Beach City Grill, Santa Cruz, Thursday

[lovemykilt]

"Let the people rejoice!" Priestly slammed into the sub shop with his usual fanfare. "I have arrived!"

Tish threw an apron at his head.

"So, are you just, like, late every day?"

Priestly considered this. "Not every day."

Jen smiled. "Sometimes he's super-late."

"Only when class runs long." Priestly tossed his bag into the back room and turned to the grill, rubbing his hands together. "Okay, special today: foie gras on whole wheat!"

The verdict on that one was a unanimous "No."

"Steak tartare?" He looked around for some support. "Ratatouille." Jen made faces at him. "Come on, French provincial subs by the inch! It'd be the new wave of portable gastronomy!"

"New wave," said Tish, "should stick to music."

Priestly gasped and pressed a hand to his chest. "You wound me, Tish. Right here."

She flicked a dish towel at him. "I can't believe people let you near a stove."

"On a daily basis." Priestly grinned. "Well, except with the steak tartare."

And thus began another beautiful day at the Beach City Grill.

[ooc: open for phone calls]

Comments

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yeaaah... No," Dinah said, walking a bit away, then darting across the street before picking up the conversation again. "There was an ugly mess in Karla's home last week. We all got out alive, but it was... worse than zombies." She sighed. "And then there was an intervention, my fault, and I'm not sure Karla's gonna forgive me for it."

[lovemykilt]

Okay, Priestly was so not going to be able to work and have this conversation at the same time. The shop was slow, so he shrugged to Jen and Tish and ducked into the back room.

"Intervention? Is everyone okay?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Well, traumatized by the stuff in the not-zombie mess, but. Physically fine." She grimaced, sitting down on a park bench to eat her sandwich. "Karla worked herself to nearly a skeleton, is the problem. And that wouldn't be a big deal, except it was the third time in two months, so I thought, 'hey, someone in her family maybe should know about this.' And then they freaked out."

[lovemykilt]

"Uh, yeah. It's sounding really pretty freaky, there."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yeah." Dinah sighed. "It just-- her family loves her, but they're intense. They were thinking of keeping her from going back to school. And Raven was there being super-intense. And... yeah. Karla's a tiger cub now. We'll see if she wants to talk to me when she's a girl again, I guess." She was quiet. "It did not go like I imagined it would in my head."

[lovemykilt]

Priestly rubbed his forehead. "Wait, her parents turned her into a tiger cub?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Nooo, my bad. Sorry! The island did to her what it did to you. Except tiger cub, not iguana." Dinah shook her head, nibbling on her sandwich. "Karla's parents died when she was nine. This was her uncle, and cousin, and another cousin. Who I'd never met. Or I'd have known they were all testosterone-y and commanding, not so much with the getting her a therapist. Magic therapist. Whatever."

[lovemykilt]

"I thought the women were in charge in her culture." Priestly was getting lost, here. "And I was a chameleon. Like the song."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"You were!" Dinah remembered that better now. "Blue and red. With the eyes... Women are supposed be? But there was a significant lack of older female sanity around. Honestly, I wished for every adult woman I knew while I was there. Including your mom." HA. That would've been awesome. Naomi giving them what-for.

[lovemykilt]

"Yeah, I think my mom mighta blown a gasket at the whole 'witchcraft' thing, period."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"There is that," Dinah said, sighing. "So yeah. Big fight. Sucky week. Came back, fought with Jaime. How's the rest of yours going? How's things with Tish now?"

[lovemykilt]

"I can't tell if she's being flirty or she doesn't like me."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"What's she doing?" Dinah asked, both genuinely interested and wanting the distraction.

[lovemykilt]

"She's very . . . snarky. I mean, she picks up guys in here like it's a fire sale, and she's totally different with them, but . . . they're just, like, pleasure drones or whatever. A new one every time. She's hard to read."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Hunh," Dinah said, considering that. "Pleasure drones? ... That doesn't mean she doesn't like you." Just maybe not like Priestly would want her to. Which was Tish's loss. "But it does sound complicated, jeez."

[lovemykilt]

"I know, right? But she's so . . . cool. And she's got a wicked sense of humor and -- oh man, Dinah, I got it bad."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Awww, Priestly." That so blew. "You guys can be friends until she realizes how awesome you are? And not when you get a preppy Malcolm makeover. Or, or, I dunno. I just don't want you to be a pleasure drone! You're worth a ton more than that."

[lovemykilt]

"Plus, I have way more self respect." Well, a little more, anyway. It had been awhile since he'd had sex.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yes! And now that you know she does that, well." What? "You can feel sorry for the drones. 'Cause they don't know they're drones. I mean. Nothing against that, I guess, but... it's a little empty."

Even if she kind of wished there were sex in the offing for herself somehow. Constant frustration with Jaime hadn't helped.

[lovemykilt]

"Yeah. I almost feel a little bad for her about that."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"There you go." Where, exactly, there was, Dinah wasn't sure. But, yeah. Something to say. "Otherwise she's still cool? Still cool with Jen, and Trucker, and other people?"

[lovemykilt]

"Oh yeah. She fits right in."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Then if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. I have faith," Dinah said stoutly. And if she could have faith for him, maybe there was some hope for her. "Tell her I said 'hey'. Even if she doesn't know me." She took a breath. "And I'll e-mail you after I talk to Kyle. Let you know how it goes."

[lovemykilt]

"Good luck, hon. I have to go see if we have any brie."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Thanks, Priestly. Love you. Transcontinental transdimensional virtual hugs are being sent to you right ... now!" She hugged herself, and snickered. "Later, gator."