breed apathy in everyone exposed to it. But of course, it could just be a fluke. That kind of thing happened a lot more than some thought.