Who: Billy Jameson (THE JOHN SMITH) and Tina Torres (THE ESMERALDA) What: Billy drops some clothes off at Tina's charity donation drive When: Midday Where: The Campus Greens Rating: G
Billy: Billy hurried out of Coronado C and onto the large green expanse out front, laden with an assortment of bags. Slung over one shoulder was a standard backpack filled to bursting with textbooks, and tucked under his other arm was a well-worn and equally well-stuffed duffel. In addition to these two carry-alls he was clutching in each hand a large brown paper shopping back, each well crumpled and rolled at the top for easy transit. He was a big enough guy that the weight didn't trouble him, but balance was another thing - he was making about half speed across the grass due to occasional fumbles and regular shifting of straps.
He got several yards in and stopped to look around: surely there wouldn't be too many people playing guitar and collecting errant articles of clothing out here. Besides, she should be easy to spot unto himself - he was suspecting tie-dye clothing, a crown made of woven flowers, large peace sign imagery and possibly a haze of drug smoke. Hence, the somewhat nervous expression he wore.
Tina: He really wasn't that far from the mark with his thoughts. She certainly was sitting in the grass, playing her guitar. She had a table, along with some leaflets held down by rocks, and a few others that believed in the cause sitting at the table. Tina was propped up against the tree, singing a song in Spanish about the horrors of war. Dressed in a simple sun-dress that was almost too short for her rather tall frame, she would occasionally pause so that she could talk to people passing by that were asking about the homeless shelter.
"Yes, you see, the state can't give any more funding for it, so the entire operation is being run purely on donations-"
It was simple for her to rattle off the same thing over and over again. The people needed to listen. They needed to understand that just one person could make a difference if they thought of everyone as their equal. She didn't see how it was too much to ask, and all she knew was that if there were people that were less fortunate than her, people that needed help, she was going to do her best to make sure she took care of it. It wasn't too hard for her to put forth some of her time, and any extra money she had. But as she looked around, she spotted what seemed to be the 'All-American' boy struggling with quite a few bags. Tina propped her guitar against the table and jogged over to him, the bells on her anklet jingling with every step she took.
"I thought Moving day was a while ago," she cracked with a toothy grin, "Can I help you with those?"
Billy: Despite the relatively nonthreatening setup of Tina's donations table, Billy still hung back upon spotting it, lingering several yards away and casting fleeting glances at the small assemblage. He seemed about to give up on the notion of approaching when the matter was taken out of his hands, and suddenly Tina was jogging towards him. His eyes widened in a deer-meets-headlights sort of manner, and a redoubled effort was made to sturdy his grip on his assortment of bags. "No, that's okay, I'm... I'm fine, thanks." He answered with an awkward smile, rolling his shoulders for better balance of the two bags strapped thereupon. He glanced away quickly, as if planning to leave the conversation at that and walk away, then turned a tentative eye back to Tina.
"Are you Tina?" He asked cautiously, tone rife with the prepared apology of being mistaken.
Tina: Tina tilted her head briefly as if he was mad for turning down her help with the bags, but she understood that men generally didn't want help from women, let alone women that were taller than most of them. Even when she was at work, she hated wearing heels since it made her almost six and a half feet tall. The least threatening she could be was as she was right at that moment, barefoot and in the grass, which was how she liked it, how she had been raised for as long as she could remember.
She was just about to turn away and tell him that it wasn't shameful to ask for help, when he asked her if that was her name. Blinking for a moment as if she wasn't really expecting it, but remembering that she had put quite a bit out on the computers for people to come by, she gave him an even bigger smile. "Yes," she said with a nod, and gave him a wave, "Tina Torres." Her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner, but the smile never left her face, "And you are...?"
Billy: Billy heaved a relieved sigh and met her smile with one of his own - if it hadn't been Tina, he would have been mortified. "Oh, I'm Billy." He explained quickly, immediately followed by several seconds of shifting weight around till he had one hand free to offer for an introductory shake. "Billy Jameson. We were talking on, y'know, the internet." His features pinched slightly at this, as though he'd never expected that to be a line he used when first meeting a girl. The shake was brief as he had to quickly draw back his hand to catch a falling bag. He paused momentarily before adding, "From Nebraska?"
Compelled to explain himself further, his eyes flitted over her shoulder to the table from whence she came, "I guessed it was you because you said you'd be playing a guitar, and I saw the table, so-- I mean, if you're busy I can come back later, I was just on my way to class and you said you were collecting spare clothing, so..." Perhaps if he talked enough, and fast enough, it wouldn't be painfully obvious that his real motivation for coming down here was to see a real communist, live and in person.
Tina: Tina reached out to shake his hand and tried to give him as comforting of a smile as she could. He was a long way from home, and from what she knew about the people in the Midwest, that sort of thing ran very deep. Of course, it was human nature to be comfortable at home with family, but many people took that and ran with it. Tina, this is no time to be analyzing people, she scolded herself in her head, and grinned largely at him.
"Of course. I remember. I rather enjoyed talking to you. Nothing makes my day more than meeting new people, and the internet really opens those opportunities up." Sure, this had been the guy that had called her a communist, but he didn't know any better. It was actually sort of cute, in a way. "And, no, I'm not busy. I mean, this is what I do." She motioned to the table, and to the bags, "Are you sure I can't help you with that? Or, at least come over to the table so you can drop it off. You really have no idea how much it is appreciated." Tina's demeanor visibly changed once she learned that he was dropping off clothes. Yes, he had said he was going to, but so many people agree to it, and then never actually go through with it.
However, there was still a playful smile on her face, and her eyes flashed in a joking manner when she added, "Don't you worry. You can't catch communist cooties from donating clothes. Come. Let me introduce you to the gang. Unless your class is about to start..."
