loligiary | Tea with the Queen

Superheroing was great for the soul but didn't pay the bills. Genevieve subsidized her hobby and her rent payments through working the late shift at a coffee shop. Her coworkers were a relatively ordinary mix--some went out of their way to be kind and chatty, some had a chip on their shoulder, most regarded her with an apathy that was often a relief when she needed to be alone with her thoughts and the blender. The need to focus on each coffee-related task and complete it with practiced motions was soothing and kept her from wobbling in indecision. Some days were easier than others. Some days stress threatened to eat her alive.

The Queen helped with that, but you couldn't bring the Queen to work with you...and of course there was the problem of Jervis.

Genevieve heard the voice of a coffee order as she wiped down the spout of the latte machine. She turned and saw no one, and went back to work. Late night, must be hearing things. She was short, for any gender, and occasionally had to get up on a step stool to reach the spare beans and milk stored in the hidden cabinets behind the menu boards. Seeing particularly small people over the height of the counter was even more troublesome.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

not_a_doll

"Nice name. I like it." Mary always did like those fancy names. "Better than just plan Mary at least." Technically she was Marion, but that wasn't much better.

She sipped her coffee. "So how long have you worked at the coffee place?" That was an ice breaker, right?

From:

welcomequeenalice

"Here, about eight months. Two years at Starbucks--it's a little friendlier here." Her current place was an independent shop, the kind that permitted tattoos and lavender mohawks. A more comfortable place to be out.

From:

not_a_doll

"Yeah, I like these smaller places. Just feels less...corporate." It reminded her of all those coffee houses in movies.

"Was coffee as a career your first choice?" Wait, was that rude? "If you don't mind me asking. I know my first choice was not what I am now doing." Which is what? Sitting in coffee shops and picking up girls? Apparently.

From:

welcomequeenalice

"Oh! No, not my first choice. What about you, what did you do?" Time to divert the conversation away from horrible life-ruining choices.

From:

not_a_doll

Mary could tell someone was diverting, but that's ok, she did the same thing. Only now, she had to answer that one. "Well...I was an actress." Was this girl for real? She didn't know she used to be on tv? "Had my own show and all...You don't recognize me?" That was a little disheartening.

From:

welcomequeenalice

Eep. This wasn't the first time pop culture fail had damaged her social standing. Her workmates were always enthused over new developments on Netflix or the newest reality television show and she was quite left out in the cold by it. Genevieve's steps became smaller and slower. "I'm sorry, I don't watch television very much. Mostly I read. What was it called?"

From:

not_a_doll

Mary thought her fame was everlasting, but this was yet another indication that it was not. That not every one cared who she was. It made her feel very small.

"It was a sitcom. It's not important. Most people hassle me for it..." And she didn't understand why it made her feel so down that this one person didn't know about it. "I tried to be a stage actress after I left it...but that didn't work out." And now she was going to have to do something that she never in her life thought she'd be lowered to doing.

From:

welcomequeenalice

"Why would they hassle you for it?" asks Genevieve, looking concerned. She'll have to google Mary Dahl later, find out what she'd been doing. Then she could be more educated. (And a creeper.)

From:

not_a_doll

Mary shrugged. "Some people believe you should act like the character you played on tv, all the time. For their amusement. I guess they think they can." No one ever asked her costars to do their shtick out in the street. Probably cause no one cared about those slobs, Mary thought ruefully.

"Anyway, it's not important...suffice to say acting is hard when you're...me."

From:

welcomequeenalice

"What kind of acting do you usually do?" Mayday mayday we are in dangerous territory with no idea how to pull the conversation back to safer ground.

From:

not_a_doll

"Well...I like Shakespeare a lot...but I failed horribly at it." Mary tried to take the tenseness out of her voice. "You just can't get a fair shake in this town if you're small..." Gen probably knew all about that.

"Of course, this town and I have some issues as it is. It's why I moved away originally. But, I guess you can't escape."

From:

welcomequeenalice

"What made you come back?" Genevieve asked, voice growing quieter as each question threatened to make her new conversation partner more upset?

From:

not_a_doll

Mary hesitated a moment, chewing her bottom lip. "Well...I guess." She paused. "I guess I just couldn't stay away!" She smiled brightly, her eyes slightly glassy. "Have you lived in Gotham long?"

From:

darkcrusader

A smile, good, we are doing good at social interaction yes good. "For some decades now, though I'm actually originally from Cambridge in England." She'd been an ex-pat most of her life and had only the vestiges of a British accent left to her. "It's quite an intense city, I know."

From:

welcomequeenalice

From:

not_a_doll

Yes, interaction is working. At least they were still talking and Mary hadn't burst into tears. It was a miracle. "Wow. Still got the cute accent though." A quick glance and then Mary continued. "I've always wanted to go. Never been out of the US though." She sighed.

"Yeah. It is. In more ways than one."

From:

welcomequeenalice

She'd really wanted to go, back when it had all gone wrong. Run back to the place brightly lit by childhood nostalgia, where no one knew her name or her face. But she'd been too depressed to move, and by the time she'd fought her way out of the pit she'd found things in Gotham to be attached to again.

"It's a nice city, I think." As they approach the cluster of trees huddled at the edge of the park Genevieve begins to talk about her hometown. The ivy-covered university buildings where her father worked, the river Cam winding under bridges and strewn with tourists trying desperately not to fall out of their punts, the cobblestones of the streets and sidewalks.

From:

not_a_doll

"Gotham or Cambridge?" As Gen described her home town it was hard to believe that any one would want to leave that for this place.

"I've lived in Gotham all my life and I could never describe it the way you painted that picture. You must be a writer, right?" Those coffee shop folk always did something artsy, right?

From:

welcomequeenalice

Now Genevieve gives her an honest, proper smile. "No, no, I'm hardly a writer. I just do a lot of reading." Though little of it is Serious Literature. She enjoys light things, childish things--things with happy endings where no one is sad for long or hurt in any meaningful way, which seem to never be the topics that are considered cultured literature for cultured folk.

From:

not_a_doll

"Well, they do say the best writers are readers. But I don't know much about that." Mary smiled, a bit brighter. She was glad to see her new friend was feeling a bit more comfortable.

From:

welcomequeenalice

Genevieve laughs. "What books do you, like then?" Please tell her that she wasn't blushing, please please please. They passed by the duck pond, where the sunset was glittering off the ripples in the water and throwing the trees into stark black silhouettes.

From:

not_a_doll

Mary had a to think a minute. "Well, I don't read much. But when I do it's...well, you'll probably think it's stupid. But I read a lot of romance novels. And Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare." She giggled. "I sometimes even act out of the scenes." She blushed, she did that with most things she read. Including romance novels. "I guess that's sort of silly..."

From:

welcomequeenalice

Genevieve shakes her head emphatically. "No, no, it makes sense! I've done that with books I like too." A lot. Compulsively. For therapy and occasionally justice. "It's fun. You want to pretend you're part of that world, just for a bit. Right?"

From:

not_a_doll

Mary nodded. "Yeah...though sometimes I do it as a confidence boost. Playing someone else, you know? I used to be so confident when I was on tv..." She sighed. "But hey, I spoke to someone new today. That is an achievement."

From:

welcomequeenalice

Genevieve makes a note to google up Mary Dahl when she gets home, possibly to later do a 'oh, NOW I remember, it's just been so long' as she pretended she'd indeed seen the show. Maybe Waylon would know something about it, he was far more into pop culture than she was.

"I like playacting from books because you'll know what will happen. Usually. You know it'll be all right in the end."