Creamy goodness (Open!)

[Georgina Speer]

The day had gone well so far for George, amazingly well even, and it was only 11 o'clock. She woke up at 9 and eaten the breakfast of kings: bacon and waffles, and then had spent the rest of her time looking at hats around the town centre. Or the "mall" as everyone here said. Honestly, she'd been in America for 3 years now and she still called everything by it's British name. And people would correct her. She'd be in mid-spiel about how someone pushed her off of the pavement or something and someone would always say, "What's a pavement?" Or even better: " Do you mean sidewalk?" It was fine at first, but when it happens now, it just ticks her off to no end.

After buying two new hats and a new computer game she would spend all night playing, George felt thhat her throat was a bit dry, so it was time for some liquidy goodness! As if God himself had intended it, out infront of her stood a glorious sign: Starbucks. She smiled as she went in. As soon as she opened the front door, the smell of strong coffee and pastries hit her senses and she could've melted on the spot. It was heaven. She walked up and joined the short queue infront of her and scanned her eyes over the display of baked goods trying her best not to drool on the glass. The lady behind the till cleared her throat and George looked up. "Yes?" The lady sighed in obvious anger, "What would you like to order?"

George considered her options for a moment, then ordered, "A caramel hot chocolate, Grande, and a cinnamon swirl, my good lady!" The woman snorted and George paid for her delicious treats. She waited by the counter for her delivery of sugary goodness and looked around the room: there was an elderly couple enjoying a pot of tea and some biscuits in the corner, a middle aged man sat with a mug of coffee impatiently waiting for something to happen and a teen mother trying to feed her baby without spilling her drink. She sighed at the sight and began drumming her fingers against the countertops, trying not to get bored out of her mind.

[Jade Parrish]

Jade watched as Gretchen took the order from the girl at the counter who'd been staring up at the menu as if she'd never set foot in a Starbucks in her life. Gretchen was impatient and actually rather crabby most of the time. Jade was rather tooth and nail with her though, you had to be to not let it affect you. It was another long stretch of a shift at Starbucks. Good thing she was done soon. She kept watching the clock.

"Grande caramel hot chocolate!" Gretchen yelled, turning back to look at Jade for a moment. She immediately got to work on it and put the cinnamon swirl on a plate for her, bringing her drink and her pastry to the end of the counter where the brunette drummed her fingers.

"Sorry about her," Jade said with a roll of her eyes. "She's always like that with people. I don't think it's anything personal." The girl had an accent and a mischevious look to her that immediately caught Jade's eye.

[Georgina Speer]

She grinned as her drink and pastry were brought over, the smell of caramel was intoxicatingly good. She looked at the girl who had given her the treats and took in what she said about the lady behind the till, smirked and then replied, "It's not a problem, I know how people can be. I was just poking fun is all."

She picked up her mug of liquid gold and took a sip. After letting it glide down her throat, she nodded and tilted the mug towards the lady, "Thanks, by the way, this is probably the best caramel hot chocolate I've ever had." She had been to Starbucks numerous times before, and either ordered that or a cup of tea, depending on what her taste buds and brain was asking for. She stepped back a little, pulling her goodies with her as she did so she was out of the way of any of the other customers. She hoped the lady wouldn't mind that she wanted to keep a conversation going.

She put the mug back down and picked up the cinnamon swirl, biting into it and moaning at how good it was as well. She felt the flakes of pastry that had attached themselves to her lips and left them there, "Mmm, this is soo good... I bet you have a lot of friends because of your job here, hm?" If she knew the lady as a friend, she would visit her workplace every day and give her a million dollars worth of tips. Stabucks was awesome.

[Jade Parrish]

"Poking fun at Gretchen is actually kind of fun. Just don't do it too often or she might bite your head off," Jade joked and nodded at her as she sipped at her caramel hot chocolate. "Well, after being year for several years, making drinks here is second nature to me. Honestly, I put more caramel in it than I should." She sent the girl a wink.

"And not exactly, although a lot of people do flirt with me, if that counts?" She laughed. She glanced at the clock again. Finally, her shift was over. She untied her apron and hung it up, making her way around the corner of the counter to stand in front of the girl. She never toned down her style, even for work, and was wearing a black and white striped dress with black tights and her usual combat boots. "And now my shift is done, which means now I need a coffee."

[Georgina Speer]

She chuckled when the girl talked about... Gretchen, was it? She knew many people like that... actually anyone who tried to have authority around her was like that. She brushed some crumbs off of her clothes and went to pick up her hot chocolate again. Her chuckles died down as she looked into her drink. She smirked about the extra caramel, "I appreciate the added sugar, then!" She sent a cheeky wink back at the girl and took another slurp of the heaven in a cup. She nodded as she drank, some of the cinnamon flakes mixing with the drink, "Flirting always counts."

