Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (83% full).
Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly cloudy. The temperature is 67 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the west at 6 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.05 and rising, and the relative humidity is 61 percent. The dewpoint is 53 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius.)
It is currently 22:02 Pacific Time on Wed Aug 1 2001.
Roach Motel: Bachelorette Pad(#4128RAJ$)
Small, but inviting, this little apartment is clearly dwelling of a person who spends a lot of time at home. The sitting area has a reclining chair with heating, massage, and built in stereo speakers. The sofa is big enough to fit two comfortably. The home entertainment center is overloaded with scores of books. Titles like "Rescuing the Bible From Middle America" or "Zarathustra: Modernism in Antiquity" can be seen here, along with dozens of dime-store paperbacks. Though the TV set and all its accompanying equipment take up quite as much space as the books, the electronics are somewhat dwarfed by the quantity of reading material. A fine writing table and a computer desk are crowded in, the computer powered up and humming softly. Two swivelling office chairs sit nearby, at attention. The walls are decorated with nature scenes, among them a well-rendered image of a pack of wolves howling at a full moon.
The kitchen looks as if it might never have been cooked in. A small microwave on the counter is still blinking "12:00", no one having bothered to set the clock. Beside it is an electric can opener. The only evidence of use is a single glass in the stainless steel sink and a few fast-food bags in the trashcan. The sole decoration on the refrigerator is a postcard bearing a photograph of a monstrous, grimy power plant with "Come to Hanford!" printed on the bottom in fluorescent green.
Through a door opposite the kitchen, the tiny bedroom looks slightly more lived-in. On top of a black particle-board dresser sit a hairbrush, a few hair-ties, and several plastic hairclips, along with a small pile of cheap costume jewelry. A frame designed to hold several of snapshots is hung squarely on the wall. One bed is made, a bright yellow bedspread bravely trying to cheer up the room. Another is made half-heartedly, the bedspread just carelessly tossed over the top, as if to humor someone.
Uncharacteristically, Dizzy is on the computer. She browses the SCCU webpage, looking for information on taking classes online. A glass of milk, hardly touched, sits next to the keyboard.
Sophia is curled up in a compact ball on the recliner, reading. Every so often, she looks up at Dizzy, opens her mouth to speak, but decides not to say anything, returning quickly to the paperback curled in her hands.
Click. Click. Apparently the SCCU website needs some updating. Either that or Dizzy is looking in the wrong places. She takes a sip of the glass and sets it back down.
Sophia finally decides it's time to say something. Letting her book fall into her lap, she asks, "Why are you looking at all that? You're torturing yourself for no reason."
"I'm looking for information on taking classes online," Dizzy says, still staring at the screen. "Jeremy said that they send you work once a week and then you do it at home. That way I can still take classes even though I'm stuck here."
Sophia sighs. "Look, Diz... I may be wrong about this, but I think time is more of an issue than the grounding. That's gonna end soon, anyway. The problem is, your focus won't be in the right place if you have all this other stuff to do. If I were you, I'd talk to an elder before signing up for anything, just in case."
"I'm just looking for information right now," Sophia's roommate explains, "Plus... I kind of miss school." Hearing the familliar ring of her cellphone, Dizzy gets out of her chair to retrieve it from her jacket, "Hello?" she asks.
Sophia tries not to listen to Dizzy's phone call, letting her attention fall back on the book.
"What's up?" Dizzy asks the person on the other end. She listens and responds with enthusiam, "That's great! That's the position you wanted, right?"
Sophia lets one leg fall over the arm of the recliner and concentrates on her book.
"A supervisor? Really? That's so great. You're going to do wonderfully." Dizzy sits back in the chair next to the computer, leaning back she looks at the ceiling, "I was looking up that internet classes thing on the SCCU website, but I'm having trouble finding the right page."
Sophia sighs and shifts her weight around, as if finding just the right position will make her ears stop sending signals to her brain. Inadvertently, she hits the vibrate button on the recliner, and the thing starts to buzz. She leaps up and turns to glare at the chair.
Dizzy nods, "Okay..." She clicks the mouse a couple of times and waits for the page to load. "Sophia says that the elders may not let me actually do this..."
Sophia punches the vibrate button to shut the thing off and heads into the kitchen to find something to drink.
"I dunno. I suppose training is supposed to take up more time soon." She shrugs and starts to spin in the chair slowly.
