I'm Not Old (Open)

[Macie Wyatt]

Macie produced her ID to the bartender who raised an eyebrow at how hesitant she'd been. She just didn't want them to point out that she was old. For some reason, 27 felt much older than 26. But she was still being IDed which couldn't mean she was too old.

"Thanks miss," the bartender told her, obviously thrown off by her strange behavior and she nodded before digging around in her purse for her tablet. She planned on drinking a few cocktails and going back to her apartment to watch the food network. She'd likely end up getting in a one-sided screaming match with the judges of various shows, but that was her ideal way to spend her birthday. After all, it was a Thursday night, and Talia had only been able to get lunch with her, and so here she was, not at all ashamed to be at the bar by herself. Macie would happily get lost in her own world. 

[Anjali Kedar]

Twenty one.  Being twenty one was, well, not very different than being twenty.  The only difference Anjali felt was being treated differently when others saw her ID.  She didn't look any older, feel any older and she certainly didn't act any older.  In the laws eyes she was officially adult, capable of doing anything except renting a car, but it just didn't feel any different.  Strange how time worked that way.

The problem with being twenty one was finding people to go to the bar with.  Her roommate was eighteen, so Kate was out, and those friends who were of age, and she felt comfortable enough to ask to come with her to the bar, were either busy tonight or too broke to afford drinking the overpriced beverages at the bar.  Anjali, on the other hand, had birthday money in her pocket.  She was normally extremely tight with her cash, putting it away for a rainy day, but this was a celebration! It wasn't her actual birthday, but she was old enough to drink and she was tired of waiting.  She wanted to know what the bar was all about, and she wanted her experience to be nice! So, that's what she did.  Alone.

Anjali went in and straight to the bar, suddenly realizing she'd really never drank before.  Not at a bar, anyway.  What did you order at bars? There was beer of course, but beer was never her thing, and wine, well.. she wasn't interested in drinking wine.  Her parents frowned on drinking, but they frowned on a lot of things.  She had plenty of time to be a responsible adult, which meant if she was going to drink she needed to do it now before she was hunkered down with some overbearing man and bearing his little brown babies.  The thought alone made her a little depressed; the perfect mindset for a stiff drink.  But what to order?

"Excuse me," She said politely to the woman beside her.  "Uhm, this is going to sound strange," She started, smiling a bit bashfully, a nervous habit, "But what's a good drink that doesn't taste.. too alcoholy but will make me, uhh, well I don't want to get drunk, but, you know, like, buzzed I guess? Is that the right word?" She was showing her inexperience, but she didn't know how to make her mouth stop so it just kept going.  "I've never ordered a drink from a bar, and I promised myself I wouldn't admit that out loud tonight, but here we are, my mouth moving.  You'd think I was already drunk."  The last part was grumbled as she looked away, her cheeks warm with embarrassment.  Could she be any more of a freak?

[Macie Wyatt]

Macie turned to the young woman who had sat down next to her, younger than her for sure. She tucked a loose piece of short blonde hair behind her ear, regarding her politely. She smiled at her naivety and unexperience with alcohol and the bar scene in general. Macie in no way frequented the bars often. Mimosa Sundays was her main hangout mostly because of the atmosphere. Most bars made her feel uncomfortable, Mimosa Sundays was different.

She giggled. "Don't worry about it." She wasn't exactly an expert when it came to alochol, but she knew what she liked and she enjoyed drinks that were fruity and delicious and only got you tipsy after a few. It seemed she would like the same. "Mixed drinks are the route you want to go. I love cocktails. She stirred the drink that got set down in front of her in a glass. "I like Malibu pineapple." She leaned down to the counter, trying to get her lips around the straw, rather thn picking up the glass. She always had to use a straw. She preferred it and didn't think about how ridiculous she surely looked. There was nothing to be embarrassed about as far as Macie was concerned. "Sex on the beach is also really good." She blushed lightly. "The drink of course.

[Anjali Kedar]

Mixed drinks.  Cocktails. Was there a difference? She would have to google that later.  Hopefully she remembered.  She also wasn't entirely sure what Malibu pineapple was.  Was it a specific kind of alcohol? Or was it a mixed drink cocktail thing? She suddenly felt stupid fro coming out without doing a bit of homework first.  It would have been very like her to do some studying on drink combinations before running out the door, but she had sadly assumed they would have a little menu.  TGIFridays did! They kept that little book on the table that told what drinks you could order and what was in it, like electric lemonade or whatever the giant blue drink in the glass goblet was.  She didn't know, she'd never been old enough to order it, nor was the company she usually had when visiting that particular restaurant.  Mimosa Sundays didn't have that little booklet though, so she had no choice but to go along with the strange girls suggestions.  She seemed like she knew what she was talking about anyway.

