18180/A Day in the Sun

A Day in the Sun
Date of Scene:	04 June 2024
Location:	Atlantic City - New Jersey
Synopsis:	April and Rhona visit the beach and chat.
Cast of Characters:	April O'Neil, Rhona Lauren

---

April O'Neil has posed:
It's a beautiful day to be on a beach. High 80s, no wind, calm waves. April has decided that today is the day she's going to get out of the city and finally work on her tan. And read a book. And maybe get to know her new intern a little better as she's drug the younger woman along on this trek as a little bit of a treat for all the hard work she's put in over the past few months. As of right now, April has just laid out her towel on the sand, and is getting out her sunscreen to put on (another reason to have the intern with!).

"I hope you don't mind the beach, some people don't like it, and I'm usually one of them, but when a day like this comes along..." she says over her shoulder, smiling to her companion for the day.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
Yesterday was Rhona's birthday. Her 20th birthday. She didn't do much for it.

Getting the text invite from April to come do this seemed like a fun opportunity to get out of Xavier's and get a little sun herself. She'd grabbed the necessary items, stuffed them in a bag, and met April at the arranged locale to head out together. Upon arrival, the 20 year old College student was wearing a pair of sunglasses, her hair tied back in a loose pony, and a bag of essentials slung over her shoulder. She settled a towel down besides April's and cast her a smile as she took a seat on it, her covered eyes looking out at the water. "Utterly beautiful." The British girl exclaimed, before her gaze went back to April. "My first beach visit since coming to the States." She stated, casting a grin toward her boss and slight elder.

Dressed in a two piece swimsuit, the 20 year old had a pair of green denim shorts on over the suit, with a loose sleeveless tanktop that she whips off, before tossing on to her bag. "Have you been here many times?" Rhona asks.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil is also in a two piece, though somewhat more conservative than many of those seen nearby. And, of course, it is yellow. She takes off her t-shirt, and then shimmies out of her shorts, before she starts to put on the protective lotion on her face. Best not to go on the air with a sunburn, or early wrinkles! She grins at Rhona's reply, "Well, I'm glad to be the one to bring you out to one then. Hope it lives up to your expectations...though it's not as nice as somewhere like Daytona or wherever people go these days."

She moves to putting more lotion on her legs, and shakes her head to Rhona's question, "I've been here a couple of times, mostly when I was younger..." she trails off, perhaps remembering a past visit, before she smiles and adds, "But I got the itch, and figured I should get out. Never know what you might stumble across while you're out of your comfort zone."

Rhona Lauren has posed:
Rhona raises her knees up in front of her, folding her arms across the top of them, her eyes once more cast out to peer at the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She'd made the trek with April to the Atlantic Starport once, and obviously has flown over it a few times on her trips back and forth from England. "We don't get this much sun back home." She responds to April, her eyes going back to the woman on her left. "So I've never even considered becoming much of a 'beach bum'," she flashes a grin. "I might change that though, so long as I keep my roots here in the US."

She draws in a deep breath, before she reaches for her phone from a pocket on the side of her backpack. It takes her just a few seconds to get her phone up, with a series of photos of the horizon soon to follow.

"Maybe I'll get brave and see about some surf lessons too." She adds, once more shooting a grin over to her left, and April upon her beach towel.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil is all lotioned up, and now settles on her towel, stretching out slowly as Rhona speaks. She leans back on her elbows, and then looks over at the college girl next to her. She grins at the girl's comment about becoming a beach bum, and then says, "Nono, you have too much to offer. I can't have wasted all my time training you up for you to just traipse about in a bikini all day. No matter how good you look in it," she shoots back with a wink.

At the comment about surf lessons, April shakes her head, "I think I'd pass, the only time I got on a board...it did not end well." She asks, "Drink?" as she opens the cooler she brought with, "I won't tell if you go for something a little more adult," she says conspiratorially.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
The compliment to her attire, a black and wine-red hued, bikini causes the British girl to glance down at herself. She still had her denim shorts on, but they were left on for the time being. "Aw, thanks. Tennis and such, keeps you fit. I hope anyway." She idly fires back, before the offer of a drink causes her to nod her head several quick and small times. She leans over to snatch a drink, turning it over in her hands to stare at the label, before she snaps it open. With a raise of the bottle, and a big sip enjoyed, the brunette Brit lowers the bottle again. She sighs. "Perfect." She adds, smirking toward April.

A hot wind rushes across her back as it rolls over the beach, her loose pony tail cast wildly around behind her shoulders, as Rhona glances to a group of beach goers waltzing past where the two are seated. She offers them a friendly smile before they stroll on past. Once they move on, Rhona regards April once more.

