infinite_reflection

Entry tags:

open rp

Lazy Days

It had been a few days since Seiya had been released from the hospital. Sitting outside Yamada Mart, she flipped through the images Greg had shown her a week prior. Mirror Mirror, huh? If there had been doubts about the connections between the crime and the paranormal world, this erased them. Unfortunately, they couldn't just run to a police station and spill their story. As it was, Seiya doubted her friends would even believe her, had they not seen it with their own eyes. Normally on her break she would venture out for some air. Today, however, Seiya remained on the bench outside her father's store, wrapped up in the mystery surrounding her life. Setting the gruesome images aside, she propped her feet up on the empty side of the seat, watching people come and go. A lazy day indeed. (Let's say this is before the current Shadow Kota battle. c: )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Turning to admire his work, she put her hands on her hips with a nod. "Looks good! Your room isn't crying anymore!" Seiya pressed her ear on the wall, gasping, "In fact, it says it's very happy you decided to stay!" Sticking her tongue out at herself, she pushed herself off of the wall, taking a seat next to the box. "You don't wear stuff like this much, I noticed."

Greg pulled a shirt out of the box, unfolding and looking it over, then just shrugged at the idea of potentially wearing it. "I don't know. I've, uh... Well, I've only worn stuff like this since I got here." He gestured to himself; this 'look' was probably a lot newer than she had expected. "Actually, uh, if you want any of these... They're all in English, so they might be right up your alley." The boy nudged his shirt box her way, raising an eyebrow.

You'd think Greg had offered her a car. Seiya's entire face lit up, and her cheeks even flushed. A boy was offering one of his shirts to her! An AMERICAN boy! Taking each shirt out with as much delicacy as possible, she took her time deciding. Settling on a particularly offensive shirt, she hugged it to her chest. "This one! Definitely!"

Was marijuana a big thing here? A shirt with Snoop Dogg in the foreground and a massive pot leaf in the background with '420' in the Jamaican flag's colors was something he was too embarrassed to even wear in America... He'd just been to a concert and it was the one that caught his eye. Something told him it wouldn't end pleasantly if he let her have the thing, especially if she wore it to someplace like school. "Uh... That one's a little, like. Well, I wouldn't even wear it stateside, Seiya-chan." Greg coughed, rubbing the side of his head. "If you do like that one a lot, maybe just don't wear it to school."

Tilting her head in confusion, Seiya wasn't quite sure why it was such a terrible shirt. Ahhhh, it was probably SO American, that even America banned it. "Don't worry, I won't wear it to school!" The uniform code wouldn't allow it, anyway! No no, she'd keep it in her room, most likely pinned to the wall. "This is so cool, thanks for letting me have it." Bowing her head slightly, she admired it once more. Oh yes, this was definitely the one she desired.

Oh, right! Uniforms. He was still getting used to those... Had almost left for school in the wrong thing once or twice, even. "Right. ... Maybe not to work, either, but I guess you have a uniform there, too." The idea that giving a shirt out might be weird finally occurred to him, but Greg figured this wasn't like that and that made it more or less all right. Anyway! That meant the only place she could potentially wear it was in public, and all she'd get there is maybe laughed at. Seiya seemed like the type of person who'd laugh with whoever did that, so it all worked out! Snoop Dogg and marijuana it was.

A call came from the kitchen, where something or other was sizzling. "Dinner's almost ready, you two! I mean, heh, unless you're going to eat out or something!" Greg glanced to Seiya in regards to that question, it was really up to her.

Hopping to her feet, she folded the shirt neatly at the edge of Greg's bed. She'd be back for it later, of course. "I'm game for staying here if you are. Your dad seemed really enthusiastic about it, after all." Though it was mostly up to Seiya, she figured she'd let Greg put in his two cents.

Greg's father was getting better at cooking, so he had no real problem sticking around. "Uh, yeah! We'll stay for dinner, no big deal!" The man often looked up recipes online and pinned them to the fridge until he had time to make them... The 'finding time' part usually took a while, so if his son had any problem with the food he planned on making he could simply write it on their whiteboard. The one that Seiya would see, of course, when he led her into the kitchen to see just what dad was whipping up.