Anjali let out a quick sharp laugh at the name of the other drink.  "Is that a real thing!?" She asked, suddenly feeling sheltered.  What a filthy name for a beverage, though comical. How many drinks had dirty names? That probably wasn't the only one.  Something told her something that silly would be a trend.

"Maybe I'll stick with Malibu pineapple.  It sounds innocent enough."  Now the hard part was getting the bartenders attention.  He walked by just as she thought to go ahead and order, but he was already at the other side of the bar, taking orders.  Instead she turned back to the other girl.  "Are you waiting for someone?"

[Macie Wyatt]

"Yeah, it's a real thing," Macie said with a nod. "Believe me, it was the first drink one of my friend's told me to go up to the bartender and order and it was actually really embarassing." Especially since she'd said 'I'd like sex on the beach' rather than 'I'd like a sex on the beach.' She was glad she wasn't the only one shocked by certain things. She'd always felt very sheltered compared to others.

"I'd definitely go with that." She smiled at the younger woman. She probably should have told her what was in it. "Oh! Uh, Malibu is a tropical rum and it's with pineapple juice. It's really good." The tricky part was getting the bartender's attention especially when you were shy. Macie often ended up being the last person served because she raised her hand hesitantly and lowered it when they seemed preoccupied.

"No," she replied, slightly embarrassed. Spending her birthday night alone wasn't a problem for her, but it seemed embarrassing when she admitted it.

[Anjali Kedar]

Anjali chuckled softly at the story. She could relate to that on some level, not that she'd done that specifically, but she'd said plenty of stupid things to people. She could only imagine what it would feel like to ask for that drink. Anjali would be afraid the bartender wouldn't know what that was and she'd look like a bigger idiot than she typically already did.
 

A tropical rum.. She knew Malibu had coconuts on the bottle, so maybe a coconut rum? Or did that show it was tropical.. She wasn't sure it mattered.
 If it was good, it was good.  Her mind was made up, now all she needed was the bartender to pay her notice, something that seemed a lot easier than it actually was.


"Me either." Anjali admitted, not catching the embarrassment in the other girls voice.  "I just turned 21 and I've been dying to go out.  No one could go on my birthday, which was fine, I really couldn't go either because I had class early the next morning and work in the evening so I didn't want to risk getting drunk or having a hangover so really it was probably for the best.  But I got tired of waiting and tonight's a good night for me because I don't have anything to do in the morning, so I figured hey, why not, I can go by myself, I'm sure there will be someone nice to talk to, and here I am, asking a complete stranger for drink recommendations and babbling like a brook."  She took a deep breath, feeling short of breath after all of that.  "Oh, He's coming back! Excuse me!"  She waived to the bartender, flagging him down.  He came right over and she politely asked for her drink, pulling her money out.  

"This isn't what I was expecting.  I don't know what I was expecting, though.."

[Macie Wyatt]

Macie shrugged. "It's my birthday today," she admitted. It wasn't such a big deal that she was on her own though. She was simple when it came to celebrations. She wouldn't have wanted it to be a big deal. However, she certainly wished she was turning twenty-one instead. This young woman was proving to be nice to talk to though. She obviously was responsible which was something Macie liked. She was the same way. She'd never gone to work or school hungover. Then again, she'd also never had a drop of alcohol until she was of age. She had a pretty high moral code that she expected of herself. She also had a tendency to ramble which Macie could certainly relate to.

She smiled over at the woman. "It could be worse. You could have happened upon a guy who was really horrible at flirting." Then the bartender finally headed in their direction and handed the other woman her drink.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked, unsure if she'd given a good suggestion or not.

[Anjali Kedar]

When the woman admitted it was her birthday, her eyes lit up.  "No way!" Why on earth was she alone at the bar on her birthday?! Probably the same reason she was out alone celebrating her own, only it wasn't her actual birthday today.  That had passed, but still they had almost the same birthday! "Happy birthday! Next drinks on me." She grinned, swinging her feet a little.  "I'm celebrating my birthday, too.  Only, yah know, today's not my actual birthday." She laughed a little while rolling her shoulders.  

