Players:
Summary: Tabitha and Giea have a chance encounter, thanks to a stalled motorcycle.
Log Title: A Stroll And A Drive
Rating: PG
NYC — Upper East Side
The Upper East Side of New York City is New York's richest living area. The apartments here are off the most expensive in New York, and in the United States, and the businesses that make their home here are some of the wealthiest companies. Elegant rows of landmark townhouses line the side streets. There aren't as many shops here as there is housing and businesses.
Scene
Giea is off for a walk outside of her home, one of the few escapes that she gets from being trapped inside and kept a close eye on. She has become familiar enough with the neighbourhood that her parents allow her to go on walks on her own. She taps her cane on the ground, a kind of dreamy expression on her face, or at least what face she doesn't hide behind her dark sunglasses. There's something about slightly cool springtime air that is nice.
The sound of traffic is only occasional here, but never gone entirely. While Giea is walking, the high-pitched whine of a motorcycle engine can be heard coming down the street. The noise is poised to zoom past, until there is an abrupt sputtering, a screech of tires, and the sound of a bike coming to an abrupt halt not far away. The engine cuts out, and a few moments later Tabitha curses softly.
At the sound of the motorcycle, Giea seems to stop in her tracks and reorients herself. She touches the watch that she wears lightly before turning and trying to locate the sound. The curse, however, makes things a little bit easier. "Hello?" she says, orienting herself in Tabitha's general direction (though not quite perfectly). "Are you okay?"
The rat girl looks up sharply from what she's doing, and sucks in her breath. "Hunh? Oh." She breathes softly, and resumes fiddling about with her bike, kneeling beside it with her fingers in the engine like she is. "Just… bought some gas for my bike a couple hours ago and I think it was bad. I took a wrong turn somewhere too, didn't mean to come all the way up here… and it's not exactly where I'd like to be having engine trouble… but I should be okay." She stands up, and brushes her palms against each other. "You uhm… you okay?"
Giea nods at Tabitha and says, "Yeah, I'm alright." She takes a few steps forward, carefully as she leans towards the rat girl's voice. "We might have more gas back home, if that's what you need. A jerry can or something." She pulls the cane closer to herself, leaning on it just slightly now that she's found a good conversation distance that won't strain her hearing aid.
Tabitha can be heard fiddling with something, and grunts unintelligably a couple of times. "Nah, I don't even know for sure if that's what it is. This has happened three times today so far, it's something I'll just have to figure out." She stands up, and tilts her head to look at the girl she's talking to. "So… you're, uhm… I mean." She coughs softly. "You have trouble seeing… I… guess?"
"Yeah, I'm completely blind. And partially deaf," says Giea, tapping next to her ear to indicate the hearing aid. "I guess it's more obvious that I'm blind, but I've got to represent for the hard-of-hearing!" She smiles warmly and says, "So your, um, vehicle, what do you think might be wrong with it? It might be worth taking in to a mechanic."
The rat girl hunhs softly, and thrusts her hands into her pocket. "I'm sorry," she mutters. Tabitha clears her throat, and speaks up a bit better. "It's a Kawasaki Ninja. All black… uhm… do you know colors? I mean… I dunno how I'd describe black. But it's cool, if that helps." She shakes her head, and kneels back down beside the bike. "I dunno what the problem is… not yet. I'm not really the type of person that gets to take stuff in to a mechanic though, at least… not unless I can find one who… well…" She pauses, and shakes her head slowly. "It's complicated," she says at last.
"I think of colours from hot to cold, and from smooth to rough to make sense of them, even though it /really/ doesn't make sense to me," says Giea, smiling at that, "But it helps me understand that you're describing something with attributes that are understandable?" She chuckles and says, "But I guess that probably doesn't make sense to you. But it sounds like you have a nice… bike?" She fiddles with her cane lightly and asks, "What's keeping you from bringing it in? Unless you'd rather not talk about it…"
Tabitha coughs softly. "Let's uhm… let's just say I don't look entirely normal and some people have a problem with it." She shrugs her shoulders, and picks at something else on her bike. "There we go, think I've just about got it. You can touch it if you want? …The bike, I mean. Would that help?" She pauses, and scratches her head. "I uhm… I've never met someone who's blind before. Is there anything I should be… like… doing for you?"
"Well, now you've opened yourself to all kinds of unreasonable demands! But no, I won't make any of you. There's not much to be done for me at the moment. If there was, I'd let you know. Or if I drop something, but I can tell when I drop things. It's just a matter of picking them up," says Giea, still smiling warmly as she approaches the bike and reaches out to touch it. "Hmmm, well, if people don't like how you look… there might be some places to go in the city. But I don't know where they are… I mean, I don't want to presume why you don't look entirely normal, or anything…"
Tabitha shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Don't reach too far down, the engine is still hot," she cautions, "and I don't want you burning your fingers, alright?" She stands up, and smacks her hands against her legs. "That should about do it at least for now. It's a good thing I want to learn about mechanics anyway." She pauses, and brushes her fingers through her hair. "I look odd because…" She trails off, and sighs heavily. "Because I'm a mutant," she says at last. She lets that hang in the air, and watches Giea, waiting to see if she's going to run away screaming or something.
Giea nods at the instructions not to let her fingers come too close to the engine, instead just touching the seat and handlebars for the most part, focusing on the top of the bike. "I like the seat, it seems like it would be kind of comfortable…" She seems to pause for a moment when Tabitha says she's a mutant and she pushes up her glasses, "I kinda thought so. I'm not sure where Mutant Town is, but it's a place in the city. Um. I can text my boyfriend for an address, he brought me there once. There should be a mechanic in that area, though."
Tabitha nods, as she kneels down to double-check things on her bike. "Yeah… I've been there a couple times since I got here in New York," she replies. "It was really nice not to get funny looks. Or at least, not as many of them." She allows the corners of her lips to quirk upwards. "Is… your boyfriend a mutant? Just curious. It would kinda explain why you didn't run away screaming, anyway. Or at least walk away screaming, I… uhm… can you run?"
"Well, I can run, once I find the sidewalk again…" says Giea, smiling in Tabitha's general direction. "I just trip a little easier! And… I guess I don't know if he's a mutant. He's kinda mysterious! He played at a mutant benefit concert awhile back… But the reason I'm not panicking is because I write a pretty popular blog about the treatment of marginalized groups. Repeating history by being mutant-phobic is kind've perpetuating exactly the thing I try to fight against. In my way." She uprights herself when she's done exploring the bike. "And besides, anyone can be a mutant, right? Even someone you love. Creating an environment where people can be proud of who they are, whoever they happen to be, well… that's my goal."
The girl standing on the other side of the bike is silent, as she clasps her hands behind her back and watches the blind woman. The expression on her face is nigh unreadable. She licks her lips, and shuffles her feet a little as she positions ehrself to get back on her bike once more, though she doesn't actually mount the seat yet. "You're awesome," she murmurs at last. "And I love you for that. …What's your name? I'm… Well, I'm Tabitha, or Patches, depending on whether you want my… I dunno what you call 'em, my given name or my mutant name, I guess."
"Well, um, thanks!" says Giea, not sure how to take being called awesome. She turns towards Tabitha slowly, using her cane to prod at the ground where she's about to step. "I'm Giea. Giea Parkin. I don't have any cool codenames or anything, but online I've got a couple names…" She chuckles and notes, "But that's not the same thing, is it?"
Tabitha shrugs, "I don't see why it couldn't be," she replies. "If I can run around calling myself Patches, I don't see why you can't do the same." She swings her leg up over the seat of her bike, and sits down comfortably. "I'd better get out of here before anyone less… understanding spots me." She grins, as her hand rests on the bike's ignition. "I hope I see you around, Giea. Want to trade phone numbers? I don't have an e-mail address I can use right now."
"Oh, yeah, sure," says Giea, smiling still. She pulls out her cellphone, and presses a couple of buttons to display her number on the screen. "You can just copy it down. I never call myself, so I can't remember off the top of my head what it is. And I hope you can get your bike fixed up!"
Tabitha pulls out a scratchpad, and jots down the number real quick. "I'll uhm… actually give you a call soon," she mumbles. "I don't have a cellphone and I'm the middle of changing address, so… I don't actually have any phone. But I'll get one soon. Hopefully." She pauses, and ahems softly. "Right then. Hope to see you around, Giea, like I said. Thanks for not like… judging me or anything." She fires up her bike and it roars to life as she gives the throttle some encouragement. "There we are… like a dream."
Giea nods and puts her cellphone back where it came from. "It'll take a few rings for me to pick up, so don't give up after three or four!" says Giea, over the sound of the bike as she steps back. "I'll speak with you another time, Tabitha. You have a good evening, okay?" She waves her hand in a disorganized fashion and finds her way back to the sidewalk. Now, which way is which?
Tabitha grins, "Okay, I will. You too, okay Giea?" She revs up her engine, and settles down with a good grip on the handlebars. "Take care!" The rat girl urges her bike forwards, clinging tightly to it as she speeds off up the road. She pulls back and pops a wheelie, holding it up for a good five seconds before letting the front wheel back down and zooming off.
~ Fin ~
