Original: Movie Night.
Mar. 17th, 2006 04:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runicloreFor posterity, the final version of the story I plan to turn in. It needs editing, and could stand to be extended, but that can wait. Everything we turn in has to be edited by the end of the semester anyway, so there's no point in doing it now.
. . .
Suzy left the office early on Friday afternoon to make a quick trip into San Francisco. Later it would be her turn to host the unofficial office Movie Night, which had become a bi-weekly tradition over the last year or so when the turnover rate slowed down and she started seeing the same people every day, instead of temps and slackers, and whatever Gary thought he should hire. He was a great boss, the nicest guy on the planet, but that hadn't always translated into a great working environment in the past. She didn't like coming in every few weeks to find a new person sharing her cube.
That season the Bay Area poured rain at a rate that was surprising even to veteran citizens, and certainly to Suzy's desert-grown expectations. The Chronicle said it would let up around evening, so she trekked over to the BART station and was on her way, scrunched up by the window, though she had her doubts when she looked out. The sky was as thick and dark with clouds as it had been morning and noon, and wasn't giving any sign of letting up. Rain splattered on the glass and smeared the Oakland cityscape into a blur.
Powell station was crowded as usual, but the stores were mostly empty and the rain had let up just enough that Suzy didn't need an umbrella to stay dry. She picked up a cute skirt that Taylor hadn't wanted her to buy on their last visit - what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him - and stopped by the drugstore to stock up on snack food before she made her last stop at Lush to pick up a few bath items. He didn't like that she spent money on Lush either, which he probably thought was unnecessary when a person could by shampoo at any old store, but what was a fancy bath bomb now and then, anyway? She purchased three and got the name of the music they had blaring in the store before she went back home.
Someone had better be bringing the movies she thought, /because there's nothing between here and home to give me any ideas. The apartment was empty when she got there. Taylor was probably out late at work as usual, and he could deal with having her friends in his living room when he got home, if he bothered. It wouldn't be the first time he pulled an all-nighter on some project. If he hadn't been so in love with his parrot, he wouldn't be home at all.
Taylor's trainers tripped her up on the way into the bedroom and she swore.
"Yo, bitch!"
It would have been a good imitation of some gangster, if Suzy hadn't known better. She flipped the light on and kicked the trainers in on her way. "Fuck off, Ziggy."
"I said yo, bitch!" The stupid bird looked so gleeful about it that she just rolled her eyes and went straight into the bathroom. He'd shut up eventually.
After a minute staring at her stash of stuff, she kept one bath bomb out and stuffed the rest into a shoe box under the sink where she had to keep all of her 'unnecessary' crap. When the water was running warm into the tub and the drain was plugged, Suzy picked it up and held it up to her nose.
Lush called it 'Youki-Hi' after some legendary Chinese beauty, and said it smelled like jasmine. The store clerk said it would lift her mood, and while she didn't believe that any more than the hopeful weather reports, she tossed it in anyway and watched it fizz as she undressed. It was worth a try. The scent was nice. She went out to grab a magazine, ignored the parrot, and got into the tub.
She was in the middle of an article about female terrorists when the doorbell rang. Her watch, when she grabbed it, said the time was half past six. "Damn it!" She tossed the magazine aside and scrambled out of the tub to put a robe on, then rushed to the door. "Hold on!" she called when the bell rang again, and opened the door a crack.
Gary raised his eyebrows. "Uh, am I early?"
"No, no!" Suzy glanced around. Nothing was ready yet, but the apartment looked decent. "Sorry, can you wait just one minute? I've gotta get dressed."
"Yeah, sure."
"'Kay, thanks. Just a minute." She closed the door and ran back in to throw on some sweats and pull her hair into a ponytail. Ziggy whistled and banged on his cage with his beak. "Shut up already, will you? Agh!" She threw her towel at him and slammed the bedroom door on her way back to the front to let Gary in. "I'm really sorry, I just lost track of time--"
"Hey, don't worry about it." He grinned easily and glanced at the bedroom door. Ziggy's screeching was just audible through it. "So, um." He held up an Albertson's bag. "Need a beer?"
