#Also I am trying to save for a plane ticket that I gotta order soon and these go TOWARDS THAT and general life living

[stitchy-face]

❄️⚠️ SNOW STORM WATCH IN EFFECT ⚠️❄️

We're approaching the snow day.... but there's still time to line up and try to take me on in a snowball showdown :)

For TOMORROW ONLY you can get a snowball thrown at mach speed at your fursona (I can make an icon version too)

IF YOU want me to pummel your poor fursona or character in the face with snow as hard as possible you can snag a limited slot below!

And stay tuned...because there'll be another stream event tomorrow :)

Check it out HERE > https://ko-fi.com/peripendrake/commissions <

[my-one-love-is-music]

Be My Player 2? Ch. 26

Sorry for the delay in posting, y'all. This chapter has been ready for a few days, but I didn't have a chance to post it over the weekend.

Also on AO3!

“Keith!”

He looked up and found Hunk barreling towards him. Keith grinned and accepted the hug from his friend. “Hey,” he said.

“It’s been so long since we’ve gotten to hang out.”

“I know,” Keith sighed. “I was hoping to spend more time with you guys over break, but…”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Pidge and I had our own stuff going on, too. We went and visited our families and I’m sure you spent some more time with Shiro,” he said with a smirk.

Keith flushed and tugged at the edges of his beanie, his breath fogging in front of him in the cold air. “Yeah…”

They pushed through the doors of their academic building and Keith sighed happily at the warmth.

“What’s that look for?” Hunk asked, pulled him from his thoughts.

“What?” Keith asked.

“That smile,” he said. “You look happy about something.”

Keith bit his lip and stuffed his hands in his pockets despite being out of the cold.

“Keithhhhhh?” Hunk asked, elbowing him in the arm.

“Shiro and I…”

“Yeah?”

“We told each other that we love each other.”

Hunk gasped and grinned. He pulled Keith into a rough hug. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you guys!”

Keith grinned and nodded. “I know. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“This is huge, man. Pidge is going to be so excited.”

“I’m going to be so excited about what?”

They turned and found Pidge grinning behind them. She pulled her hat off her head and shook out her hair.

“I saw you guys and thought I’d stop by and catch up before class,” she said, walking over to them. “Had to sprint across the quad to make it, but what’s it really matter anyway, right? So what’s up?”

“Keith and Shiro said their ‘I love yous,’” Hunk explained.

“That’s great!” she exclaimed, looking up at Keith. “And perfect since you’ll be seeing him again over spring break,” she added with a smirk.

“I know,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

“You’re going to have to buy plane tickets soon though, aren’t you?” she asked.

Keith nodded. “Yeah, I should probably take care of that this weekend. Amidst the new round of shifts and homework that I’m going to get this week.” He sighed.  

“But it’s your last semester. Just remember that,” Hunk said, patting him on the back. “We can have stressed, job hunting parties where we order pizza and do drunk job applications.”

Keith chuckled. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“You can invite the boyfriend, too,” Pidge added. “He can join us over Skype.”

“Sure,” Keith said. “When are you guys free next? We should get started on this as soon as possible.”

Hunk hummed. “Are you good for Friday in two weeks? We could do then.”

Keith furrowed his brow, trying to think over his schedule. “I need to double-cheek my schedule, but I think I should be okay. Once we get our schedules worked out, I can ask Shiro. He should be good for whenever we decide to do it.”

“Cool,” Pidge said with a grin. “We’re all in charge of bringing a bottle of the strongest stuff you want. You can go for whisky, vodka, tequila, I don’t care which. And then we’ll split the cost of the pizza. Keith you can crash on the couch after.”

Keith nodded. “If the night goes how I think it’s going to go, I’m going to need it.”

“Great!” Pidge said. “I gotta get to class. I’ll see you guys later.”

“See you,” Hunk and Keith said. They waved her off as she hurried down the hallway. Keith and Hunk turned to the stairwell and started climbing. When they reached the second floor, Hunk broke off and Keith continued to the third floor where his class was.

Keith pulled out his phone, weaving expertly around other people in the hallway as he approached his classroom. He typed out a quick message to Shiro, smile pulling at his lips even though he hadn’t sent it yet.

Keith: So…in a couple weeks Pidge and Hunk and I are planning to have a night in where we get drunk and submit job applications and wanted to know if you wanted to join us?

He pushed open the door to his classroom and made for his seat in the back. Shiro’s reply came before he managed to sit down.

Shiro: How exactly am I supposed to join you? Fly up there? I wouldn’t mind taking a vacation after the first two weeks of classes.

Keith rolled his eyes.

Keith: You’re not allowed to skip class and come up here. I’m talking about over Skype. We Skype you in while we work on applications.

Shiro: Ahhh, I see. Use the power of technology so it actually seems like I’m there.

Keith: Shut up, Shiro

Shiro: Love you, too, babe

Keith bit his lip, his stomach flipping happily at the words. It still didn’t seem real. And he never got tired of saying it or hearing the sentiment from Shiro. They loved each other, and it was the best thing he could ever ask for.

Shiro: I might see if Lance and Allura want to join in. We could have our party here and your party there.

Keith: Sure. The point is to get drunk and apply for jobs so Hunk and Pidge wouldn’t mind. We already wanted to have you there so it’s no problem. And I’m sure it will be a lot more fun for you so you’re not alone in your apartment.

Shiro: What time should I tell them?

Keith: We’re not sure on the exact details yet. I need to check my work schedule so we’re going to finalize the rest later

Shiro: You should just take the night off so we can definitely make it for then

Keith: Can’t. Gotta make the money. Keith: I need it for when I come see you

Shiro: Only another two months Shiro: God, I can’t wait until I get to see you again.

Keith: Me too.

The door to the classroom was pulled open and Keith looked up to find his professor striding inside.

Keith: Talk later. Prof’s here which means class.

Shiro: Have fun!

Keith grinned and tucked his phone away, pulling out his books.

~~

Keith stared at his computer. He was in his living room with his feet propped up on the coffee table. He’d gone through to update his resume and knew he had all the right information on it, but it still didn’t feel good enough. And he hadn’t even started applying for jobs yet. Now more than ever, he wished that a job could fall from the sky and land in his lap. It would save him a lot of stress and the rejection he knew was coming.

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Whatever. I can worry more about this later.”

He checked the time and saw that it was getting late. He saved his resume and closed out of the document, grabbing his textbook from the coffee table. He leaned back and flipped open to the page of his assigned reading.

If he wasn’t careful, he was going to end up getting behind on his reading and schoolwork and that’s something he couldn’t afford to do. Not when he had work and job applications on the line. He’d come this far and worked his ass off, he wasn’t going to start failing classes when he was almost finished with school.

Keith sat forward, planting his feet on the floor. He rubbed at his eyes to try and clear away his exhaustion and focus on the words in front of him. School was most important, and he couldn’t let it slip, no matter what else he was worried about.

~~

Keith yawned, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Someone looks tired.”

He looked up from the drink he was preparing and saw Kayla had slipped behind the counter without him noticing. He smiled.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Getting back into school has hit hard and I’m trying to balance everything.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I can understand. I’ve got a load of credits this semester and I don’t think any of my professors are going to be taking things easy.”

Keith chuckled. “Yeah. Not to mention job applications.”

“Job applications?” she asked. “Are you leaving?”

“It’s my last semester so I’m going to need a real person job.”

“Oooh,” she said. “I didn’t realize you were getting ready to graduate.”

“Yeah, I’m trying not to stress too much, but I can already feel the pressure of needing to have a job lined up when I graduate.”

“Where are you looking?” she asked as she pulled out a bottle from under the counter.

Keith shrugged. “I haven’t thought about it too much. I guess I’d go somewhere down south. I want to work with a space program, but I’m not sure how easy it would be to get on with NASA.”

Kayla whistled. “Surely there are other groups down there though.”

“A few, I think,” Keith said.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll find something,” she said.

“Yeah…”

Keith stared down at his hands as he worked, keeping mostly to himself.

“You know,” Kayla said, pulling him from his thoughts. “If you needed help with the applications or finding jobs, I wouldn’t mind helping.”

Keith swallowed, grabbing the drink ticket from the server before they could even set it down. “Thanks, but I can handle it. I’m getting together with my friends in a couple weeks and we’re going to do a lot of work on applications and resumes.”

“Oh,” she said behind him. “Well if you need any help, I don’t mind, and it’ll be good experience for when I have to do it later…” she trailed of with a tight laugh.

“Yeah,” Keith said, expertly mixing the drink for the order. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He set it on the tray with the ticket and dumped his mixers into the sink to clean.

“I can do that,” Kayla said, holding out a hand.

“Don’t worry about it. I got it, it’s fine,” Keith said, keeping his head down. He checked a sigh and was ready to kick himself. He wasn’t trying to sound like an asshole, but the turn in the conversation had made him uncomfortable and he really wanted to pull out his phone and call Shiro. He sighed and closed his eyes, slowing his movements so he didn’t splash water over the side of the sink.

He only had a few more months to go before they were going to be together again. It wasn’t that long, and they’d have plenty of fun next weekend doing job applications and getting drunk. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kayla leaning against the counter further away from him. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was staring off to the side.

Keith almost wanted to apologize. He rinsed off his mixers and started drying them.

“Look,” he said, catching Kayla’s attention. She glanced over at him before looking away. “Sorry if I was kind of harsh, I just...I just don’t really the need the extra help is all.”

“I think I should be the one apologizing,” Kayla said. “I shouldn’t have been so pushy.”

Keith shrugged and started putting the mixer pieces away.

“I just thought it might be kind of fun to hang out outside of work.”

“Don’t take it personally,” Keith said, “but I don’t have much time to hang out with my own friends outside of work, let alone anyone else. Most of the time I actually do see them is when we run into each other on campus between classes.”

Kayla nodded. A server walked by and set down a new ticket. Kayla got to it before Keith could and he watched her work, noticing the droop to her shoulders, but if she was already making a second attempt so soon after asking him out the first time, something inside of him knew that this wouldn’t be the last time.