There was a big pot on the oven with a closed lid, though said lid was rattling a little bit and steam was puffing up out whenever it did. Mister Harman was watching it very intensely, like he was worried it might explode at any minute, and didn't notice the two kids for a moment. When he did, though, it was back to that goofy and now somewhat sheepish smile. "Oh! Hey there, it's almost done. [Chicken and dumplings!] Not like the dumplings you have here... Well, sort of! It's good. Or should be."

Following Greg into the kitchen, she couldn't help but be amused at Mister Harman's mad scientist vibe. Rarely eating anything home made herself, Seiya was actually excited! "It smells really good, Harman-san." Seiya nodded, folding her arms behind her back in order to keep them busy. "I'm sure it'll be really good. Guregori said you'd been practicing!"

"Hah! Only since he was born, yes. I think after sixteen years I've finally managed 'decent'!" Mr. Harman laughed, glancing back at the pot, and then up at the timer above the stove right before it went off. "Well! It should be ready, then. Can you set the table, Greg?" The man pulled the lid off of the pot, almost sticking his face into the billowing cloud of steam but thankfully leaning back (a little dramatically) just in time to not get nice and scalded. "Hmm! Heat might've been too high. Shouldn't matter!"

Greg rolled his eyes, sliding open a nearby drawer to fetch three sets of utensils and pulling a few napkins from the plastic wrapping they hadn't bothered to discard... Hilariously, it was right next to what should have been the designated wooden napkin holder. Was it too obvious that two lazy men lived here? Well, one lazy kid and his mostly absent father... Either way. "Yeah. Let's, uh, take our seats, Seiya-chan." He beckoned her to follow him back into the entryway-slash-living room, then set the silverware and napkins down before taking a seat. "I'm going to warn you now, uhh... Dad's home cooking is never very pretty."

Giggling, she followed Greg obediently when he beckoned. Scratching her head, she watched him set the table. It was a bit foreign to her, the whole eating as a family thing, but if there was anywhere to try it, it'd be here! "I'm sure it's great. I've been living off Yamada Mart bentos for the majority of my life, so I'm guessing anything is better at this point." Giving him two thumbs up, she looked at the seating arrangements. "Where should I...?"

"We've got chopsticks, uh... If you'd rather have those, too. It's kinda like a stew, so." Greg shrugged, ready to get up and fetch those if she needed them regardless. "Anywhere, really. Dad sits across from me, so... Left or right, looks like you'll be, uh... In between." He gestured to either seat, only four at this relatively small table, and then leaned back in his seat a little bit. There were a few 'ooh's and 'agh's of apparent pain in the kitchen, though nothing that sounded serious... Mr. Harman had a serious problem with accidentally touching pots, and they hadn't invested in a pair of oven mitts yet.

In between two americans. All kinds of dreams were coming true today! Sliding into the closest seat of the two options, she folded her hands politely in her lap. The noises worried her only slightly, and Seiya leaned over to try and catch a glimpse of Greg's dad's battle with their dinner. "I see...!"

Poor Daniel Harman was fighting with that pot, trying to hold one of its woefully metal handles while also ladling stew into rather large bowls. In the end he escaped with only some pinkish fingertips that'd be sore for a few minutes, thankfully! He came out of the kitchen with an apologetic smile and the two kids' bowls down first, then went to fetch his own.

The first thing that might strike Seiya is how horrible the dish before her looked. Brownish yellow with some unidentifiable chunks... An odd consistency too, like a stew but just a little thicker. A quick glance to Gregory would show that he looked just as wary, and he dipped his spoon in to lift up a chunk and let it drop back into the slop-like broth. "Uhhh... Like I said. Not always pretty..."

Seiya watched the poor man enter with two big bowls, setting one before each of them before disappearing again. To be perfectly honest, the plop of whatever Greg'd scooped out wasn't exactly comforting. But she'd eaten weirder, and always the polite girl in front of company, she stuck her spoon in and examined the food while the cook wasn't present. "Well, they say that effort is wasted in presentation!" No, no they don't. But it came from a good place, either way. "Thank you very much for having me!"