School is important to Dizzy too, but she's got a group of elders that dictate what she can and cannot do. "I want to, Jer, but you know I have to pass any plans through John or Daisy first."
Sophia slams the door of the fridge and returns to the sitting area. Picking up her book, she heads for the front door.
Dizzy glances over at the sound of the fridge door being slammed shut. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Tonight? Nothing, why?"
Sophia grits her teeth and walks out of the room, shutting the door harder than she'd intended.
Dizzy watches her roommate and winces at the slammed door. "Yeah, come on over," she says, sounding distracted, "You think Sophie would like it?"
"Sophie seems mad at something," Dizzy says, rising and walking to the door. "Hey Sophie!" she calls out down the hall, "Do you wanna watch a movie?"'.
Sophia stops at the bottom of the steps, then returns to the hallway. "Whatever," she says, disappointment in her voice. She turns back to the stairwell, disappearing down the stairs.
"Well, if we invite her in with us, then maybe she'll she that she doesn't need to worry about anything." Dizzy leans up on the inside of the doorway. "In any event, I should go talk to her."
"Okay. I'll see you later, then. Bye," Dizzy hangs up the phone and tosses it onto her bed. She the proceeds downstairs, looking for her roommate.
Walker Safe House(#2832RAJ)
This small tenement building is a work that any interior decorator would be proud of. The building is somehow filled with light and space, despite the fact that the room is far from large. Mirrored surfaces and lush green potted plants are much in evidence - jarring only slightly with the video cameras that perch unobtrusively in various locations. A small sign on the wall lists the number of apartments upstairs as eight, though there are no names next to the apartment numbers. A very thick door leads downstairs, with no visible method of being opened - except a keypad next to it. A monitor is perched above the entrance, showing images from the hidden camera that watches the outside of the building.
The lobby branches off into what appears to be a small recreation room; for use only by residents and their guests. Much like the rest of the building, mirrors are prominent. There is a pool table set up in one half of the room, along with a small fridge for storing drinks and a cabinet for snackables. The remainder is dominated by a large home theater system, with an incredibly expensive-looking couch in front of it. The couch nearly screams out, 'Don't spill anything'. For those who might, there are also two matching side-chairs, and a bean-bag on the floor - far too close to the television to be good for anyone's eyes.
Sophia is sitting on the beanbag, folded in a ball. Her book lies open on her thighs, held between her body and her legs.
"Sophia," her roommate says, walking up to the beanbag resident. "Why'd you take off like that?" There is a twinge of concern in Dizzy's voice as she makes the inquiry.
Sophia forces the air out of her lungs, making a loud, disgusted sigh. "Look. I know what's going on. But you could at least do the polite thing and /try/ to go behind my back so I don't have to fuckin' watch."
Dizzy shakes her head, "You've got it wrong, Sophie. I'm not macking on your territory. Jeremy and I're just friends. Trying to be nice to him since he really doesn't feel welcome around here due to current events."
Sophia drapes her arms over her knees and looks down at her book. "He's not my /territory/. Aside from the fact that I don't think people deserve to be talked about that way, we're not together anymore. But that doesn't mean I'm blind to what's happening between you two."
"_Nothing_ is happening Sophie. He just brings some fast food over, because I can't go out." Dizzy squats down in front of her roommate, cracking a grin. "Unless you have problems with me having Taco Bell every once in a while."
Sophia looks up at Dizzy, willing the extent of her disbelief to shine through her eyes. "It's not important. I'd just rather not have to see or hear it, is all. I'm not saying I have feelings for him still. It's just... look, nevermind."
Dizzy blinks, but shakes her head to clear it. "Look, you dumped him, and badly at that. It doesn't matter if I was screwing him on the couch or if I'm insulting his poor fashion sense, he made it pretty clear to me that he's through with you." She sighs and stands back up, "At least _he_ still wants to be friends with you, if you're not going to be a brat around him, that is."
Sophia glares at Dizzy. "Do you have any /idea/ how hard I've tried to show him that I intend to be friends? I offered to friggin' /cook/ for him. When have you ever seen me cook? But look, he doesn't want to. He's afraid of me or some shit. So fuckin' fine. I give up. Let him be afraid of me. Just don't expect me to keep bending over backwards to be hospitable. And don't expect me to jump for joy when you two finally announce your relationship."
