4157/Shenanigans!

Shenanigans!
Date of Scene:	17 November 2020
Location:	Coffee of DOOM
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Aimee Alexander, Katsumi Oshiro

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Aimee Alexander has posed:
It's a beautiful autumn afternoon; The sun shining with not a cloud in the sky and only a slight crispness to the air, just enough to ensure a comfortable temperature. It's the perfect day to be outside so, naturally, Aimee is inside avoiding a sunburn and treating herself to a hot chocolate.

The teen's hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail to keep it out of her face, and she's taken the opportunity to wear a breezy white sundress for possibly the last time before winter arrives properly. Still, it's certainly not summer, and the thin almost-gauzy cardigan worn over top seems to be a concession to this fact.

Aimee looks cheerful, perhaps surprisingly so; certainly more cheerful than she did the last time Katsumi had seen her. A soft, content little smile sits upon her lips as she lifts her mug of hot chocolate and takes a careful sip. Then exhales softly as she savours that first taste.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"What?," snaps a possibly familiar, feminine voice. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Near the register is none other than Katsumi Oshiro, dressed completely counter to the season. A cut-off tanktop hugs her chest, and a pair of hiphugging black shorts stop well above parent-approved knee length. A pair of sneakers, those typical fingerless gloves, and her black choker complete the ensemble. She does not blend in.

"Is it the clothes? What, I gotta walk in here dressed like Mr. Peanut? Tophat'n sh**?"

The individual behind the register eyeshifts uncomfortably, clearly hoping the manager will rescue him.

"Listen, haircut! The little Nicaraguan kid who harvested these damn beans couldn't care less how I'm dressed, and he's got every reason in the world to be p***ed! So make the coffee and let's get going already!"

Finding no relief, the worker submits and begins placing the order. "D- decaf, I'm guessing?"

"Callin' me high-strung!?"

"Yes! No! Oh God.."

Aimee Alexander has posed:
Aimee doesn't recognize the voice immediately, only knowing it sounds familiar. Of course it becomes obvious who it belongs to when she looks at the counter; She only knows one asian girl that dresses like that. Actually, she only knows one asian girl *period*...

"Katsumi?" Her voice is tentative, uncertain; though the way she chews on her lip suggests it's probably less that she's uncertain she got the name right and more uncertain about whether she should be calling out to the woman causing a scene in the coffee shop that sells the best hot chocolates she's found. Directing her attention to the harried worker, the teen forces a smile and waves to get his attention "Hey, uhh, I'll pay for her drink. Put it on my tab, okay?"

Mostly she's hoping to end the transaction faster so that the poor worker can escape Katsumi's wrath.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"R-right," murmurs the worker. Does she have a tab? Does he even know this teen's name? He doesn't care. He's just being saved by Karenzilla over here.

Katsumi props a fist to her hip, lips pursed. But that look only lasts a coupel seconds before the corner subtly lifts in a tiny grin. Her attention redirects to Aimee, and she immediately makes her way towards her. "Hey, you," she greets, voice light and airy; a complete departure of the snark she'd been giving the staff. "Been doing okay?"

Aimee Alexander has posed:
As if to answer the question, Aimee offers a wave with her previously broken right arm. "Hey. Long time no see. As you can see I'm all better. The fracture wasn't that bad so I got out of the cast earlier than I'd have expected."

She shrugs, looking a bit awkward as she gestures to the chair opposite her. "But uhh, good thing it did hey? Wouldn't have wanted to play roller derby with a broken arm. Those girls are *savage*..." The mention of roller derby comes out of the blue, so either the teen has been keeping secrets from Katsumi or this is a new development. She takes another, slightly longer sip of her hot chocolate to give herself time to think; once again closing her eyes for a moment to enjoy the flavour. By the time her eyes open again she's wearing a cheeky, if slightly unsure, little smile.

"Bet you'd fit right at home with 'em."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro easily sits, seemingly thinking absolutely nothing of any awkwardness afoot. Or, perhaps more to the point, she just doesn't pick up on it. Would that really be surprising?

Everything gets an attentive nod, right up until Aimee mentions roller derby. "What!?," she balks, her exotic almond eyes widening to saucers. "Aimee! No! You're- no! You're gonna get hurt!," she fusses.

It's a difficult image for her to parse. Aimee, the teenaged girl she'd rescued from muggers and shared a difficult talk with afterwards over Chinese, is now doing roller derby.

Aimee Alexander has posed:
Wincing a little at Katsumi's concern, or perhaps at the mothering tone of it, Aimee lifts her hands in defense.

"It's okay! I'm okay. It was just half a game. One of their players got knocked out and they didn't wanna forfeit so Harley asked me to sub in. Had her promise to keep me safe, and she did..." For whatever reason a faint flush rises to the empath's cheeks at the mention of this 'Harley', but otherwise everything seems above board.

"I mean, she wants me to join the team permanently, but... I haven't really definitely commited to that yet." Chewing her lip, and deciding that perhaps now would be an opportune time to change subjects lest the wrestler fuss over her for the remainder of their time together, Aimee gestures towards Katsumi and tilts her head.