~~

Keith shivered when he stepped inside his apartment. The warmth was a nice change from the freezing temperatures outside and he brushed the snow from his beanie and his jacket. Now that they were in the midst of winter, he knew it wasn’t going to be long before the inches started to accumulate, and he’d have to wade through snow to get to class and work. He toed out of his boots and left them in the entryway. He winced at how much salt and slush he was going to end up dragging inside when the weather really got bad.

He pulled out his phone and sent off a quick message to Shiro.

Keith: I’m so tired. Zzzzz I’m ready for spring break

He tossed his jacket over the back of his desk chair and set the beanie on his desk. He sighed, and landed heavily on the edge of his bad, falling back onto the mattress as sleep tugged at him. His phone vibrated, and he rolled onto his side even though his legs were still hanging over the edge of the bed.

Shiro: I’m ready for you to be here, too. I was gonna ask if you wanted to watch a show or maybe play a round of Voltron tonight, but that’s probably a hard no, isn’t it?

Keith: You have no idea. Getting back into school has been kicking my ass. Not to mention this girl at work….

Shiro: You wanna talk about it?

Keith: She’s just…she’s apparently not one to give up.

Shiro: Isn’t that a good thing?

Keith: When it comes to work? Yes. When it comes to trying to get me to go on a date with her? Hell no.

Shiro: Oh

Keith: Yeah, I told her I was seeing someone, but apparently that’s not enough. Little does she know that I have the hottest boyfriend ever waiting for me in Florida.

Shiro: Keithhhhhh

Keith grinned and chuckled.

Keith: What’s wrong, baby? Are you getting flustered?

Instead of getting a new text message, his phone started ringing. Keith grinned and answered.

“Hello?”

“You’re so mean,” Shiro groaned.

“Am I not allowed to use pet names with you now?” he asked with a laugh. His stress and exhaustion were starting to lighten slightly. He imagined that if Shiro was there with him, his responsibilities wouldn’t seem half as bad as they were.

“No…” he grumbled, sounding like he was burying his face in the pillow.

“Come on, bayyyy-beeee,” Keith cooed.

He heard a muffled noise come over the line and smiled. He closed his eyes and imagined what Shiro looked like. He imagined his cheeks were bright red and he had the bottom half of his face hidden behind a pillow while he held the phone up to his other ear.

God, he missed that man.

“Anyway,” he continued after the silence stretched between them. “How is school for you? You’re probably not having as rough a time as I am.”

“It’s not too bad,” Shiro said, voice light. Keith could see him rolling onto his back to stare up at the ceiling and smiled. “Most of the professors I have this semester have been ones I’ve had before which means less scrutiny when it comes to my arm.”

“Wait…” Keith said. “Do professors give you shit over your prosthetic?” he asked, sitting up.

“Well…I wouldn’t say they give me shit exactly…but they always kind of stare at it during the first few classes until they get used to seeing it. Sometimes they don’t even stop then,” he muttered.

Keith felt anger coil in his gut and frowned. He fell back on his bed with a huff. “When I come down there you should introduce me to anyone who’s giving you shit and I’ll kick their asses.”

“Keith, you don’t need to-“

“I’m serious, Shiro. I’ll fight them on the street. The cowards,” he growled.

Shiro laughed. “Okay, Keith,” he said, softly.

Keith huffed, his anger draining out of him. “Hey,” he said. “If I don’t have too much homework over the weekend, do you feel like gaming or watching a movie or show on Saturday? It would be pretty late, and I know it hasn’t been that long since our last one, but…”

“Sure,” Shiro said. “I’d like that. And next time we’ll have a split party where we get drunk and do job applications,” he said with a snicker.

“Ugh,” he groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“It’ll be okay. You’re cute and smart, and companies would be stupid not to hire you. Isn’t that right, baby?”

Keith smiled and bit his lip. “We’ll have to wait and see, I guess.”

He yawned and placed a hand over his mouth.

“You should get to bed,” Shiro said. “Don’t want you to fall asleep in class and it’s getting pretty late over there.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Keith said, rubbing his eye. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Sure thing. Don’t work too hard and don’t stress too much.”

Keith breathed a laugh. “Okay. Love you, Shiro.”

“I love you, too, Keith,” Shiro said, voice soft.

Keith bit his lip and pulled his phone from his ear, ending the call. He sighed and stood from his bed, grabbing his pajamas so he could change in the bathroom before bed. His dreams were probably going to be filled with images and memories of Shiro again, but he couldn’t really complain when it was just as good as reality. Even if they were separated for the moment.

If you enjoy my work, please reblog or consider buying me a ko-fi!

[tubofskippy]

Hey y’all. I wrote a short play for a class I’m taking. Y’all can read it if you want. It’s a ridiculous drama/comedy.

Character #1  Leroy Murphy, an average middle aged man.

Character #2  Alphonso Iadanza, also a middle aged man, just… not so average. He has a past with Leroy and another past that Leroy has yet to be informed of.

Character #3  Barista, a woman with minimal lines and minimal importance.

Setting: The play takes place in the present, inside of a coffee shop in New York.

