the view from the afternoon [pixie]

[nathan]

WHEEL IN THE SKY KEEPS ON TURNIN'
I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'LL BE TOMORROW

challengetheRIDDLER: See you soon. Nathan left the chat window open, awaiting some sort of message before flipping the Macbook Pro shut. Pretty.ODD.: Oh yeah, we'll see, all right. See ya there, sweety. xD. He smiled, putting the laptop aside as he got out of his bed. He was already wearing his surfer shorts, a garment he practically lived in (not the same 24/7, mind you), but he put on a t-shirt as he crossed the floor of his apartment. Stopping by the window in the living room, he could see the beach was full of sun-happy people, and according to the newspaper, the tide would turn soon, hopefully bringing a few good waves along with it. Eyeing the area around the couch, he tried his very best to ignore the mess he’d made over the last couple of days. One could tell he wasn’t one for picking up after himself, judging by the clutter all around. One of these days, he told himself. At least one big cleaning was less tedious than a constant one.

Grabbing a few bottles of water from the fridge, he stuffed them into a bag along with a large towel he got from the bathroom and some extra dry clothes. After almost forgetting his wallet, turning the place upside down looking for his car keys and getting the doormat stuck in the door while attempting to close it, Nathan was on his way down the stairs. ”Fucking…”He’d been out earlier with his car, so the top was still off. He had not, however, thought of the possibility of bird droppings. Smack in the middle of the passenger’s seat, some seagull had left behind a message. Turning off the alarm, he leaned in to open the dashboard, reaching for a napkin to clean the shit off the beige, leather seat. Luckily it had not gone dry yet, so it came off easily. Getting in behind the wheel, the blue Jaguar sped down the street.

But you're looking good, baby, I believe you're feeling fine (shame about it). Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes. I woke up this morning... The Sopranos theme song played its melody from the speakers, and he loved the dark bass of it. He actually drove the long way around just for the sake of listening to the entire song as he figured he had some extra time on his hands, not supposed to Pixie for a few minutes still. The song ended, replaced by the Italian ‘Certamente’ by Madreblu. It was then he figured he’d left the Sopranos mix tape he’d made in the cd player. Slowing down a little bit, he reached into the bag he’d placed where the bird shit previously had been, fishing out a bottle of water while it was still cold.

Up ahead he could see the library, but he took his time getting there, dodging an old lady every now and then. He pulled up close to the entrance, spotting his friend by the door. With a smile, Nathan got out, walking up to her as he closed the car pressing the little button on his set of keys over his shoulder. ”Hey you.” he said, giving her a hug. ”Don’t go screaming just for the sake of it once inside, alright?” he joked.

-- Pixie

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[mari]

i wasn't born to be a skeleton

[[ x ]] Tediously logging off of the ancient desktop computer (which groaned every time she even attempted to do anything at all with it) Pixie glared at the nearly useless machine, giving it a whack on its side as she jumped up from the chair. Many people didn't treat machines the way she did - yet there was a part of her that solidly believed that those stupid things had personalities, and they were slow and ridiculous just to tick her off, and when she went mad and started yelling at them, they were silently laughing.
Does that sound crazy to you?
Pixie wasn't exactly sure what to wear - she knew they were headed to the library (for who knows what reason - she hated libraries) but there could be a slight chance that they would head to the beach, maybe. Possibly. And so she settled on putting on a bathing suit underneath her blouse and jeans - just in case. If it came to that - seeing who was the supreme surfer (which was her, she was sure) well. at least she would be prepared. Propping a hat at the top of her head, she climbed into her little Chevy Impala - she hated the car, actually. Sometimes it died or made ugly noises when she used her brakes; it had a few little cracks in the windshield, and its paint was peeling. Basically, it was a piece of crap. Well, at least she had something to take her from point a to point b.


[[ x ]] Pixie chugged up the road, hoping that her car wouldn't die at every stoplight, fussing with the radio which had horrible reception anyway, and she sighed. For some reason, she didn't feel like getting out. She really didn't feel like plastering a smile on her face and parading around like she had no cares in the world. She knew she had bills to pay - instead of wasting gas running around town she knew she should have been figuring up tax payments or seeing if there were any temporary one-day jobs she could be doing.
On the other hand, none of those things were pleasant to even think about.
She did need a day to just hang out with a friend; after all the only time they had had to talk was at work and the occasional IM chat, but it wasn't enough. Years of not keeping in touch had taken their toll, and Pixie wanted her best friend back. Just as those thoughts crossed her mind, and she began to accelerate as the light turned green, the oh-too familiar sound of the car gasping and shuddering until it died invaded her hearing. "No! Damn it!" She shrieked, ramming her hand against the steering wheel multiple times. Luckily, no one was waiting behind her; this street was usually quiet. She glared at the dash board, at the radio, which almost looked like a toothy grin. "You're laughing at me, aren't you?" she huffed, opening the door with a grunt. Popping the hood, she stared into the unfamiliar, twisted pieces of metal, becoming more distressed each minute. Finally, she gave up. Taking the keys from the ignition, her purse from the passenger seat, and making sure to lock the doors, she began to walk the last few blocks to the library. Good thing she'd left a little early. Well, you have to make those precautions, when your car threatens to break down every five minutes.