Mel couldn't make it that day as it turned out, and Patricia and Miyuki, the crazy duo, were caught in traffic on the freeway. Who knew what made them try their luck when they knew it was rush hour? Suzy had to hunt for a movie since no one else had thought of it, and came up with Taylor's well-loved VHS copy of Tomb Raider.
She held it up and shrugged. "It was an okay game, so?"
Gary laughed. "You played Tomb Raider?"
"Why not?" She decided to take that as a yes, and popped it into the VCR.
"Didn't think I'd ever see an honest-to-god girl gamer off the internet, is all."
"Yeah, well." Suzy flopped onto the sofa and patted the space next to her. "We're real. It makes you such a geek magnet though, geez." She could have said, Just look at Taylor, but refrained.
Although she hadn't seen the movie before and was a little curious since she'd played the series of games, it was difficult to concentrate on the screen. Ziggy's occasional screeching would have been easy to blame it on, and she hadn't had anything to eat except chips and beer, but it was Gary's arm across the back of the sofa that made her sit so still. He was so casual about it, like he didn't know what he was doing, and maybe he didn't. It wasn't like he had ever hit on her before, or showed any interest in the other girls at the office. Dating coworkers was bad form, everyone knew that.
Still, Suzy's attention centered on sitting absolutely still so she wouldn't brush his arm, and she had to concentrate not to glance over at Gary to see what he was thinking. He laughed at the movie, and made comments that she laughed at too, but she couldn't make herself relax until the doorbell announced the arrival of the Crazy Duo and gave her an excuse to bound up and get away from him for a few minutes.
Miyuki's crazy, girly chatter brought life back to the living room, and Suzy settled on a bean bag opposite Gary, where she could still participate and not have to take her old spot. He didn't make any other moves, so she concluded that it must have been an accident, and left it at that.
* * *
At eleven Suzy shooed everyone out, with thanks for showing up, and an extra apology to Gary for making him wait outside. She'd heard Ziggy screeching in the background the whole time, but no one else seem to mind. Opening the bedroom door shut the bird up. He hated to be shut in, Taylor said. Just give him some breathing space and let him run around.
Hell no, Suzy thought sourly as she collected beer cans and bottles and took them into the kitchen. She was in the middle of rinsing them out and putting them in the recycling bin when she heard the door open and close again - her boyfriend was finally home. A glance at the clock told her it was almost midnight.
She finished what she was doing before going back into the bedroom. "Hey, how was your day?"
"Sucked. We had a deadline." Taylor's voice echoed from the bathroom, where it sounded like he was brushing his teeth. Ziggy flapped over to the bed, not quite able to fly; the cage door was hanging open. "What is this, anyway? I can't take a shower with all this shit in the bathtub."
"What? Oh, I'm sorry." She squeezed past him to pull the plug and let the water drain. "It was movie night, and they got here early. I forgot all about it."
"C'mon Suzy, you know how this goes." He spit foam into the sink. "We have to share this bathroom, the least you could do is--"
"Look, I said I'm sorry, alright? Geez!" She grabbed her magazine and shoved it forcefully into the trashcan while he rinsed his mouth out. "It's not like I left it that way just to get on your nerves, Taylor."
He glanced at the tub, then at her. "Great, but you gonna clean off that stain? I'm not gonna clean up after your Lush shit."
"You--" Suzy pressed her lips together. "Want it done tonight? You can fucking clean it yourself." She pushed out of the bathroom and stormed out into the kitchen to straighten up before he could find something else to criticize her about.
So much for lifting her mood.
. . .
In the original news story, Suzy cheated on her boyfriend with Gary, who was identified only as a coworker. The relationship was basically revealed by the parrot, who kept mimicking her ah, involvement with the other guy. I'm sure someone has heard of this before - everyone I mention it to seems to recognize it after a while. Anyway, when interviewed, Suzy said she and Taylor were having problems already - not an excuse, in my opinion, but I figured I'd give her the benefit of the doubt for this story, since I'm required to write about it.
I started out hating the assignment, so... I really don't like this either. It has a little more character than the last try, but that's about it.