She watched the girl come around the counter and chuckled again at her need for coffee, "I'm amazed that you're not sick of it, I mean, you make it all the time." She thought for a second and spoke again, "So you can't just make coffee for yourself during your shift? That must suck." George wasn't a huge fan of coffee herself, only turned to drinking it when she needed that caffeine buzz, and even then she would overload it with milk and sugar; she wasn't big on the bitter taste.

She felt the need to introduce herself; even if their conversation wasn't gonna last more than a few minutes, which it could, the situation could go either way, she wanted to know this girl's name. Heck, she seemed nice enough, is there something wrong with making new friends? "By the way, my name's Georgina Speer, but just call me George or something. Georgina sounds too... uppity."

[Jade Parrish]

"As you should. I feel like I need a good dose of sugar everyday just to make it by," Jade said with a grin before asking Gretchen for a mocha latte with an espresso shot, her usual. She paid (half-price that is) and then turned to the girl, leaning up against the counter as she waited for her drink. "Sometimes I can. Depends whose working. Some managers are strict. Some aren't." She shrugged her shoulders.

She was really digging her accent. It was fun to listen to people talk in general, but even more fun when they sounded different than you. Jade was always observing people. "George it is then," she agreed with a nod. "I'm Jade."

[Georgina Speer]

She nodded in response and took another slurp of her drink. She could relate, because her teachers were like Jade's managers; some were more laidback and relaxed whereas others would bite your head off if you breathed too loudly.

She smiled when the girl introduced herself, "Nice to meet you, Jade." She swirled her drink around a little, as she was reaching the bottom of it, and she tipped back the mug one last time, as the last drops fell into her kouth. She placed the empty mug on another table which had dirty plates and mugs already left on it from a couple that had left quite recently and picked up the plate with her pastry on it, before asking Jade a question, "So, what do you normally do after your shifts? Do you lurk around in here or bugger off somewhere else?" Bugger off, could she sound anymore British? Well, it was better than saying fuck off by any means.

[Jade Parrish]

"Oh, trust me, I never lurk around here for too long. I practically live here already," Jade told George before Gretchen handed her drink to her. She thanked her and turned back to George. "I usually get my coffee and get out of here. Maybe do some shopping since I'm already at the mall." She realized how typically girly she sounded and it amused her. She wasn't typical at all. Clothes and fashion was a release and there was nothing wrong with always looking good. Good in Jade's opinion anyway. Her style was different and her hair was never perfectly in place.

"British phrases always get me. But I guess I'm not sure if that's how I'd describe what I do in my free time." She grinned at George, taking a sip of her latte. At least Gretchen knew exactly how she liked it. "I'm a college student, so when I'm not here, I'm usually doing homework, but I do know how to have fun."

[Georgina Speer]

She nodded and took the last few bites of her deliciously crumbly pastry, before placing it with her mug on that same table. Personally, George wasn't exactly one for shopping, unless it was for games, converses or hats. Mainly hats. Which was obvious enough with the shopping bag she had on a seat near her, which had two or three hats almost falling out of it. She picked it up to avoid any damage to her new beauties.

"Well, its nice to know that you appriciate my homeland. The Queen thanks you a thousand times over, m'lady." She gave a cheeky grin and did silly, dramatic bow. She loved mucking around; it lightened up everyone around her. Well, usually. With Gretchen merrily sulking at her from behind the counter, it was hard to feel like she was entertaining anyone.

"Education is evil. It's why they begin with the same letter." George stated, matter-of-factly, as if it were true. (There was yet to be any contrasting evidence found to be against this statement!)

"So," she gave Jade a side smirk, "when you say you go shopping, whereabouts does this activity take place? Because I would like to join you in your quest for a new jacket or something, if you wouldn't mind my presence." She definitely wasn't one to go shopping for the sake of it, but come on! The oppurtunity was staring her in the face like a dog that wanted food, with those huge adorable eyes that you would throw yourself into a volcano for. She made a mental note: I am great at making metaphors. If there was a job in metaphor making, I'd be fucking rich! She chuckled a little to herself. She was good at make herself laugh.

[Jade Parrish]

Jade liked this girl, her sense of humor was enough to catch Jade's attention. She tended to latch onto things about people and this was the thing about George. "The real question is, why did you leave your homeland?" And there it was. A personal question. Jade found it hard not to ask them when she wondered so much about people. It was the reporter on her and it usually took her a minute to realize that maybe she shouldn't have asked the question.