"So I found a lair of the Condiment King." She just drops that meatball out there for the reporter to her left. "I wasn't sure it was his at first, but after I got home... and did a bit of research... Yeah, I'm pretty sure that is what it was. Or is, if it is still there..."

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil follows Rhona's glance over her bikini, and then asks, "Gonna stay in shorts all day? You'll get a wicked tan line..." before she smiles at the group passing by -- who aren't shy about looking at the pair of them together on the beach. She's lost in her own thoughts as she pulls out a drink for herself, when suddenly Rhona mentions the Condiment King's lair.

"You did? Where? When? How?" she asks the important questions, looking over at the younger woman again.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
At the prodding, Rhona rolls backward on to her shoulders, her legs coming up, and her sandals dropping off to the towel beneath her. As she responds, she pops her denim shorts open and glides them off with an easy motion. "Yes. It was in the Bushwick area, not but a few buildings over from where that Sentinel attack went down... I... uh... got a face full of that too... but not before finding the Condiment warehouse."

Rolling back up in to a seated position, leaving herself in just her swimsuit, she tosses her shorts over on to the bookbag beside her, then adjusts her sunglasses upon her face. "It was wild. there were... mustard bomb grenades... and just... boxes of... just the wierdest stuff." She states, shaking her head side to side as she raises her bottle up for another sip, the sweaty glass dripping as she downs a bit more of the spiked lemonade within it.

"I'll show you the video and pics, if you'd like to see them." She tells her mentor, showing her another smile.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil doesn't openly watch the woman slide out of her shorts, but might glance that way once or twice. She takes another long sip of her drink, before she scoots a little closer to Rhona and replies, "I'd love to see that video, and the pictures...I just do not /get/ that guy." she comments, getting up onto her knees to kneel next to Rhona as she gets her phone. "Though, just this, and then no more work for the day, got it? Can't have the boss thinking we're taking a day off and then go and do reporting."

Rhona Lauren has posed:
With a inhale, and a light laugh, Rhona sweeps her phone around, slips her drink in to a side pocket on her backpack to keep it safe from tipping over. She turns her phone around, using her own shadow with the sun behind her head to shield the screen so she can see it more easily. With a bit of navigating, she draws up a video of which shows her perspective of wandering through a truly dilapidated warehouse filled with all measure of disgusting boxes covered in mold, water damage, and otherwise. "Look, they're all marked with production companies for various types of condiments." Rhona notes, glancing over to April aside her, before the video shows her going up a flight of rickety old stairs, that she likely should not have walked on at all.

"In this room here, you'll see the weapon devices they were being built for, chemical weapons kind of stuff. Grenades, and... stuff I can't identify..." She holds the phone for April to see better, before smirking again.

"Wild, right?" The young woman asks.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil gets nice and close to Rhona to look -- the phone is small! -- and stares in something close to wonder, "This is amazing stuff! Wow! Great work! We should get this out somewhere...and yeah, that's /bizarre/ that he keeps all that. Wonder what the chemical weapon stuff is...like...just mustard gas?" she speculates. She stares at whatever Rhona is willing to show her on her phone, taking swigs of her drink as she does. "Really great job, Rhona," she says, looking over at the younger woman. "I mean it, this sort of stuff builds a career."

Rhona Lauren has posed:
The praise that April heaps upon the newly chrissened 20 year old, causes her to shine a smile back at the other. She bobs her head in a single nod, before swiping the phone to another video that showcases the moments leading up to the Sentinel attack that followed after she'd fled the building with the weaponized condiments. "I got the Hell out of there when things got a little too heavy for me to feel comfortable alone." She indicates, before wiggling the phone a bit. "This is when the Sentinel attacked... but... I dropped my phone at that point. So all you hear is me screaming like a little bitch..."

And within seconds her scream is indeed heard, along with a lot of flashing lights, but the image just shows the sky and a single section of a nearby wall.

She shuts that video off, and lets out a deep exhale. "Anyway. I'm happy to write something up, maybe put it on your site or social channels? You get a lot more hits than I do, obviously." She states, smirking once more toward April.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil laughs at the screaming, mostly because it seems everything has turned out well. At the comment, she nods eagerly to Rhona, "Of course! Post it everywhere. I'll boost it if you'd like. But, again, after beach day. No work today!" she says, faux-sternly, and giving the younger woman a stern glance, before she winks. She doesn't scoot away from Rhona though, not right away.

"So, what would you like to do, or see, or..talk about or whatever on this glorious day off?" she asks, looking over at her companion.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
"Yeah..." rhona quietly says, as she slips her phone back in to a side pocket on her bag. Her drink is gathered up again, her knees still up in front of her with her free arm draped atop them. She casts another small smile over toward April beside her. "No more work talk." She affirms, before looking back out toward the water, with her bottle of lemonade given another tipping-back against her lips.