"What about you though? How's all the training and wrestling and stuff?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"Some dude named Harley wanted you on his roller derby girl team!?," continues to fuss Katsumi. "I don't care how prestigious his motorcycles might be, didn't he know you're young!?"

She might have misunderstood a little. But Katsumi is diverted onto the other topic, if grudgingly so; she settles back into the chair with a huff, arms folding over her modest bust. "What wrestling?," she asks flatly. "Still waiting for the event to kick off. The lot of us are benched until it happens, so it's all just relentless training to keep an edge. Same people, day after day after day. Ugh..."

Aimee Alexander has posed:
"Harley's not-" Aimee cuts herself off, not wanting to inadvertently prevent her own change in subject. Instead, she nods seriously, paying rapt attention to Katsumi's behind the scenes details.

"So what's the hold up? Did something go wrong? Did the event get delayed?" She seems genuinely confused, and also a little bit concerned. "You're getting paid right? Like, you're over here missing out on work to be part of this event so they had *better* be paying you to compensate for that."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"It's a stipend. Like an allowance," Katsumi explains, opting to use terminology most teens would understand easily. "We get paid properly /after/ the event. And no, it's not been delayed or anything. It's just that we're hyping it sooo much." The prolonged word is delivered with a groan.

Leaning forward, Katsumi props her elbow upon the table, her chin in her palm.

"Honestly, I'm so frigging ready to go home. It's weird here. People are weird here. And my eyes - did you see?" She indicates with her free hand towards the peepers in question. There's only the faintest trace of near-white pale green streaking otherwise perfectly radiant magenta irises. "I think it's something in the air here. I dunno."

Aimee Alexander has posed:
Aimee looks a little annoyed as Katsumi insults the teen's home, but before she can call the wrestler out on it her attention is drawn to those strange magenta irises.

"Oh... wow! Are those contact lenses? I don't think I've ever seen eyes that color before! They're pretty!" It takes a couple more seconds for her brain to catch up with exactly what Katsumi was saying about them. "Wait... you don't like them? Are you being made to wear them for the event or something?"

Bless her, the girl's still fairly naive and she is absolutely confused by this turn in the conversation.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro likely has no idea what she said may even be insulting. It all flies breezily off the cuff. But every compliment Aimee pays to her eyes is like a mallet whumping into her, causing her to look a little more beaten and disheartened. When she asks the final question, Katsumi's head is lower and her shoulders hunched, the gaze in question affixed to the table. "No. They're not contacts, they're not- they're not /anything/. My eyes have been changing color since I got here, and now..." Her palms raise to rub furiously against the culprits. "Nnggh! I want my eyes back!"

Aimee Alexander has posed:
Reaching hesitantly across the table to pat Katsumi's shoulder, Aimee murmurs gently "Hey, it's okay. Everything will be alright." She chews her lip as she pulls her hand back, not really feeling like her comforting was particularly helpful.

"I mean... have you been to see a doctor about it? Maybe it's just like some temporary thing caused by too much of some vitamin or not enough of another, and your eyes'll go back to normal once you sort it out!" She's mostly just rambling, she doesn't know enough about medicine to know if that's likely. Still, if Katsumi hasn't already ruled that out then who knows? Still chewing on her lip in concern, she lifts her hot chocolate to take another large sip of it, trying to find some kind of inspiration to help her friend.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"Twice," sighs Katsumi against her wrists. "Both couldn't figure out what the deal is. Both suggested it might be stress, or some kind of pollutant or something. Nothing was conclusive. So.. yeah. I figure when I go home, I get my green eyes back."

Her hands drop from her face just in time for her beverage to arrive. It may or may not have spit in it. Katsumi glances after the waiter before looking to Aimee again. "Hey. Sorry. You don't need me making /you/ stressed or anything. It's my problem. I'll be fine."

Aimee Alexander has posed:
Aimee opens her mouth to question how much sense the idea of stress making eyes change colour from green to magenta makes, but stops herself before actually vocalizing a single syllable. There's no point in crushing Katsumi's hopes.

"Hey, no, don't worry about it. It's what friends are for, right? And sometimes tackling stressful stuff is how we grow!" If nothing else there's genuine belief and positivity in Aimee's voice when she makes that statement, which may in and of itself be reassuring. "I kinda wish *I* had magenta eyes though. They're so *exotic*." And *that* remark may be slightly less-so.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro trains those oddly-colored eyes on Aimee, looking uncertain. She wants to counter the comment on tackling stressful situations, given what her life is about, but she just doesn't have the heart. And then when she gushes at the eyes again, Katsumi winces. "Ugh.." Her head lowers again, palms pressing against her face. "I just wanna go home. Or do the thing. And not be so tired all the time."

Aimee Alexander has posed:
"Is the tiredness related to the eye thing?" It seems like the logical assumption to Aimee at least. Her eyes drift to the coffee, and suddenly things seem to click into place in the girl's head.

"That's why you were so upset when you were offered decaf? Cause you're tired and needed waking up?" She sighs, shaking her head and looking a little sad. "Y'know, if you're really struggling maybe you should back out of the event and go home. Challenging yourself is good but... not if you're just going to be miserable the whole time."