[[ x ]] Pixie arrived a few minutes after she had planned to be there, and she didn't see Nathan or his car anywhere, so she simply leaned against one of the pillars to the main entrance, perfectly cool and at ease (thank goodness she was in shape) peering quizzically at her nails in the harsh sunlight. ”Hey you.” A familiar voice said, and she grinned, peering up into Nathan's face, returning the hey-glad-to-see-you hug that he gave her. ”Don’t go screaming just for the sake of it once inside, alright?” She snickered at that, raising one pencil-thin eyebrow at his sarcasm. "I'll do my best - no promises, though." She grinned, winking subtly. They entered the library, and she couldn't keep a grimace from spreading over her face. "Why are you here anyway?" She grumbled, not bothering to keep her voice anywhere near library-quiet level. "The library's no fun, they don't like it when people talk above a whisper. And I really can't whisper." She raised her eyebrows at the librarian, who was steadily glaring at her, feeling an impulse to stick out her tongue. She glanced at Nathan, her expression quickly changing to innocence. "What?" She grinned, "I'm not screaming, at least."

---

COMPLETE.

[nathan]

LIGHT UP, LIGHT UP
AS IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE
EVEN IF YOU CANNOT HEAR MY VOICE
I'LL BE RIGHT BESIDE YOU DEAR

As the embrace ended, Nathan looked into his friend’s too familiar eyes. "I'll do my best - no promises, though." A grin formed on his lips – he’d been waiting for that. "Why are you here anyway? The library's no fun, they don't like it when people talk above a whisper. And I really can't whisper." she complained as they walked through the doors, much to the dismay of the librarian by the front desk. “I finished with ‘Watership Down’ last weekend. I need a new one. I’ve got my eyes set on ‘The Road’, I don’t know, I heard someone talking about it the other day. You know I only buy my books after I know if I like them or not. Only the bet one in my collection, eh?” he explained, forgetting to whisper as Pixie hadn’t lowered her voice either. The librarian glared, looking as if she was about to say something.

However, Pixie beat her to it. "What? I'm not screaming, at least." Nathan snickered, finding the sign on top of the shelves that read “novels”. A, D, G, L, M. M – McAllister, McCarthy. Cormac McCarthy. No country for old men. He took out the book, looking at the cover. It was the old cover, obviously, but now he knew where he’d heard the name before some woman had mentioned it at the café yesterday. He had not seen the screenplay, but at least he’d heard about it. Putting it back, he took out a copy of ‘The Road’ instead. “Done.” he announced, not wanting to let his library – claustrophobic friend wait for too long. The same librarian sat there as they returned to the desk, and she eyes them for a second before registering the book. “Your card?” she asked. Nathan gave it to her, and she punched in that one as well.

“You know, you should really pick up reading.” he told Pixie once outside. He really didn’t seem like the type himself, but he loved how he could get totally lost in a story, not reading the words but exploring a new world without ever really seeing the text. He was there, among the characters, seeing what they saw instead of that was actually right in front of him – black letters on a white background. He knew, however, that to Pixie, reading was like for a person who’s afraid of water to dive with sharks, the water being the library in her case. To begin with, he’d hated books. They were boring, and it took way too long to get through them. He had better things to do with his time, like basketball. Now, however, he didn’t. For the first time in his life, he had too much time on his hands, and every now and then it drove him insane.

Looking up, he scanned the cars parked outside the library. His own blue Jaguar was there, but he could not see his friend’s rusty wreck anywhere. Nathan smirked. He loved that old car, with its couching engine the paint falling off. It was the most ugly car out there, but it was quite charming, like an old lady you knew was a bombshell once upon a time. You knew class when you saw it. “Where’s your car, anyway?” he asked, halting as stepped onto the sidewalk. He pretty much assumed she had not walked all the way up here – even he didn’t do that.