Act I, Scene 1

Lights up:

Leroy is seated at a table in a cafe, enjoying a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. Another man, Alphonso, walks in, places an order and takes a seat. He notices Leroy and suddenly becomes extremely nervous. He grabs a newspaper and puts it over his face in an effort not to be seen. He thinks he’s getting away with it too, until his coffee is ready.

BARISTA

(loudly and slowly)

AL…

Leroy’s ears perk up, but he doesn’t tear his eyes from the page. The Barista is squinting, trying to read the terrible handwriting on the cup, while Alphonso gives her the “cut” signal with his hands.

BARISTA (CONT’D)

Al-po-hon-so? Al-phon…

Frustrated, Alphonso throws down the newspaper and walks up to the counter.

ALPHONSO

I GOT IT, thank you.

LEROY

(Turning around)

Alphonso? Alphonso Iadanza?

ALPHONSO

(Pretending to be surprised)

Leroy! What? Fancy meeting you here! How’s life been treatin’ ya?

He opens his arms for a hug, but Leroy remains seated. He puts his hands on his hips instead.

LEROY

Fine. I’ve been, uh, it’s been fine. What are you doing back in New York?

ALPHONSO

I’m visiting my parents.

LEROY

(offended that Al was in NY and wasn’t going to visit him too)

Oh. Your parents.

ALPHONSO

How are your folks doing, by the way?

LEROY

Well, after Nana passed away, they took it pretty rough. But they’re doing good, otherwise.

ALPHONSO

Nana pa–? Oh, that’s too bad, I’m so sorry… for your… for your loss…

Awkward pause.

ALPHONSO

(About to take off with his coffee)

Well, man, it was good seeing ya. Listen I’ll––

LEROY

(With emphasis)

Ten years.

Alphonso sighs as he turns around, stopped in his tracks before he can reach the exit.

LEROY (CONT’D)

You break contact from me for ten years, and just suddenly show up? You’re not getting off that easy.

ALPHONSO

Look, I meant to call, but…

LEROY

No, I know exactly what you meant to do.

ALPHONSO

Leroy, don’t do this. Not here.

LEROY

I called. I sent emails. I wrote letters. Until I figured out that you’d changed your address.

ALPHONSO

Leroy, please.

LEROY (CONT’D)

Where did you go? What are you even doing now? (beat) You could’ve at least sent me a postcard, and hell, I know the shipping cost wouldn’t have been an issue!

ALPHONSO

I know.

LEROY

I thought we were finally becoming close. And what did you do? You took off. As soon as you had what you wanted, you just… left me. In the dust.  

Alphonso knows he will have to fess up, so he takes a seat at the table with Leroy.

LEROY (CONT’D)

We planned our future together!

The Barista picks up the bill on the table.

BARISTA

(To Alphonso)

Hey. Tell your ex here he’s a dollar short.

(To Leroy)

And Tipping ain’t just a city in China.

LEROY

Oh, no, I’m not his ex. If anything, I’m his ex-best friend.

BARISTA

Whatever.

LEROY

You wanna know what he did? You wanna know how this bastard destroyed our friendship?

BARISTA AND ALPHONSO

(In unison)

No.

LEROY

December 16th, 1997. Al bought us a lottery ticket. We agreed that if the ticket was a winner, we would split the money. I took a nickel out of my wallet, scratched the numbers off, and––

BARISTA

Still waiting on you to take about 40 nickels out of your wallet.

LEROY

Right. Sorry.

He pays her.

LEROY (CONT’D)

Anyway, that ticket was worth over a million dollars. We started screaming we were so excited, and I wanted to cash it in right away. But it was late and Alphonso convinced me to do it in the morning. When I woke up, Al was gone. So was the ticket. After calling him about twenty times, I figured the first thing he used it to buy was another ticket. A plane ticket.

BARISTA

Well then, maybe I should’ve asked him for the tip.

She walks away.

LEROY

I was crushed. You crushed me.

ALPHONSO

I’m sorry.

LEROY

Why did you do it, Al?

ALPHONSO

I… I can’t lie to you anymore. You want to know the truth?

LEROY

Yes!

ALPHONSO

I didn’t do it.

LEROY

What?

ALPHONSO

That lottery ticket was fake. I’m not a millionaire.

LEROY

I don’t understand.

ALPHONSO

I used it as an excuse to cover up why I really disappeared. I knew that you would hate me for it, but I would rather have you hate me for taking off with your money than hating me for what I really did.

LEROY

Woah, hold on. What? You mean, you did something worse than that?

ALPHONSO

Yes.

LEROY

How much worse?

ALPHONSO

A lot worse.

LEROY

How could you’ve possibly done something tha–

ALPHONSO

Leroy, I killed your Nana.

LEROY

YOU WHAT?!

BARISTA

Wow, that is NOT the direction I thought that confession was going.

LEROY

(Crying)

They told me she died peacefully in her sleep! How the hell did you––

ALPHONSO

(Also crying)

I shot her in the back with an assault rifle!

LEROY

(Gasp) YOU MONSTER!

ALPHONSO

I know it sounds bad, but please, let me explain––

LEROY

Why would you gun down a poor old woman?!

ALPHONSO

I didn’t mean to!

LEROY

Didn’t mean to?!

ALPHONSO

I wasn’t trying to kill Nana! I mistook her for someone else! It was just that she… she had the same kind of coat on and… it was dark out, ok? I saw her walking up to your doorstep really slowly…

LEROY

SHE’S OLD AND FRAIL, OF COURSE SHE WAS WALKING SLOWLY!

ALPHONSO

I know! I’m sorry! I was scared, and it seemed sketchy to me!

LEROY

So you just whipped out AN ASSAULT RIFLE you just HAPPENED to have with you that night and BLEW HER AWAY?

ALPHONSO

Oh god. I know what it sounds like, but––

LEROY

Even if you didn’t kill my grandmother on purpose, you were still trying to kill SOMEBODY! WHY, ALPHONSO?

ALPHONSO

I was protecting you, Leroy!

LEROY

Protecting me? From what?!

ALPHONSO

I was trying to take out your assassin before he got to you.

LEROY

(In utter disbelief)

Really. My assassin.

ALPHONSO

They were gonna kill you, Leroy, you can’t blame me for being a bit jumpy!

LEROY

If you’re jumpy, you shouldn’t own an assault rifle!!!

ALPHONSO

I’m serious Leroy! I wasn’t just going to let them take you down!

LEROY

You mean to tell me that SOMEONE WAS OUT TO KILL ME WITHOUT ME KNOWING IT?

ALPHONSO

Yes.

LEROY

(Groans and rubs his face)

Well couldn’t you‘ve just kept it that way?!

ALPHONSO

What do you mean?

LEROY

I would’ve been perfectly happy just goin’ on thinking of you as the asshole who ran off with my lottery ticket. I was doing fine this morning. Got out of bed, kissed my wife. Suddenly you show up, out of the blue, and you decide to hit me with all of this now? NOW, AL? I JUST WANTED A CUP OF COFFEE. And now I gotta see life through a whole new perspective!

ALPHONSO

You’re going to hate me for this, but…

LEROY

For what? I already hate you.

ALPHONSO

(Apologetically)

There’s more.

LEROY

There’s MORE? What do you mean there’s more! How could things POSSIBLY get any worse?!

Leroy nervously downs his coffee.

ALPHONSO

I hired that assassin.

Leroy spits it out in shock.

ALPHONSO (CONT’D)

Haha! I’m just kidding.

LEROY

You mean… you mean all of this was a prank? Oh thank god.

ALPHONSO

Oh, no. Only that last part. I was just messin’ with ya.

LEROY

Huh?

ALPHONSO

I would never hire a guy to shoot you, you know that.

LEROY

(Fuming)

Really Al? Do you think now is a good time to be “messing” with me? Is this FUNNY to you?! What else have you told me that was just for LAUGHS?

ALPHONSO

I’m sorry. Everything else I’ve told you up to this point is the complete and honest truth. I wish it wasn’t, but it is. I didn’t hire your assassin, but I really was trying to take him out.

LEROY

Jesus Christ. Wait, what do you mean “trying to?” Did you get him?

ALPHONSO

I don’t know, Leroy, you tell me! Were you assassinated?

LEROY

Ok, calm down, maybe… (umbling) Maybe he was a really bad assassin and couldn’t find me, I don’t know.  HOLD ON. You never told me why someone was sent to assassinate me. Why would anyone want to kill ME of all people?

ALPHONSO

Do you remember the Italian restaurant down on 45th street?

LEROY

Yeah, I remember when you worked there, that’s… that’s where I met you.

ALPHONSO

Yeah, well, the day we met, I swiped quite a bit of cash from the safe. I had to put my daughter through college.

LEROY

Wait, you have a daughter?

ALPHONSO

Yeah, but that’s not important! Turns out... the restaurant was owned by the mafia.

LEROY

The mafia?! Oh god. Oh jeez. Oh man. What else don’t I know about you, Al? I bet Alphonso isn’t even your real name!

ALPHONSO

It’s not. The only reason they trusted me was because I had my name legally changed to Alphonso Iadanza before I applied for the job. (starting to cry) I’m not even Italian, man! I’m Irish!

LEROY

Wait, wait wait! How does this explain why an assassin was out to kill ME?

ALPHONSO

Well, the boss noticed that the money was gone, and he started gettin’ real mad. I was scared for my life, so I pinned it on you.

LEROY

YOU PI-- (screams in frustration) SO you decided to put MY life in danger? An innocent bystander! How could you do this to me, Al? I thought we were friends!

ALPHONSO

That was the day we met, we weren’t friends at the time! I looked at you and saw this meekish lookin’ guy… didn’t have much going for him, I figured I’d never see him again!

LEROY

Meekish..?

ALPHONSO

And then we both got involved in those cooking classes, and you turned out to be a nice guy! I felt horrible for what I did. Hell, I’ve never had a friend as nice as you!

LEROY

And I can’t believe I befriended a person like YOU! You put my life in Jeopardy, you--

ALPHONSO

Hey, I saved your life!

LEROY

YOU KILLED MY NANA!

ALPHONSO

SHH, keep your voice down! (beat) I know what I did is inexcusable. But may I just say, from the bottom of my heart… I apologize.

LEROY

No. Don’t do this to me.

