84. FOURTH WALL video/action/whatever. GO NUTS. Backdated a little to the morning.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Another day, another long shift at work. Heather doesn't really mind, though. It's one hell of a difference between the hectic stress of the job in the department store that she had last year. What a difference having SANE bosses can make, even if the job is more boring.]

[As the morning sun creeps higher behind the snowclouds and lights up the powder drifting down from the sky, Heather is seated at one of the stools behind the counter in the diner where she now works, and is making herself incredibly useful by balancing all the salt-shakers she can find on top of one another.]

[And then putting all those little sealed packets of sliced cheese she can find on top of THOSE.]

[It's a quiet morning, okay? Leave her alone!]

[Needless to say, one of the owners of the diner-- an old married couple-- spots his newest employee working on the Leaning Tower of Cheesa and just sort of shakes his head, sighing. Kids these days.]</sub>

Miss Mason, as much as I hate to stifle the budding artist in you, the soda machines need cleaning.

_{[Heather heaves an enormously-dramatic mock sigh as she gets up.]}

Ugh, finnneeee. You're just jealous of my deeply creative spirit.

You got me. I'm turning green. Dish-soap should be in the back.

<sub>[Having chill bosses is AWESOME. Heather had decided she liked having bosses she could banter with almost as soon as she got the job. She sticks her tongue out at him as she passes, on her way to the back door. And then she has an idea!]

[Pulling out her 'Gear, she hits the network button.]</sub>

HEY GUYS. Who wants to watch me CLEAN SHIT?

<sub>[Because clearly if she had to do boring things, it would improve everybody else's lives to watch her do them.]

[But behind her, the boss clears his throat meaningfully, and Heather rolls her eyes.]</sub>



Oh, that's just Danny!



_{[OOC: COME AT ME BROS. Feel free to assume that Heather is elsewhere if you don't feel like dealing with Danny-- 4th Wall is like CRACK: THE EVENT, so I'm happy to stick her wherever.]}

Comments

[foolishwren]

_{[She speaks over her shoulder.]}

In this place? Eh, not so much-- it's the CITIES that get REALLY busy.

_{[Coming back over with a coffee pot and a mug.]}

There's always something happening, though... it's, uh.

A little different from where we're from, though.

You know, like... America. On Earth.

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

So what's this place? Dreamland?

_{[She might as well make sure, right?]}

[foolishwren]

_{[Heather sets the mug down and pours the coffee into it (CAREFULLY. Yes, she is capable of being careful. Try not to faint.)]}

HEH. As much as I sometimes wonder? No.

_{[Isn't it nice having people explain weird things to you in typical teenager talk instead of wtf cryptic statements, Laura?]}

It's just... another world. In general.

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

<sub>[Laura takes the mug when she's done with a nod of thanks, warming her hands on it before taking a sip. It's pretty good and it warms her up, which is all she wanted.]

[And yes. Please continue with the teenager talk, it makes things a LOT easier.]

[She doesn't really have a good answer to that though, so she just ... muses on that little piece of information.]</sub>

Think they'll think I've lost it if I tell people back home?

[foolishwren]

... Yep. Probably.

_{[NO POINT IN SUGARCOATING IT.]}

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

_{[TRUE THAT.]}

Guess I'm a little crazy, then.

_{[She accepts it easily enough. In all fairness, it's likely due because she's just a little bit high, still - she always has a quick fix before class.]}

[foolishwren]

Ehhh, it's okay. We're all mad here.

_{[... Laura. 8I Crack is bad.]}

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

_{[No, not really. She laughs at that, a sort of half-giggle half-laugh as she spins the coffee cup in her hands.]}

Some Wonderland this is. It didn't even have a rabbit hole.

[foolishwren]

Right?

I was watching like... bad old B-horror movies one night. And then I woke up here. No transition, just suddenly... boom. 'You're in a different world. Deal with it.'

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

_{[She smiles but lets it die down into a more curious expression after another mouthful of coffee.]}

You must have been here pretty long if you have a job and everything.

[foolishwren]

_{[Heather tosses a dishcloth over her shoulder, casually. It's kind of cool to be the resident expert.]}

A year and a half.

... About.

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

Wow, really?

<sub>[She does sound pretty awed at that. Because that is actually a really long time, and she leans forward a little in an almost conspiratory manner.]

[Tell her more about this place, o resident expert!]</sub>

[foolishwren]

Yep! I guess you could call me an old-timer. ... Well, when it comes to being an alien, anyway. ... Or whatever you wanna call it. I guess 'alien' evokes the whole 'little green man from Mars' image a bit too much.