Inspired by experiences with a real bird - but not a parrot, and not in my own house, thank goodness - and a bit of Lush goodness to make me write it. My reward will come in next week. :P
Edit
The slightly-less-crappy version of this story.
. . .
Suzy left the office early on Friday afternoon to make a quick trip into San Francisco. Later it would be her turn to host the unofficial office Movie Night, which had become a bi-weekly tradition over the last year or so when the turnover rate slowed down and she started seeing the same people every day, instead of temps and slackers, and whatever Gary thought he should hire. He was a great boss, the nicest guy on the planet, but that hadn't always translated into a great working environment in the past. She didn't like coming in every few weeks to find a new person sharing her cube.
That season the Bay Area poured rain at a rate that was surprising even to veteran citizens, and certainly to Suzy's desert-grown expectations. The Chronicle said it would let up around evening, so she trekked over to the BART station and was on her way, scrunched up by the window, though she had her doubts when she looked out. The sky was as thick and dark with clouds as it had been morning and noon, and wasn't giving any sign of letting up. Rain splattered on the glass and smeared the Oakland cityscape into a blur.
Powell station was crowded as usual, but the stores were mostly empty and the rain had let up just enough that Suzy didn't need an umbrella to stay dry. She picked up a cute skirt that Taylor hadn't wanted her to buy on their last visit - what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him - and stopped by the drugstore to stock up on snack food before she made her last stop at Lush to pick up a few bath items. He didn't like that she spent money on Lush either, which he probably thought was unnecessary when a person could by shampoo at any old store, but what was a fancy bath bomb now and then, anyway? She purchased three and got the name of the music they had blaring in the store before she went back home.
Someone had better be bringing the movies she thought, /because there's nothing between here and home to give me any ideas. The apartment was empty when she got there. Taylor was probably out late at work as usual, and he could deal with having her friends in his living room when he got home, if he bothered. It wouldn't be the first time he pulled an all-nighter on some project. If he hadn't been so in love with his parrot, he wouldn't be home at all.
Taylor's trainers tripped her up on the way into the bedroom and she swore.
"Yo, bitch!"
It would have been a good imitation of some gangster, if Suzy hadn't known better. She flipped the light on and kicked the trainers in on her way. "Fuck off, Ziggy."
"I said yo, bitch!" The stupid bird looked so gleeful about it that she just rolled her eyes and went straight into the bathroom. He'd shut up eventually.
After a minute staring at her stash of stuff, she kept one bath bomb out and stuffed the rest into a shoe box under the sink where she had to keep all of her 'unnecessary' crap. When the water was running warm into the tub and the drain was plugged, Suzy picked it up and held it up to her nose.
Lush called it 'Youki-Hi' after some legendary Chinese beauty, and said it smelled like jasmine. The store clerk said it would lift her mood, and while she didn't believe that any more than the hopeful weather reports, she tossed it in anyway and watched it fizz as she undressed. It was worth a try. The scent was nice. She went out to grab a magazine, ignored the parrot, and got into the tub.
She was in the middle of an article about female terrorists when the doorbell rang. Her watch, when she grabbed it, said the time was half past six. "Damn it!" She tossed the magazine aside and scrambled out of the tub to put a robe on, then rushed to the door. "Hold on!" she called when the bell rang again, and opened the door a crack.
Gary raised his eyebrows. "Uh, am I early?"
"No, no!" Suzy glanced around. Nothing was ready yet, but the apartment looked decent. "Sorry, can you wait just one minute? I've gotta get dressed."
"Yeah, sure."
"'Kay, thanks. Just a minute." She closed the door and ran back in to throw on some sweats and pull her hair into a ponytail. Ziggy whistled and banged on his cage with his beak. "Shut up already, will you? Agh!" She threw her towel at him and slammed the bedroom door on her way back to the front to let Gary in. "I'm really sorry, I just lost track of time--"
"Hey, don't worry about it." He grinned easily and glanced at the bedroom door. Ziggy's screeching was just audible through it. "So, um." He held up an Albertson's bag. "Need a beer?"
Mel couldn't make it that day as it turned out, and Patricia and Miyuki, the crazy duo, were caught in traffic on the freeway. Who knew what made them try their luck when they knew it was rush hour? Suzy had to hunt for a movie since no one else had thought of it, and came up with Taylor's well-loved VHS copy of Tomb Raider.