Dizzy closes her eyes and noticably tries to control her breathing, trying to calm herself so that she just doesn't come right out and slap her roommate. "You are a _werewolf_. Of course he's gonna be afraid. We can turn into eight foot monsters and rip apart normal people who even look at us wrong. But that's fine, you can be a pissy brat and sulk in the corner while others have a good time. And, for the last time, I have _no_ interest whatsoever in Jeremy romanticly."
The only sound from Sophia is the grinding of her teeth against each other.
"Fine, be that way." Dizzy stands up straight and looks down at her roommate, shaking her head in dissapointment, "You may be closer to riting as a garou, Sophie, but you're still years away from maturity."
Sophia curls her lip. "I find out the guy who professed his love doesn't know me and I don't know the person I live with. You expect me to be cheerful?"
Dizzy starts to sound angry now, "He told you he loved you and what did you do? Bam, kicked him to the curb. How did you think he'd react? Seriously, Sophie, you need to learn that actions have consequences."
Sophia raises her eyebrows. "You don't know what you're talking about, Dizzy. You have no idea what I did or how I feel about it. You can't possibly know what I understand about cause and effect and what I don't. Shall I make it fucking simple for you? I'm in love with him and fucking did it anyway, on purpose. I tried to be as gentle as I could without leaving the opportunity for the relationship to grow back. I have never threatened him in any way. I know what I did, and I can live with it. I'd just rather not have my nose rubbed in the shit, if you don't mind."
"Well, when you shit where you live, you're the one that has to sleep in it." And with that, Dizzy turns toward the stairs to leave.
Sophia clenches her jaw and forces herself to focus on her paperback.
Dizzy ascends the stairs, wondering what the heck she's going to tell Jeremy _now_.
Roach Motel: Bachelorette Pad(#4128RAJ$)
Small, but inviting, this little apartment is clearly dwelling of a person who spends a lot of time at home. The sitting area has a reclining chair with heating, massage, and built in stereo speakers. The sofa is big enough to fit two comfortably. The home entertainment center is overloaded with scores of books. Titles like "Rescuing the Bible From Middle America" or "Zarathustra: Modernism in Antiquity" can be seen here, along with dozens of dime-store paperbacks. Though the TV set and all its accompanying equipment take up quite as much space as the books, the electronics are somewhat dwarfed by the quantity of reading material. A fine writing table and a computer desk are crowded in, the computer powered up and humming softly. Two swivelling office chairs sit nearby, at attention. The walls are decorated with nature scenes, among them a well-rendered image of a pack of wolves howling at a full moon.
The kitchen looks as if it might never have been cooked in. A small microwave on the counter is still blinking "12:00", no one having bothered to set the clock. Beside it is an electric can opener. The only evidence of use is a single glass in the stainless steel sink and a few fast-food bags in the trashcan. The sole decoration on the refrigerator is a postcard bearing a photograph of a monstrous, grimy power plant with "Come to Hanford!" printed on the bottom in fluorescent green.
Through a door opposite the kitchen, the tiny bedroom looks slightly more lived-in. On top of a black particle-board dresser sit a hairbrush, a few hair-ties, and several plastic hairclips, along with a small pile of cheap costume jewelry. A frame designed to hold several of snapshots is hung squarely on the wall. One bed is made, a bright yellow bedspread bravely trying to cheer up the room. Another is made half-heartedly, the bedspread just carelessly tossed over the top, as if to humor someone.
Dizzy comes into the appartment and immediately flops on the bed. She reaches over and picks up her cellphone. She hits the button to dial and waits for the pick up.
After a bit, the phone picks up and a soft voice comes across. "H'lo?"
"Well, cancel dinner and a movie tonight. Sophia's in an ultra-pissy mood tonight." Dizzy sighs and looks over at her dresser. What the hell is she going to do tonight now?
"Oh.. um.. Alright." There's a soft sigh. "Um.. Everything is ok..right?"
Dizzy sounds less than happy, "Not really. I've got to live with her, Jer. I dunno if she said this just because she was angry at me or what, but she said she still has feelings for you."
Jeremy sighs loudly to himself. "Its alright.. I'll just.. um.. not come around."
"Just not tonight, okay?" Dizzy starts to chew on her lip, "Maybe tomorrow night."
".. Um.. Maybe... Not sure, I start work and I get home 'round 9 or so.. Um.. good night.."
Sighing deeply, Dizzy tells the kin boy goodnight and hangs up the phone. Stupid Sophia, if only she hadn't said she still loved him. But what does she know? She's only fifteen years old for Christ's sake.