ArchivedLogs:Thrift Shop Fail

Thrift Shop Fail
Dramatis Personae Kelly, Tess	2013-12-02 Tess and Kelly get booted from a thrift store, exchange tense pleasantries.
Location Thrift Store (Off Grid)
An unmarked dark blue van sits on a corner parking space, meter filled to capacity, having unloaded several teens and children all thickly bundled up for winter weather. Gloves, scarves, hoods pulled up... it was a bit on the extreme side even given the temperature, with many of them only having eyes visible, and a few not even sporting that. They move in small packs, all while a pair of adults near the supervise with steaming coffee in hands, chatting to each other about semesters, course work, and other workplace banalities. Kelly is one of the said bundled kids, a small allowance in his pocket, and making his way to the thrift store. But like many of the shops its windows are boarded up, and glass cracked with red stains running through the cracks that just doesn't seem to wash out. A sign on the front assures customers that it is indeed open... even if the supply inside is only half full at best. And while two other kids go through the door with him, they've split up as gender and clothing size demands. Kelly's obviously on the plump side, and a bit shorter than most of the teens to come into the store, but there is an odd proportion to his steps and he rustles as he walks... like a snake moving through dry leaves. And a careful eye may notice that his arms seem to... squirm inside their thick jacket sleeves. Tess is also inside the store, she's managed to save up enough to buy a single piece of new clothing without having to fear it'll cause undue hunger for her. She's looking around to figure out which section she should be looking in, and she's sweating, even though she'd be lightly dressed in fall or spring. She comes near Kelly, and one of the drops of sweat falls, shattering on the floor before melting away. "Are you sick?" Kelly asks in a whisper, his eyes looking down at the sound of the shattering sweat drop, and then looking up at the girl. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cloth napkin, offering it up to her, even as his arm squirms and shuffles inside his sleeve. "If you're sick you really should get to a clinic..." he says again, concern in his eyes, but the rest of his expression masked out by the scarf around his face. Tess shakes her and doesn't take the napkin, instead taking a worried step back as she sees that squirming. "Just a bit hot in here." Most of the sweatdrops on her face have stopped moving, and look like they're frozen solid. It's not that cold in the store. "I'll be fine." "Really? I think they could... turn up the heat a little more." Kelly says honestly, but then pulls his hand back in a sinking sensation as she pulls away. "S-... err... apologies." He substitutes, careful not to say one of the 'naughty' zombie words, and starts to shuffle back, himself. He doesn't /exactly/ whimper, but its close, and his movements are definitely shameful. Of course, bundled up teens and a slightly dirty Tess? These are PRIME watch targets for the store's staff, one of which is already whispering to the other and pointing. The balding man in his late forties dressed in an ugly green sweater that must itch like heck. The whispers aren't kind. Tess shakes her head again, "It's fine." She definitely notices the whispers, and rather than bother to stay longer walks outside, going through the security gates without anything going off. She's not buying anything like that, but at least she's not getting into anymore trouble. Outside, she watches the van and the kids. She's not even making it a secret she's curious. She also wipes off the beads of frozen sweat. Several of the teens and kids move to and from the van from the different stores around here, most of them grabbing clothing, toiletries, and other personal supplies, a corner drug store a frequent target, even though its shelves are nearly empty, and the thrift store that Tess just left as well as a nearby general story the other most likely stops. And while most of them are keeping careful watch over their shoulders, most of them seem normal... except for that one girl who's cheeks seem a little /too/ red, and there is a constant swishing inside one of the boy's thick coat... is it a tail? But when Kelly and a couple of the students in there with him are quickly shuffled out the door of the thrift store, he's a bit taken aback, especially as the 'open' sign is quickly switched to 'closed.' He had a few pairs of pants in hand, and stares dumbfounded at the door while the others go to report back to the responsible adult types by the van. "Stupid... Supid..." he begins to work himself up... but only manages: "Jerks." For the insult. Tess watches Kelly insult them, "That the worst you could come up with?" She's still leaning against the wall, watching the kids who came from the van. For this kind of weather, she's dressed in a really small amount of clothes, but she doesn't seem to be shivering or anything. "How about stupid cocksucking idiots?" Kelly opens his mouth to echo Tess' sentiments, but he clamps it shut with a large blush and shakes his head. "You're right, but..." And he just steps away. "I /had/ money to pay, I mean, I wasn't going to steal nuthin'..." he leaves out 'this time' from the sentence, a point of pride in his voice. In the shuffle, his scarf had fallen loose from his face, and one of his pink flowers can been seen in his hair just under his hood. Taking a look at Tess, he considers her particular frigid state again and bites his lip. "Guess you saw that coming, though?" Tess takes a doubletake as she sees that flower, and slowly increases her distance. "When I saw that look on his face? Yeah, I could tell trouble was brewing." She is rather nervous, perhaps she's even scared of Kelly, "Seen that look before, it never goes anywhere good." Kelly pulls his arms closer to himself, squirming and all, when he picks up on her nervousness, not quite scared of her, but not liking the shift in tone. "Yeah, I should have, too..." he said slowly, taking a glance at his shoulder to the van and the group gathering around it. "Guess I'm just getting' soft... getting'g stupid." He says, but the last comment is offered with a lighter tone. "Hey, 'm'not gonna jump ya or nuthin'. Last thing I want now is a scene, heck, specially now." Tess stops moving away, taking some breaths to calm herself down, though she still looks scared. "I wasn't gonna steal anything either, I managed to get some money, wanted to buy some new jeans. Guess I won't." She sighs and looks towards the van, "You with them?" "Guess they're going to be passing on the Christmas Spirit, this year." Kelly grumps at the shop front before settling down himself. He pulls his hood back down tighter again, hiding away incriminating plant life. "Yeah, guess I am." He says, as if this wasn't something he was quite used to yet. "You on your own?" Tess shrugs, "Can't trust anyone else, so yeah. I am." She looks around the stores, "I don't expect a lot of people to have pity for a homeless freak like me." As if the word freak wasn't derogatory enough yet, the way she spits it out makes it even more clearly a word with rather negative associations. "Not a lot... but some." Kelly counters, giving the van a nervous look. "But I guess that aint much sometimes, is it?" He looks down at the pairs of jeans he was tossed out with, and frowns at the pair that are obviously way too small for him. "I'm Kelly, by the way. If ya care." Guessing the jig is up, so to speak. Tess shrugs off the introduction, "Not really." She watches the boy and the fan again, "Are all of you guys freaks, too?" She doesn't like the idea, pretty clearly so. "Or whatever you wanna call it." She tries to temper it a little bit with that, though it doesn't sound very sincere. "Not... really 'sposed to talk about it." Kelly says nervously again, looking over his shoulder as the group begins to gather back up. It wasn't a denial, simply... a 'no comment.' "Not a lot of people you can trust..." he adds, echoing his tone from before. He hands out the smaller set of jeans, sized for more average sized persons instead of his... larger than average frame. But not before he slipped in a scrap of paper with a number written on it. "These aren't my size, just... what I was holdin' when he tossed us out. You want 'em?" he offers. "Looks like we gotta go. Try a different shop and hope things work out better." Tess grabs the jeans, "Sure, why not. If they don't fit, maybe I can trade them for something else." She doesn't notice the scrap of paper, looking at Kelly again, "Have a nice day, I guess. If you gotta go, I'm not gonna hold you up. Bye."