"Well, I'll give it a try first. If it's no good, we can head out... Uh, dad isn't the type to get offended. He knows he's not that good, heh." Greg dug his spoon in again, lifting out a chunk, and gave Seiya a little nod before sliding it into his mouth and furrowing his eyebrows. Hmmmmmmm. He shifted the spoon around in his mouth for a moment or two, eyes slightly narrowed... "Hmmmm." The boy dragged it on, taking the spoon out of his mouth and then rubbing at his chin... Before an errant snort gave it away, and then he cracked something like a smile. "It's good, uh, I'm kidding. Dig in, it's just chicken with cornbread. Ever had that?"

"Okay!" She gave him a serious nod, watching Greg intently as he took the first bite. What a brave soldier! Digging her fingertips into the edge of the table, Seiya leaned slightly forward as he dragged on his reaction. Completely mesmerized, his sudden snort made her jump. "Tch!! You had me worried!" Slapping his arm playfully, she grabbed her spoon, testing the waters. It wasn't half bad!

Mr. Harman stepped into the room after that little smack, all smiles as usual, and took his seat across from Greg just as the boy had predicted. He'd removed the apron, now just in a suit and tie, and clasped his hands together for a small 'grace' before digging right in. "So, this is your friend then? Are you in the same class?"

Greg ate a little slower than his father, who was doing so like a much hungrier man, and just shrugged at the question. There was a weird silence; apparently he wasn't going to be the one to answer!

Chewing slowly, she ate at about the same pace as her friend, swinging her feet gently beneath the table. Sure, things were a bit uncomfortable, but nothing too soul crushing. That is until the parent questions started rolling in.

"Ah... no, I'm a fourth year." Seiya scrunched up her nose. Man she felt old.

"Oh! How nice. You must not see each other too often, then? Or do you meet after school?" When he wasn't talking, the man was shoveling stew into his mouth. It was one aspect of a lifestyle where he really didn't like to waste time, if only because so little of it was often free! The fact he was home for dinner at all was about a 'once every two weeks' occurrence.

Greg spoke up this time, thankfully making this a bit less awkward. "Uh, nah. She works at Yamada Mart, I stop by there most days when I come home from school. Sometimes we hang out then, uh, so... Almost every day."

Blowing on the spoonful in front of her, she took another hearty bite, grinning all the while. It was nice that Greg had stepped in to answer the next one, giving her time to prepare her thoughts. "Mmhm!" was about all she could contribute, not looking up from her bowl.

It was easy to see that Mr. Harman was very happy about this, though it was probably embarrassing his son just a bit with how enthusiastic he was over it. "Very nice! [Awesome!] He hasn't been a little stinker, has he?" It was obvious from the man's tone that he was joking, "But no, Greg has always been a good boy. Good grades, too!"

Poor Gregory just about choked at the mention of his grades, and straightened up in his seat afterward. "Not -that- great."

"Oh he's really smart, I can tell." Seiya nodded seriously, eating a bit more of the surprisingly tasty dinner. He had mentioned being smart, and who was she not to take what he said as truth? "And he's a really good boy! I enjoy his company a lot." For whatever reason, that made her cheeks hot, and she opted for shoving more goop in her mouth before she further embarrassed herself.

Greg's cheeks had a pink tint to them, though it was almost entirely because they were talking about his school performance. It was a weird subject for him; good grades were awesome but he still felt like an absolute nerd whenever they were brought up. Not a good feeling! He chose instead to follow Seiya's lead and jam more questionably-food into his mouth.

Which was good, because his father still had plenty to say! "Wonderful, wonderful! [Cooool.] How do you like our apartment? I'm sure it's not quite what you're used to, and we're not done unpacking just yet!"

Pushing a particular lump in circles, Seiya averted the eyes of both Harman men, biting her lip a bit. "It's really nice, even like this. That's why I was here today, actually, to help decorate and unpack." She smiled to herself, scratching at her cheek nervously. "I live in a more traditional home, so it's nice to see what apartments are like."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject