fandomhigh | BWI Airport, Portalocity Lounge, Saturday morning

Billie perched on top of a pile of luggage that looked suspiciously like it could have come out of the back of an upscale garage band's van. (It . . . kind of had. She'd managed to pack a few non-musincal essentials, but they were all shoved into the corners of the various road cases. She had her priorities, okay?) She had her phone out, scrolling through her latest playlist, when a video call request came in and she grinned.

"T!" she greeted.

"B!" said Thea from the phone. "You landed!"

"I landed!" Billie agreed. "I am so totally in Baltimore, dude!"

"You're so totally in Baltimore!"

They proceeded to run through everything that had happened to each of them since they last talked -- about an hour ago, before Billie's flight landed.

"I know it's totally too early to call," Thea admitted eventually.

"Dude, I was so totally going to call you." Billie grinned. "How cool is it that we're both on our own epic adventures?"

"It is most, most egregiously nonbogus," Thea said. "Oh! That's the opening bugle. I gotta go!"

"Yo, I cannot believe you moved to the Alaskan military school."

"That's the Alaskan musical conservatory, thank you!"

Billie laughed and nodded. "Right, right, excellent!" They both gave each other a one-handed air guitar. Which anyone walking by would somehow be able to hear.

You're welcome, passersby.

"Talk to you later, T!"

"Talk to you later, B!"

Billie deflated slightly as she hung up with her ~~soulmate~~ ~~other half~~ best friend, then went back to tooling around on her playlist, one ear of her massive, audiophile headphones slid back so she could hear if/when anyone else came to join her in the lounge. Or when the shuttle eventually arrived.

"Righteous," she muttered, bopping along to the music on her headphones. "First day of grad school playlist complete." She kept bopping, then looked around at her stack of luggage in the otherwise empty lounge. ". . . Now what do I do?"

[open! And a little earlier than normal, perhaps, because I managed to completely forget that I have an event tonight. :P]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Who wants to play roadie with all of Billie's luggage?

Should Anakin, after more than a decade on pickup duty, have changed out of Jedi robes to as to avoid people wondering why he was in a bathrobe each year? Very definitely. Had he? Absolutely not.

"BUS TO FANDOM," he bellowed from the door. "LET'S GO."

Erasmus observed the robe, then looked at Anakin's temples and fingertips.

Huh. Well, the robe was the wrong color, anyway.

"He a wizard too?" Riri whispered. Enjoy being lumped in with wizards and the like, Erasmus. Enjoy it.

Don't be silly, Riri. Wizards weren't a thing. "He's dressed like some warlocks," he whispered back. "Sort of. But he's not a warlock."

Wizards were so a thing! Or sorcerers. Whatever.

"Huh," she settled on, considering Anakin's whole vibe.

Sounded fake, Riri.

"It should probably be black, though."

Anakin gave the new person a vaguely welcoming smile. "Yes?"

Erasmus shouldered his backpack and told Anakin, "Uh, hi, Erasmus Boone?" And now came the part where Anakin checked his list or whatever and went, 'You're not supposed to be here,' right?

What happened when Anakin checked the list and went "E-R-A-S-M-U-S, correct?"

Erasmus said, "Uh, yes, that's me," and sort of hesitated to wait for the punchline before he went to gather his luggage.

Looked like he was riding this ride as far as it went before someone freaked out.

"Good," Anakin said, checking the name off. "Welcome. How much luggage do you have?"

He still remembered Tahani and Annie and their ridiculous amounts.

"A normal amount...?" He thought. He'd never packed up to leave home before, plus his momma had taken him shopping for new, warmer clothes before sending him off into Yankee territory.

Gaia, he hoped you could get sweet tea in Maryland.

He gestured to his two suitcases, one carry-on sized, one checked, and his backpack. "This is my stuff."

Re: Trip to Fandom

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"This go anywhere else?" Like maybe Chicago? Please take her all the way to Chicago, Anakin.

"Well, it's a bus, so it can go a lot of places," Anakin said. "I'm driving it to Fandom, though."

"And would I be able to catch a ride from Fandom?" Asking for a friend. A friend who was her.

"Are you not signed up to attend Fandom U?" Anakin asked, consulting his list.

"Maybe?" Doubtful. But she could pretend one of those names was hers just to get moving, right? "What names do you have?"

"Well, Eramus has already been claimed," he said, consulting his clipboard. "So are you Riri or Billie?"

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“Woah! Most impressive robe, sir!”

Was it better or worse that Billie immediately thought of future fashion rather than a bathrobe?

"You are my favorite," Anakin decided immediately.

Billie beamed. “That’s because you haven’t seen my luggage yet,” she told him cheerfully. She gestured to the large collection of road cases. “The airline told me it is most excessive.”

Anakin took a deep breath. "Well. I've seen worse," he said. "We'll make it fit."

“That’s the spirit, bus driver, dude!” Billie cheered. “I’ll start loading it up!”

She could also try introducing herself, but hey, Anakin could at least go with process of elimination.

"I appreciate it, Billie," Anakin said with a smile.

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