Her drink came and she reached for it with a soft word of thanks, not trying it just yet.  "I suppose I could have." She laughed, shaking her head.  "Honestly, I'm completely oblivious to being hit on, so it never would have dawned on me he was badly flirting.  So really, it's not the worst thing in the world if someone had." She admitted.  It wouldn't help that she would felt absolutely nothing for the guy.  Now if that guy were a girl.. maybe she'd pick up on it then.  Guys were weird..


"No, I guess it's not."  She sipped her drink, her eyes widening.  "Whoa, this is good! Probably better than Sex on the Beach." She teased.  "So am I keeping you from the horribly flirting guys?"

[Macie Wyatt]

"Thanks," Macie told the younger woman, blushing slightly and hoping nobody came out with a candle on a cupcake singing. That was a nightmare. "It's just as much your birthday as mine! I'll have to buy you a drink as well." Besides, when could naybody really spend their birthday celebrating anymore? There were so many other things to be done in life before you celebrated yourself. "Well, at least you're young." Macie felt old.

Macie had a feeling they'd get along. She was fairly oblivious to people hitting on her as well. Besides, she was just sot firendly, it was like they were being friendly back. "Oh, good!" She was relieved. "But..." she began. She said she hadn't had a sex on the beach yet. And then she got it. She was making fun. She laughed. That was good after all! "Oh, no. I'm not here to be flirted with. Just to enjoy a few drinks and speak my language for a while." She realized the other woman probably wouldn't know what that meant. "I'm an ASL interpretor."

[Anjali Kedar]

Anjali cocked a brow at the woman beside her.  The way she'd commented on her being young made it seem like the other woman didn't feel that way, which to Anjali seemed ridiculous.  She looked young! Not terribly older than she herself, if she had to guess.  Then again looks were deceiving.  one of Anjali's aunts looked much younger than she actually was.  She was the one she borrowed clothes from when she went home to visit if she needed to look nice for something, specifically Indian related.  The woman had some of the most intricately beaded sari's she'd ever seen in colors that would make any rainbow jealous.

Speak her own language seemed like a very interesting reason to come out to the bar.  Whatever that meant.  Was English not her native language? Unless she was expecting someone to come and speak with her in another language, but she didn't sound like she had an accent and she said she wasn't meeting anyone.  Anjali was confused for a moment before the answer was explained.

"Well that makes way more sense than the weird ideas that popped into my head!" She insisted with a short laugh.  "That's really cool, though! I know the ASL alphabet! Well, most of it.  Or half of it.  I like J and Z best." Was that a strange thing to say? She knew it probably was. "What made you learn ASL?"

[Macie Wyatt]

"I just turned twenty-eight," Macie admitted. "Another year closer to thirty." She tried not to look at it that way, but it continuously happened. Positive thinking could be difficult.

"Yeah, sorry. I only speak English verbally," she corrected. What made her sad was that a lot of people didn't think about ASL as a language because it wasn't verbal. She smiled at the younger woman, happy that people were still taking it upon themselves to educate themselves in a language that wasn't traditional. "J and Z are fun," she agreed, signing them. "It's because they require finger movements." She considered her question. "When I was in high school, there were a few deaf students in my graduating class. Watching them sign just fascinated me." It was that simple.

[Anjali Kedar]

Twenty-eight was old.  Well, not really old.  Not in the sense that old people were old, but it was older than Anjali and in her mind it was sort of significant, though not really.  She had plenty of family who was older than that who she didn't exactly consider old.  Still, she could understand why the woman beside her felt old.  She'd just entered her twenties a year ago, she couldn't imagine the feeling of pushing thirty.  Fortunately she didn't have to.  Not for a few years yet.  Then again the blond didn't admit to feeling old.  Anjali simply assumed that by the way she talked about it.

Anjali cracked a smile and chuckled softly.  That was precisely the reason she liked J and Z.  They actually moved and therefor made her feel like she was speaking the language.  She knew a handful of actual words, but none of them strung together made a logical sentence.  "I like moving my hands." She insisted with a goofy smile on her lips.

Her reason for learning seemed simple and therefor interesting.  Most people had a deaf brother or something that pushed them into learning the language, but this scenario was different, in a nice kind of way.  "That's pretty neat, actually." She agreed, running a hand through her hair.  "I had a friend in high school who was hard of hearing and I thought I would impress her.  So I learned the alphabet, but have since forgot.  She wasn't completely deaf.  She taught me boring."  Anjali explained, pushing her left pointer to her nose and twirling it along the side to do the sign for boring.  "She was bored a lot in class.."