"I kind of just float around the mall. Although I have to say I'm more into thrift shops. They have the best unique stuff." She would love to help George find a jacket. And herself something new too.

[Georgina Speer]

She tread carefully with an answer to her question. Of course, she could've just fooled around and said something along the lines of an alien abduction, but there was no harm in being honest. Well, she would have to miss out a few minor details, but c'est la vie! "Well, I got offered a place at the glorious Hammel Institute, so here I am! Of course, the rest of my family are still in England, but I see them when I can." She smiled brightly, but she wasn't entirely happy about the situation. Yeah, she had quite a free reign without the 'rents around to tell her off, but she was still a kid. She needed her family.

George tried to forget about those depressing thoughts and turned her attention back to Jade, "Thrift shops are always fun!" She thought to herself for a second, then spoke again, "Y'know, if you want, I'm not busy. We could go now?" OK, OK, George Speer wasn't generally one for shopping for the sake of it, but she genuinely needed a new jacket. She smiled hopefully at the girl; she seemed really friendly, like a good person to be in the company of.

[Jade Parrish]

"Ah, Hammel..." Jade trailed off. "You know, I sort of got the vibe you were a meta, but I wasn't positive. My meta radar is almost as good as my gaydar, but not quite." She laughed, trying to peg her for a power. She wasn't really sure what it could be. "Anyway, it's rough leaving your family behind...especially since you were in England. Vermont is a whole different world and Hammel can be a bit torturous. I'm so glad I got out of that place." She realized she was rambling and shook her head. "Ignore me. Sometimes I don't shut up."

The idea of having company to the thrift stores was awesome though. It was something she'd become accustomed to doing by herself. "Yeah, totally! Although don't get mad at me if I try on like twenty dresses." She smirked.

[Georgina Speer]

George just smiled and nodded whilst Jade rambled on as bit about Vermont and Hammel and -wait. She had been to Hammel? She shook her head and spoke, "It's fine, honestly. But... you went to Hammel? That's awesome!" She smiled brightly with enthusiasm, "So, what's your..." she waved her right hand around, trying to think of a good name, "doo-hickey?" George didn't like calling people's 'talents' by the name of powers. It just seemed weird, like you were labelling them as a superhero or something, which they weren't. They were just regular people who happened to be born with a gift was all. She pushed her thoughts and opinions on that topic to the back of her mind to keep her family company; this wasn't the time for a mental rant.

"I won't mind. If you don't mind me trying on every hat that I see!" She stuck her tongue out at Jade jokingly and winked. This girl seemed like good fun!

[Jade Parrish]

"Yeah, I graduated almost two years ago, and thank God. That place was torture!" Jade exclaimed, thinking of her parents for a split second and how they'd surely have something to say about her using the lord's name in vain. She raised an eyebrow at George. "Doo-hickey?" She let out a laugh. A lot of people judged her immensely when she told them her power, maybe because it made her seem like a villain, more than a superhero. But she didn't think she'd have that problem with George. She was a very good judge of character and she could already see how easy going the brunette was. And attractive, that was.

"Paralysis Inducement," she mentioned casually. "What's your doo-hickey?" She used George's term in response and smirked.

"Not at all! You have a passion for hats and that works for me!" She could tell that George wasn't going to be boring to shop with and she liked that.

[Georgina Speer]

George huffed out a breathy laugh, "Tell me about it." She hadn't had the worst time at Hammel, not in the least, but the bad experiences were starting to balance out the good. Hopefully the future would hold more fun (and possibly more productivity, George was a lazy bum). She smiled and chuckled at Jade's reaction to her name for the meta powers; her own power wasn't the most interesting power in the world, if anything, she was jealous of those with more useful or unusual doo-hickeys. So, of course, she was jealous of Jade's 'Paralysis Inducement', that sounded fun! And dangerous, but if you thought about it like that, you were boring.

"Tracking; useless unless you want to stalk someone." It was the truth! She hadn't really used it for anything other than that yet.

She smirked and cocked her hat in response to Jade's acceptance of her hat madness. George hoped she realized she was being serious, she was going to try on practically any hat that caught her sight. "Brilliant." she said simply, pointing towards the exit. "We depart!" she announced loudly, as she followed where her hand was pointing. She stopped in the doorway, turning to Gretchen and bowing extravagantly, waving her arm in front of her, "Au revoir, Lady Lump!" she said, wondering if that was a bit too mean, before turning on her heels and leaving with big strides.

Hopefully Jade was following through all the excitement, she forgot for a moment that she was leaving with her, after all.