She held it up and shrugged. "It was an okay game, so?"
Gary laughed. "You played Tomb Raider?"
"Why not?" She decided to take that as a yes, and popped it into the VCR.
"Didn't think I'd ever see an honest-to-god girl gamer off the internet, is all."
"Yeah, well." Suzy flopped onto the sofa and patted the space next to her. "We're real. It makes you such a geek magnet though, geez." She could have said, Just look at Taylor, but refrained.
Although she hadn't seen the movie before and was a little curious since she'd played the series of games, it was difficult to concentrate on the screen. Ziggy's occasional screeching would have been easy to blame it on, and she hadn't had anything to eat except chips and beer, but it was Gary's arm across the back of the sofa that made her sit so still. He was so casual about it, like he didn't know what he was doing, and maybe he didn't. It wasn't like he had ever hit on her before, or showed any interest in the other girls at the office. Dating coworkers was bad form, everyone knew that.
Still, Suzy's attention centered on sitting absolutely still so she wouldn't brush his arm, and she had to concentrate not to glance over at Gary to see what he was thinking. He laughed at the movie, and made comments that she laughed at too, but she couldn't make herself relax until the doorbell announced the arrival of the Crazy Duo and gave her an excuse to bound up and get away from him for a few minutes.
Miyuki's crazy, girly chatter brought life back to the living room, and Suzy settled on a bean bag opposite Gary, where she could still participate and not have to take her old spot. He didn't make any other moves, so she concluded that it must have been an accident, and left it at that.
* * *
At eleven Suzy shooed everyone out, with thanks for showing up, and an extra apology to Gary for making him wait outside. She'd heard Ziggy screeching in the background the whole time, but no one else seem to mind. Opening the bedroom door shut the bird up. He hated to be shut in, Taylor said. Just give him some breathing space and let him run around.
Hell no, Suzy thought sourly as she collected beer cans and bottles and took them into the kitchen. She was in the middle of rinsing them out and putting them in the recycling bin when she heard the door open and close again - her boyfriend was finally home. A glance at the clock told her it was almost midnight.
She finished what she was doing before going back into the bedroom. "Hey, how was your day?"
"Sucked. We had a deadline." Taylor's voice echoed from the bathroom, where it sounded like he was brushing his teeth. Ziggy flapped over to the bed, not quite able to fly; the cage door was hanging open. "What is this, anyway? I can't take a shower with all this shit in the bathtub."
"What? Oh, I'm sorry." She squeezed past him to pull the plug and let the water drain. "It was movie night, and they got here early. I forgot all about it."
"C'mon Suzy, you know how this goes." He spit foam into the sink. "We have to share this bathroom, the least you could do is--"
"Look, I said I'm sorry, alright? Geez!" She grabbed her magazine and shoved it forcefully into the trashcan while he rinsed his mouth out. "It's not like I left it that way just to get on your nerves, Taylor."
He glanced at the tub, then at her. "Great, but you gonna clean off that stain? I'm not gonna clean up after your Lush shit."
"You--" Suzy pressed her lips together. "Want it done tonight? You can fucking clean it yourself." She pushed out of the bathroom and stormed out into the kitchen to straighten up before he could find something else to criticize her about.
So much for lifting her mood.
. . .
In the original news story, Suzy cheated on her boyfriend with Gary, who was identified only as a coworker. The relationship was basically revealed by the parrot, who kept mimicking her ah, involvement with the other guy. I'm sure someone has heard of this before - everyone I mention it to seems to recognize it after a while. Anyway, when interviewed, Suzy said she and Taylor were having problems already - not an excuse, in my opinion, but I figured I'd give her the benefit of the doubt for this story, since I'm required to write about it.
I started out hating the assignment, so... I really don't like this either. It has a little more character than the last try, but that's about it.
Inspired by experiences with a real bird - but not a parrot, and not in my own house, thank goodness - and a bit of Lush goodness to make me write it. My reward will come in next week. :P
Edit
The slightly-less-crappy version of this story.