ALPHONSO

I am so sorry. Really. How can I make this up to you? Uh... here. (he pulls out his wallet.) Let me pay for your coffee.

LEROY

Really? For 10 years you let me believe that you deserted me and took off with my lottery money, when in actuality, you killed my Nana in the process of hunting down my assassin who was sent to kill me, after you pinned stealing mob money on me the day we met, and you wanna buy me a coffee?

ALPHONSO

(Nonchalantly)

Yeah. Please, it’s the least I could do.

LEROY

No, Alphonso—or whatever your Irish name is—I think you’ve done enough.

Leroy stands up, pushes his seat in, and heads for the door.

ALPHONSO

Eoghan.

LEROY

I beg your pardon?

ALPHONSO

My real name is Eoghan. Eoghan Donaghue.

LEROY (CONT’D)

(beat)

Tell your daughter hi for me. And never talk to me again.

Leroy exits. The Barista starts clapping, as if she has just seen a show like you and me.

Lights down.

[twistednuns]

April 2020

Let's get started this month with my list of quarantine activities. You know what is so beautiful about this whole situation? I have relearned how to play. I got my urge to be creative back. I'll follow any urge and interest because why not? It's not unlike how a child would spend their day. I have so many new projects and even though I feel like I don't really accomplish anything these days I actually do so much. My balcony is lush and green, the first seedlings have sprouted and found their way towards the light. Like a little garden. I am cooking and baking almost every day, trying new and exciting recipes. I draw and make collages, I got a new carving knife and I love sitting in the afternoon sun on the balcony, making a mess, working on my little wooden bird. I found happiness. Stillness. I'm good at being on my own. There is no pressure - only freedom. I'm so scared this feeling will go away again as soon as I have to go back to work.

Mushrooms.

An iridescent nail polish called Mermaid Fantasy. The 90s are back.

Cherry-flavoured diet coke (man, I LOVE artificial cherry flavour). Peppermint tea with milk.

Finding out that I have the same sun sign (Taurus), moon sign (Gemini) and ascendant (Virgo) as Sophia!

Losing my feeling for time. Only knowing what day it is when I take my vitamins in the morning (the weekdays are printed on the lids). Daylight saving is a bitch as well.

Eliot kissing Charlton in the very last episode of The Magicians. I'm so hot for Hale Appleman.

The BA test kitchen staff filming videos of themselves working from home.

Gerstaecker (resin!) and Amazon (raised bed planter!) orders getting way out of hand. But hey. I won't be able to spend my money on plane tickets so I gotta have the right supplies for some fun stay-at-home projects.

Sunset hour = rainbow hour because of the crystals I finally hung up over the balcony door.

The forest. I feel so at ease there. The colours, the light, the smell, the quietude. I have one right behind my house, I should really take a walk there more often. Walking on the soft, almost bouncy forest floor makes such a difference. I usually walk on asphalt all day - hard, cold, unforgiving. I cut some twigs with budding green leaves for my kitchen. And I spotted a cat in an alley - I actually turned around on my bike just to watch it more closely.

The word nohow - is that the opposite of somehow?

All those birdies visiting my balcony (now that there are interesting nesting materials and seeds to be stolen). I love how snatchily they keep turning their heads, it looks a little bit like a laggy glitch in a computer game.

Duolingo's story feature! You read and listen to little short stories (or longer ones - yesterday I read The Tell-Tale Heart in Spanish) and answer questions. So much more fun than those boring translations. So far I've only seen this feature in the English-Spanish course.

Smelling of honey after roasting a batch of homemade granola.

Thai curry. I still know how to make it. It's been a while.

"And Ally loved contradictions." Lena Dunham's novel Verified Strangers - she publishes a chapter every weekday on Vogue.com and the readers get to decide how the story goes on. She says a romance novel is the best way to distract people from the horrible reality these days.

Listening to Marienova's community podcast before falling asleep.

Watching Studio Ghibli movies for the first time ever. I LOVE them all so much, believe the hype! Super magical. I think Spirited Away might be my favourite so far but man, Howl's Moving Castle? Princess Mononoke? I really can't decide. I absolutely adore the tiny creatures the keep featuring like the soot sprites (Susuwatari) or the tree spirits (Kodama). Oh, and half way into Spirited Away I realised that Yubaba's German voice is Nina Hagen!!!

A really lovely letter from Lena.

Deciding to go out. Sitting down at the edge of a field, enjoying the late afternoon glow shortly before sunset. I make an effort to leave the house every day now during quarantine and it has been so good for me. The morning walk to Neuried, having breakfast in the sunshine, my visits to the forest. I love reconnecting with nature. It's such a big difference compared to my usual ways around the city - subway, asphalt, traffic.

An Easter walk through the forest with Adrian. Human contact! Gasp!

Wearing make-up for the first time in weeks. I love how it makes me look but perhaps I could start wearing it less when all this is over.

Applying my favourite Garnier sun oil on my arms just because of the smell. It reminds me of summer, the beach, time with friends.