<sub>[She's grinning, though, and it's obvious that she's not bothered at all by the fact that she's been stuck in a completely different world for eighteen months.]

[Why should she be? The last thing that could POSSIBLY have been tethering her to her home-world, apart from the worldly possessions that had been what was left of her life with her father, had shown up in Johto just a few weeks before. Everything is peachy-keeeen.]</sub>

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you look more yellow to me.

_{[She smiles back and finishes the coffee, puts the cup neatly back on the counter and rests her forearms on it, tilting her head a little. She's really curious now.]}

Don't you miss home?

[foolishwren]

Miss it? Naaaahh.

I lived in a total dump. Good riddance.

<sub>[... More like her LIFE was sort of a total dump, and she hadn't quite gotten around to pulling herself out of it when Johto had snapped her up.]

[She leans on the counter casually with one elbow, shrugging.]</sub>

I've got more here than I ever had back there, so yeah. Can't say I'm all that homesick.

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

I guess ... It still looks like a pretty weird place to settle down, if you ask me.

<sub>[Which she says with a glance at the door that's keeping Danny from view. Any place where dead bodies just spontaneously fall from the ceiling ... yeah. No, she's not likely to forget about him anytime soon, but she doesn't seem nearly as upset about it now.]

[Oh yeah, not to mention all the REALLY CRAZY SHENANIGANS going on outside.]

[But the 'weird place' comment isn't so much a criticism to the place as a general observation.]</sub>

[foolishwren]

_{[... Oh yeah. She notes that look at the door.]}

... Uh... for the record, thaaaaat doesn't normally happen.

Just... just sayin'.

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

_{[She looks like she thinks about that for a second ... then speaks with just a touch of faraway to her voice.]}

Why not? If people can just show up here, why not dead ones?

[foolishwren]

Yeah, uh, usually the people who show up are alive. ... And not hanging from the ceiling.

And... you know.

Not.

Decomposing.

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

<sub>[That actually makes her burst out into a fit of giggles which .. she tries to stop, but can't really, so she just settles with clasping a hand to her mouth, shoulders shaking as she tries to pull herself together.]

[There's definitely something a little hysterical about it.]


[What do?]</sub>

[foolishwren]

<sub>[At first, Heather looks over at Laura with a brow quirked in surprise.]

[... Then she thinks about it a little. And starts to giggle, herself. Because... yeah. It is kinda funny, in a dark sort of way. And Heather's sense of humor has been black as tar ever since Silent Hill.]</sub>

I-I should probably tell my boss about that thing...

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

_{[She nods behind her hand, then manages to calm down enough to get a few words out - before erupting into giggles again.]}

The cleaning people will hate you.

_{[And in the second gigglefit she'll just look down at her shoes. Shoes aren't funny. Dead people aren't funny, Laura, get a grip.]}

[foolishwren]

_{[IT'S OKAY, LAURA. AS DEAD PEOPLE GO, DANNY IS PRETTY FUNNY. All things considered, it's hard to tell if he was ever alive in the first place or if Silent Hill just conjured him up out of the human psyche and chucked him at Heather for shits and giggles.]}

If they don't already, young whippersnapper that I am.

... Shit, I wonder if we'll have to like... throw away the stuff in the pantry because he's back there, being... contaminating...

_{[These two were clearly meant for each other.]}

[burnsfirst.livejournal.com]

<sub>[Clearly. So very clearly.]

[And Laura is mentally awarding Heather all kinds of bonus points for laughing with her on this. Bobby didn't. Then again, that had been kind of different. And they'd both been pretty high. But it's still the spirit of the thing, you know?]</sub>

Oh fuck ... what if people come in here and get poisoned or something?

_{[Still giggling hysterically - shoes not helping, so she's looking at Heather again. While wiping at one of her eyes with a palm, because tears are indeed forming there.]}

Maybe they'll all die ... maybe we should get out of here, or we'll all die.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Heather doesn't really have an excuse to find this as funny as she does. She's never even DONE coke, and she hasn't even been high since before she ever came here. But for some reason, it's just REALLY FUNNY.]

[She SNORTS.]</sub>

PFFFT-- god, I HOPE not... hang on...

_{[Scrubbing at her own eyes, she turns around to peer back into the porthole-- ... and freezes.]}

... Aw, hell.

_{[He's gone. :I;; ]}