She shakes her head from side to side. "I had a cupcake for my birthday yesterday, listened to some music in my room at the school, and just kind of... chilled. I suppose you could say. I am considering what to do for the rest of the summer... I guess I'll just focus on my social media presence, try and..." She laughs suddenly, and shakes her head again. "Work talk. Bad."

She glances to April beside her once more. "What about you? I mean, I've been under the impression you're an utter workaholic." The Brit states, showing a warm expression, as the wind dances some loose strays of hair across her face.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil reaches out an pokes Rhona in the side, "No work talk! And, go find a boy, or girl, or whatever you want to have a fling with. You're young and in NYC. Go have fun!"

At the mention of birthday though, April's eyes go wide, "It was your birthday YESTERDAY? And I didn't get you anything?? I'm the worst! How can I make it up to you? Want to go shopping??" she asks quickly, sitting up now herself, kneeling next to Rhona and looking at her a bit aghast at completely missing the girl's birthday.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
The talk of going out to find a boyfriend or girlfriend just causes the Briton to laugh lightly. She even emits a groan as she adjusts the dripping bottle to her other hand, her legs going out in front of her flat against her towel. "Relationships... Complicated. Demanding. I've been flirting with an older guy at the school, but he works there, so I don't think anything will come of it. It's just kinda... fun, you know?" She asks, smirking over toward April again.

The talk of her birthday just causes her to laugh openly, a melodic sound that rolls out from within her. "It's perfectly fine that you didn't know. You are almost obligated to just be my employer, or whatever... I wouldn't expect you to know the finer details of my backstory in life." She grins playfully. "Shopping could be fun though. I do need more summer clothes. I am utterly outfitted for a bleak English climate... Something I've yet to rectify going in to my third summer here in the States..."

"But yes, I now embark upon my twenties, and perhaps in a year I'll buy you a drink to pay you back for this one." She notes, giving the bottle a little wiggle, sloshing the contents around within it.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil ooohs quietly at the talk of an older man at school, "How fun...and who said anything about a relationship? Go have fun! Have a quick tryst somewhere you shouldn't, with someone you shouldn't." She probably doesn't mean herself there. Though at the thought of shopping, she brightens up and says, "I know just the place. Not today, but maybe sometime this weekend. I'll get you something nice. Or a few somethings."

Rhona Lauren has posed:
Then and there, what April tells the young woman beside her, causes her to grin in a large fashion. She shakes her head side to side softly once, before enjoying another sip of her drink. "Perhaps you're right, yes. Maybe. We'll see. I'm not looking for anything complicated, I know that much."

She gives another look toward the water, before she lingers it there, watching the waves. When a bit of the bottle condensation dribbles upon her, she glances down at it, before looking back over to April. "Sworn gifts too?" She asks, laughing again. "I should have told you about the birthday, I guess. Maybe it's a bit rude that I didn't let you know. But, still! I'm kind of a quiet person, a bit closed-up, as was the nature of my upbringing. Still trying to 'spread my wings' so to speak, I guess."

She finishes another drink from the bottle, leaving it emptied as she sets it down in the sand beside her towel and bag. "I can't be the social butterfly that you are, what with bilboards of you out there, clutching a microphone, and being a beauty bombshell for Channel Six News." She chides the other, casting her another happy expression.

April O'Neil has posed:
April O'Neil catches Rhona's look towards the water, and then stands up and holds out a hand, "Come, let's go for a dip," she says confidently. At the comment about being a social butterfly, she winks to the girl and says, "Well, what's the fun in life if nobody's looking at you?" playfully, before she tugs the girl towards the water. She splashes into it a few moments later, and then dives under the waves.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
When April raises up, and offers a hand, Rhona looks up toward her, before she smiles up at the woman who's been teaching her the ins and outs of professional journalism. She takes her shades off, drops them on her bag, and accepts the offered hand. "Right. Probably should venture out there and brave the waves, so to speak." She states in her London-flavored accent.

Once upon her feet, she takes a second to adjust her attire, before April is tugging them along. She moves at a casual clip, keeping pace with the other as they tread water, tantalizing as it is at first. Once they're out deeper, Rhona watches April boldly take a deeper dive in.

"Oh my god, if there are sharks, I'm going to utterly lose my mind..." She states, knowing full well she has a possible defense against an attack in her Mutant abilities, but still...

She wades out to waist level, and for awhile, simply observes the much braver April O'Neil, as she herself, splashes around and enjoys the experience.

April O'Neil has posed:
April swims about for a few moments before she realizes that her companion is still only waist deep in the water. She splashes towards the woman, before she grins a little devilishly, and dives back down. It's a moment or two of her under the somewhat opaque waves, before Rhona feels a pair of arms wrap around her thighs, and attempt to pull her under. SharkApril is on the prowl it seems!