8051/downtime in the park

downtime in the park
Date of Scene:	29 September 2021
Location:	Cherry Hill Fountain
Synopsis:	Jess was thinking about resting awhile and forgetting about her troubles, then Bando happened.
Cast of Characters:	Jessica Jones, Bando George

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Jessica Jones has posed:
The Cherry Hill Fountain is gorgeous, people stop to take pictures, sometimes they come to just relax or meditate or whatever it is they do. Jessica happens to be sitting on a bench over looking the fountain, and while she has dark shades covering her eyes, it's possible she's admiring the view. Rather, than say, be very asleep in public. There's a large Starbucks cup next to her, and the fact she occasionally sips from it is the only indicator she's alive, considering how lethargic she seems.

Bando George has posed:
    Bando is studying. That's what we call it. His book is open. His laptop is open. He's sitting in front of both of them on the grass. And he's looking at pigeons that have congregated near Jessica. You know what's almost as good as studying? Playing with pigeons.

    He takes his sandwich from his backpack, and chomps a bite out of it before tearing a little of the crust from it. He tosses it toward the birds, and suddenly the loft grows larger, seemingly out of nowhere as they burst toward the bread, cooing happily at Jessica's feet. Hmm, he wonders. What if...

    He pulls another piece of crust from his bread, and *fwump* it disappears from his hand, the same sound simultaneously happening near Jessica's bench, the breadcrust appearing there.

    The small displacement of the air and the sound are enough to spook the park birds, though. Those near by suddenly flap their wings, taking to the air, which triggers the entire kit to follow. Incoming birds! Look out Jessica!

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica and the pigeons have a very good understanding, they don't bother her, and she doesn't end them. It's fair. But when others mess with that perfect balance, things can go very wrong. Such as...turns out Jessica was actually asleep rather than awake, behind those shades, leaving her with a barrage of pigeons shooting into her like arrows.

This makes Jessica flail wildly as she wakes up, potentially hurting a bird or two in the process, as she tries to fend for herself. Normally people are scared when they're stirred awake in such a fashion, Jessica just cries out, "who the fuck has a death wish around here!? Back off! NOW!"

Bando George has posed:
    How did Bando just jump to his feet that fast? He's not even sure. He was just sitting, and now he's standing, a huge wince on his face. "Sorry!" He cries out in apology. "Sorry sorry!" At least he doesn't try to hide his guilt. "That was totally unintentional," he declares. The teen looks like he just came from school, a pair of blue jeans with a button down collared shirt, and he rushes over to the bench, hands out in a surrender. "That was totally my fault, I didn't mean to scare them. They didn't poop on you or anything, did they?" he asks.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"You're sorry? It's the stupid birds..." Jessica groans, and grumpily reaches for her Starbucks cup, which she finds she knocked off the bench while flailing, all the whiskey inside having spilled to the ground. "Oh fuck me that's just perfect," she groans as if in a great deal of pain, "what a terrible day..."

The rolling of eyes is lost behind those dark shades, but Jessica does sighs, "figure someone would scare birds into going kamikaze on my face..."

Bando George has posed:
    Bando taps his thumbs together briefly. "I can get you another one," he says, nodding at the fallen cup, and having no idea that it was whiskey. "Sorry you're havin' a bad day. I have those sometimes," he offers. "I'm Bando," he offers. "I can do what I can do, maybe a new Starbucks will make it a little better?" he asks. Contrary to many of the cynical faces of New York, he has a certain optimism in his face and voice. Not to mention his accent is decidedly not from the big apple. Texas.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Nah...they stopped serving that drink," Jessica corrects Bando about his ability to get her another one, without having to disclose why. "It's okay, I only have bad days, so in retrospect it's not that special." She shrugs when he introduces himself, "you sold your naming rights to Band-Aid to be a living ad?" She doesn't introduce herself in turn, instead trying to recline on the bench, apparently testing if she can go back into that reverie she was having a moment earlier.

Bando George has posed:
    "Uh," Bando pauses at the mockery of his name. "Just what my sister called me when she was little. It's actually Brandon. It just kinda stuck," he says. He seems to be processing something in his mind, like how it's possible that they stopped making a drink that she clearly got within the last hour or so. Probably not important enough to spend that much effort on.

    "My mom always said there's no bad days, just ones we might not properly appreciate," he offers. "What makes your days always bad?" Is it his business? Nope. Does he seem to stop when Jessica indicates she is trying to get back to resting? Also nope.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Figures..." Jessica notes, the explanation actually making the name make a lot more sense. "I would leave it as an affectionate nickname from your sister and not share with others, but to each their own." She then bursts laughing at the bit from his mom, "oh, your mom is fucking wrong, there's some bad guys alright." When he legit asks what makes her day bad, she grumbles, "people like you asking what makes my day bad." Perfectly Jessica.

Bando George has posed:
    Bando, not knowing when to quit, presses even after the not-so-subtle hint is dropped. "Look, I know you don't know me," he disclaimers, which is clearly a ramp up to 'gonna say something anyway'. "And I dunno if your life is harder than mine, or what," he says, "But I do know that when I get a piece of me chipped off by stuff happening, I try to look at it like when a scupltor is cutting up a rock. He's breakin' stuff off it, but he's making something way better than a plain ole rock out of it. God's making something out of me, and I don't always get it, but that doesn't mean that it's not happening." He adjusts his weight slightly, as if aware of the fact that he just kinda turned into a street preacher, in a way.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica doesn't even let Bando finish his rumbling, as she gets up while he's still talking and cries out, "do you ever shut the fuck up? I just wanted to rest a little bit quietly, without pigeons attacking my face, ok? See you, Brando," she turns to leave, all gruffing and huffing, and evidently not too happy about the way her day is going.

Bando George has posed:
    Bando shrinks a little. Okay, he got the message this time. "Okay, well, take care," he says, not bothering to correct her misapplication of his name. Suddenly there's a sound of *fwump* and he disappears all together. He lands near his things, gathering them quickly. Where'd the rest of his sandwich go? Apparently someone else wanted it more than he did. He gathers them up quickly. It's several minutes that she's undisturbed, but then he actually appears again directly next to her. Was he stalking her when she left? Why is his hair made out of yarn, now? That's not normal. He doesn't take time to explain, or say anything, but quickly slaps a Starbucks gift card into her palm, gives an apologetic smile, and once again there's a *fwump* and he's gone. Not to reappear.