An evening walk: almost stumbling over toads three times on a forest path / meeting a friendly black and white cat in front of one of my favourite houses / seeing the plushy toy penguins lined up on a shelf in the supermarket window. Walking past back gardens. A party, people in a whirlpool. Chalk graffiti on a lamp post. Venus shining bright.

The Virtual Orchestra makes me cry.

Playing a magical online escape game with Frank.

A break from FOMO. This phase we're going through is such a gift for me but I know I'm in a very privileged position.

Easter Monday was extremely cold but I really wanted to go to the forest so I went anyway. I love being alone in there, avoiding people whenever possible, taking the small, unbeaten paths. It was windy. I hugged a few trees and when I put my ear onto the trunk I could hear deep moaning noises because the wind made the crowns sway and the wood had to adjust. Eerie. I had never heard that before or maybe I just didn't pay enough attention.

Regularly thanking past me for being so clever and considerate, for thinking of everything and preparing accordingly. I love my new hands-on approach, it really serves me well.

Learning about Japanese pavement markings (oudanhodou ari) since I had always wondered what those diamond-shaped markings on the road meant.

Using a leaf care spray on my house plants. So shiny!

Talking to my neighbors. Learning that they're calling the big red cat that keeps walking through our backyard Garfield (I have a different name for him). They also saved me when my apartment door fell shut and gave me a ladder so I could break into my own flat by climbing on the balcony. Oh and Franky gave me his power drill because I needed to drill a hole in the balcony ceiling. More plant hangers! A project for next week: Makramee! I both hate drilling (scary, messy, have I mentioned scary?!) and love it (because it makes me feel like a feminist badass).

The smell of sunflower seed bread and sticky walnut cinnamon buns in the whole apartment.

Love in times of Corona. I'm so happy to be alone right now. I've stopped searching. I am enough.

Working with warm yeast dough.

That day I went to the forest with Manu. He arrived in my backyard and simply said Let's Romeo and Juliet this! (Doch still, was schimmert durch das Fenster dort? Es ist der Ost, und Julia die Sonne!) because he didn't want to come inside. We also tried the Rapunzel-method when I let my hair down to make him climb up the balcony but that obviously didn't work. On our way to the forest we found a plant garage sale and I couldn't resist, I took three pots and donated some money. Manu said that it was one of those moments when I get shiny eyes because I'm so happy or joyful. When we sat down in the nest made from branches a lady approached us after a while and asked us to help her friend who had fallen down. Those things only happen when Manu is with me, I swear.

Peeling a melon in one go without breaking the peel.

The mason bee makes its nest from flower petals.

Buttermilk.

Louise Bourgeois getting her fears under control.

[canaryatlaw]

