BWI Airport Portalocity Lounge, Saturday Morning

[thegreatmanfredo]

Saturday morning, an elderly teal and white RV pulled into the dropoff lane outside the airport and disgorged a lanky teenaged boy and his bags onto the pavement, the driver asking him as he went if he had his laptop, migraine medication, and assorted other essentials. "Now get going and make some friends," she told him. "I've got a consult to get to in Virginia."

"I love you, Grandma," he said, and closed the door of the RV. As Xylda peeled out on her way to, he assumed, her next mark, Manfred headed into the airport, stopping off at Starbucks for a caffeine infusion before following airport employees' instructions until he found the right room. He was apparently the first one here, but he knew it was the right place because of the incredibly glittery banner.

High school, here he came.

Comments

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

The cool kids were indeed doing it. What 'it' was was probably debatable.

Jaylah had spent a fair amount of time on a spaceship, not nearly as much on either an airplane or a bus. So this would be an interesting new experience! Maybe!

It would not.

She found a spot to wait for her transport, chin high as she suspiciously looked over anyone who came near her. Because someone was still operating on what was basically space-prison rules of being the toughest person around to survive.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[thegreatmanfredo]

Wow, that was a look. His grandma had apparently not been kidding at all about this school. "Hi," Manfred said, because he didn't want to just stare.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

And, since she was pretty sure she could kick his ass, her response was just a further narrowing of her eyes before bobbing her head kind of like a nod. "Hello."

Gosh, she was good at this socializing thing.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[thegreatmanfredo]

She could definitely kick his ass. Manfred had very few defensive skills. "So, are you, uh, from around here?" Was that a polite way to ask 'so are you like an alien or a dark elf or what?' Manfred sure hoped so.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

She would make an amazing dark elf, but no. That was not to be.

"Obviously I am not. Are you?"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[thegreatmanfredo]

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I'm from closer than you are, but I'm not like, from Maryland."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"Where are you from then?" In case that information ever became useful. It wouldn't, but she was thinking ahead.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[thegreatmanfredo]

The side effect of traveling as much as Manfred had was that he wasn't really 'from' anywhere, but, "I was born in Tennessee?"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"I do not know where that is," she admitted a little grumpily.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[white_oleander]

And here Astrid thought that Armor Girl had an interesting look. She wouldn't be coming near, but she would be stealing plenty of glances up from her sketchbook as she tried to recreate the other girl's image.

Definitely made her Albino nickname and her first roommate's scar tattoos laughable, that was for sure.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"What are you looking at?" Space-Prison rules made you a suspicious person.

Honestly, James T and Montgomery Scotty should have explained this all to her better.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[white_oleander]

For a brief moment, Astrid thought about just pretending like she hadn't heard the other girl, but that usually just made them mad and come over and make sure that you heard them the second time. So she shook her head a little, shrugged a shoulder, and said, "Just looking."

And drawing. But with this one, she was definitely going to very slowly, hopefully subtly, flipped the page over to a blank one and hope she didn't notice.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

Awww, they were both livin' by prison rules.

"At me?" she asked, frowning in confusion. "Why?"

Look, she'd gone from a planet inhabited by people who lured ships in to eat the energy of the crews and then on Yorktown. Both were pretty full of alien races.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[white_oleander]

Well, inner city middle school rules, but, hey, close enough, right?

But the question did get a bit of a confused look. Astrid would never understand why people went out and got crazy tattoos and spiked their colored hair and wore clothes that seemed to beg for attention and then they seemed surprised when they got attention.

And since she didn't think she could lie convincingly and just tell the girl that she had spinach in her teeth or something, she decided the best thing would be to honest.

"You have a very interesting look," she said, with an undercurrent to it that she hoped made it clear that, if anyone looked at Astrid, and then looked at this girl, they could clearly see they were very, very different.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

Jaylah looked down at her clothing and frowned. Maybe she should have allowed them to purchase her more clothing to fit in.

"Interesting," she repeated. "Is that good?"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[white_oleander]

"Depends on who you ask, I guess," Astrid said, after a moment, and she shrugged again.

"I like it," she offered, "for what it's worth."

But of course she'd say that.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

She smoothed her outfit out with her hands, trying to decide what that might be worth and not finding much to measure it up against. "I would not know," she admitted after a moment. "I was not told as such by anyone else."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[meepmeepmeep]

She was certainly intimidating Beaker, who took one look at her and gave an alarmed meep.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

Damn right he did.

"I do not understand that." Unless it was just a shout of terror. She totally understood that.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[meepmeepmeep]

"Meep meep meep," he elaborated from his new perch behind the chair.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"I did not understand that either." They were just gonna be besties. "You are just repeating 'meep.'"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[meepmeepmeep]

Beaker nodded. Because he was indeed just repeating "meep."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

Good! They were in agreement. "I am Jaylah, Meep."

Yeah, his name was now Meep if anyone asked her.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[meepmeepmeep]

Beaker looked a little confused, but shrugged. He'd get it cleared it up later. Somehow. Maybe with a notebook or a nametag.

He gave a friendly little meep in reply, but refused to come out from behind the chair.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

It was a perfectly good position. A little lacking in the ability to make a quick escape, though.

She nodded like they had come to an understanding. Because they totally had. If you asked her.