ok, long but good day. woke up to my alarm at 7:45, got up and got dressed, stuck the last of my toiletries in my suitcase and got an uber to the airport. Got there about 8:45, which was my goal time, so I was happy about that. got through security no problem, something I was like low key nervous about because I had originally thought the Real ID law going into effect meant I needed an enhanced driver’s license to use as ID, but I did a bunch of online research and knew that wasn’t the case, but was still a little worried about lol. I walk to my gate, which is allllll the way at the very end of the terminal. there’s a starbucks there, so I order a breakfast sandwich and a drink. I keep making the mistake of thinking that if a drink is on the app’s mobile ordering menu the barista will know how to make it, when that is clearly not the case. I asked for a “violet drink” which is the equivalent of “pink drink” but made with the berry hibiscus refresher instead of the strawberry acai refresher. but the cashier didn’t know what I was talking about so I just ended up with a normal berry hibiscus refresher 🤷🏻‍♀️ oh well. I sat for a while and used the free wifi while charging my phone on the conveniently located outlets, and in not too long they were boarding. My zone gets called, I swipe my boarding pass on my phone, and the lady is like “you’re good- oh wait no you’re not” because the machine was saying there was something wrong with my boarding pass and she was like “are you on standby?” and I was like....no....I bought this ticket a month ago I’m not on fucking standby. so she has me come around to the front of the desk and wait while she gets other people on the plane, where there are apparently other people waiting who also had boarding pass issues. At this point I’m fairly ticked off, and if I somehow don’t get on that plane I’m mentally planning what I can threaten to sue them over (clearly breach of contract, they made false promises that I relied upon to my detriment and I should be able to collect damages for the ticket prices and waste of my time), but then she types some things into the computer and gives me a paper boarding pass with a different seat number (which was exactly 5 rows in front of my original one). So I’m just like hey whatever, I don’t really care, just let me get on the plane, and if I don’t have to threaten to sue anybody than that’s good. So I boarded and got settled, opened the in flight magazine to see what sudoku they had going, they had easy and hard kenken puzzles, both of which I completed before the plane even pulled away from the gate 😂 (hashtag expert status) and I made pretty fast work of the easy sudoku puzzle before pulling out my phone and reading some fanfic I put on there forever, and then I was gonna start the stuff I loaded on it last night, but ended up wanting to reread one of Jess’ longer fics, and that pretty much took the rest of the time of the flight, lol. We landed at 1:30 NY time, I get off the plane and get my bag just fine, I’m texting my mom about where to meet her and I literally walk out of the airport just to see my mom driving by and I’m like, waving furiously trying to get her attention but NOPE she just keeps driving and I’m just like DAMMIT because if you’re familiar with laguardia airport you know they’re currently doing a massive construction project that has been making everyone’s life hell, so she had to do another full loop around to get back to where I was, which took another like, 15 minutes. So I finally get in the car and we start the drive home, my mom randomly pulls off the highway to this little town in search of somewhere she can get a green tea latte (which is apparently her thing now) and we end up in this adorable little place that’s billed as a coffee and ice cream shop but has a whole lot of interesting food options like fancy grilled cheeses and an assortment of belgian waffle flavors. And if you know me you know I’m obsessed with well-made belgian waffles, so I got a “churro” flavored one which was made with cinnamon in the batter, then topped with cinnamon sugar and vanilla ice cream, and damn I was pretty much in heaven. so we go back to the car and finish the drive home, pretty soon after we get there my mom has to take my sister to her therapy appointment (apparently she’s doing much better now than earlier in the year and my parents are very happy about it) so I was mostly alone and just did stuff on my computer for a while. eventually people returned and we decided to order pizza for dinner because my mom hadn’t been to the store and didn’t have anything to bake, so I called that in and the delivery guy came, and there was a very awkward exchange during which I was just standing there with the door open holding the collar of our golden retriever so he didn’t go run and jump on the delivery guy (he’s totally harmless, but he’s rather big and I know some people would not appreciate being jumped on) while my mom went upstairs to get money out of the sock (where my parents stash their cash) to pay for the pizza lol. But we got the pizza and paid for it successfully, and I put my piece under the broiler for a few minutes so the cheese gets nice and crispy and I’m in pizza heaven. dad comes home pretty soon and my mom pulls out some anchovies she was apparently saving for him (my favorite topping combo is pepperoni and anchovies, but I can’t really have pepperoni now so it just ends up being anchovies) so I had my second piece with them and it was very enjoyable. After dinner we just kind of chilled, me still on my laptop and the parents watching HGTV or whatever while the other siblings kind of milled about, and that ended up being out it for the night. we figured out train schedules to get me to the city tomorrow, the interview is at 11 and it’s about a 20 minute subway ride from penn station, so I’m gonna take the 8:30 train that gets in at 9:56 so I’ll surely have enough time to get there, even if everything goes haywire and I end up having to just hop in a cab or an uber (I’ve successfully navigated New York’s subway system before, once you’ve mastered one you can really figure out all of them, so I don’t expect anything to go wrong). the interview is supposed to last a little over an hour, and then I can take the train back home. It’s still been on my mind all day about whether it’s a job I want to take or not (assuming I get offered the job of course) and as much as it pains me to admit it because I’ve really, really liked my life in Chicago lately, I know this is the best opportunity for me and it’d be foolish not to take it when I don’t have any other possible offers or even interviews for any other job period, much less any job that actually deals with children. and like, I could make a job in a similar field like domestic violence work for a few years, but my heart wouldn't be in it (I mean, for DV in particular it is a cause I’m very much invested in so I would have my heart in it, but not the same way it’d be when it comes to kids where I really want to be) and it’d just be passing time until I can get hired at a job with kids. Right now I’m not crazy about the idea of being close to my family, even though they obviously REALLY want me back, and at one point in the past year I was convinced that it’s what I wanted to do and I probably accidentally got their hopes up on it, something has shifted, I don’t know what, but I’m not quite in that frame of mind anymore. I guess part of it is realizing that if I took this job in the city I don’t really have a group of friends there and I’m scared about being lonely, especially when my friend situation has been so great lately. So I don’t know. I think if it gets offered I’ll probably feel obliged to take it, but then I just have this overwhelming sense of foreboding of my time in Illinois and my time living this awesome life I’ve been living is going to be over, and like, that really sucks. But that’s about all I gotta say on that subject. Another thing worth noting that happened today though was I convinced my parents to pay, as my birthday gift, for me and Jess to go to Collective Con in Florida the weekend right before my birthday, because Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford are going to be there and we *obviously* need to take advantage of this and be able to experience seeing them as a couple outside of the show. I was pretty sure I could get my dad to go for it if I framed it right, so I looked up flights to make sure I got the absolute best prices (which were unfortunately still like $500 a pop, but there were ones that were much worse) and identified an airbnb and convention passes to give him a final number because I know that he’s more likely to approve stuff like that if I frame it the right way. So that’s gonna be coming up at the end of the month and I am SUPER psyched about that, we’re gonna fly out Friday morning and come back Monday morning, which is my birthday, and also the night “I, Ava” airs, then in two weeks we have C2E2 and HVFF Chicago, so it’s basically gonna be the best time ever and hopefully I won’t start flunking all of my classes because of it. But yeah, that was mostly my day. Hopefully tomorrow will go well. I’m always trying to think of questions to ask them because I know in job interviews they want you to have questions, but I always end up defaulting to like “what’s your favorite part about working here?” which I feel is kinda lame, so if any of you have ideas on that front, please hit me up with them by tomorrow morning lol. It’s almost 1:30 am now though and I have to be up at 7, so it is definitely time for me to go to bed. Goodnight my lovelies. Happy Friday.