Billy: Billy shook his head politely at any offers to help him with his burden, but did tentatively accept the invitation to join her at the table. He followed across the short expanse of lawn, clearly comforted by her warm, disarming smile, though not entirely relaxed - he was still taking a foray into new, uncharted territory, and he maintained the tense air of a rabbit ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
He flushed a deep pink hue at the comment about communist cooties, attempting to run with the joke with a clumsy chuckle. His mouth moved wordlessly for a moment as he struggled to find some means of argument, segue or witty rejoiner, but with none of the above leaping to fill his dialogue, he fell back on a clumsy non sequitur. "This is a really good thing you're doing." He managed, directing the comment both to Tina and to the others at the table as they approached. "I mean, helping homeless people and everything." His sentiment was a little too earnest, as though praising them on their originality on this wild idea.
Tina: Tina tried not to laugh at the flush on his face. It really was just something to lighten the mood, to show that she had no ill will against him for calling her a communist. Like she had said before, technically speaking, she was. But that was hardly her political affiliation. Though, that was hardly an issue to get into at the moment. He'd probably have a heart attack if he heard what she thought about the government and how it should be abolished for the good of the people as they took away the civil liberties that she held dear to her heart.
"I'm glad you think so," she said, as if it wasn't the first time she had heard those words spoken to her, and in all truth, it really wasn't. There was plenty more that she could be doing, but she couldn't manage to do as much without the help of other people. "I'm just trying to get the word out there. You're the one that is helping as well. You're doing more good than you can imagine." As they approached the table, the other people gave Billy equally welcoming smiles and held their arms out for the bags when Tina said, "Hey guys, this is Billy, he brought some things to donate. Billy, this is Clover, Kirin, Haven, and Carlos." She pointed to each of the people in turn, who warmly greeted him and echoed her statement that what he was doing was appreciated by not only them but the people these would be going to.
Then with another joking giggle she said, "We're not planning on hurting you. Relax." She picked her guitar back up and took her spot next to the tree, sitting under the shade it provided. "Feel free to sit down and chat, if you want. I know there have to be some questions bouncing around in that mind of yours."
Billy: Amongst the natives! As nervous as he was, there was an unmistakable thrill of excitement in Billy's eyes at the notion of being in this situation; something he never would have experienced back in Stromsburg. He nodded to everyone as names were exchanged, cocking his head to one side with a dubious smile, "Are those real na--" He let his question fade away before it was finished, perhaps realizing that it might be offensive, and instead just struggled to lift one hand in a half wave. "Billy."
He blinked for a moment as hands went out to receive his bags, and he even flinched away ever so slightly. "Oh, uh..." He pursed his lips together at the misunderstanding, before holding out only one paper shopping bag - the smaller one - almost apologetically. "Here, this is for the drive." Inside the bag were a couple of almost-new Kingdom University t-shirts, with a few granola bars thrown in for good measure. Billy winced apologetically before explaining, "I don't really have much old clothing - pretty much everything gets handed down to my brothers." Having realized how deceptive his other bags looked, he gave a meek rundown of their contents, "This is just books and stuff," he said, shrugging the shoulder with the backpack, "And my gear." Shrugging the other, with the duffel of football paraphernalia. He glanced to the other paper bag in his hand, far fuller, and added with embarrassment, "And lunch."
Tina: The gang looked at the bag then exchanged glances, then looked at Tina who was still smiling and strumming at the guitar. Tina nodded as if she understood, and Clover took the bag with a 'thank you' directed at Billy. Kirin grabbed a few leaflets and walked off, going to pass them out, as Haven and Carlos delved back into their discussion about the need for there to be actual equal opportunity employers. Tina fingered her guitar and let out a C chord, then looked back up at Billy. "Everything helps. One shirt makes a difference in the life of one person, and that keeps them warm at night, and makes their world a better place. We can't help everyone at once, but we can help them one at a time."
Tina looked at his bags, and really she shouldn't have been surprised to hear of football gear. At least, she was pretty sure it was football gear. It was that season, and generally speaking there was an understanding amongst men and their competitive sports. Which, even Tina had to admit, was exciting. She couldn't expect much from him as far as donations were concerned. Tina was just happy that he came out and gave something. That was all she asked. "How does it feel to know that you changed someone's life?"
Billy: Billy's sheepish expression persisted as the team went about their business, and he backed away from the table to join Tina by the tree. He finally let the heavy duffel slip off of his shoulder and drop onto the grass, though he kept his backpack shouldered and made no other effort to make himself at home. He just stood in front of her, shaking his head humbly at the praise. "It's just a couple t-shirts..." He managed to mumble by way of dispelling any exaggerations of his virtue, though he could scarcely hide the evidence of how his pride was stoked by her words.
He stifled a beaming smile and hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans, his eyes darting down to the guitar she casually strummed, "You're pretty good at that." He offered, following the standard etiquette of meeting praise with praise, even though he'd scarcely heard anything beyond a few chords so far.
Tina: Tina's eyebrows shot up and for the first time she looked at him with all seriousness. "Billy. It may just be a few t-shirts to you, but there are people out there that don't even have that. They'd be thrilled to have just one, let alone others that they could pass off to other people. It's not a big deal to you, but it is to someone else, and to that someone else, they may never know that it was you that did it, but they'll always thank you for your generosity. So, on behalf of them, the ones that don't have voices for you to hear, I'm thanking you, and letting you know just how much it matters."
She then gave him another smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling up like she did when she was genuinely happy, and looked down at the guitar when he complimented her. "Thanks. I've been playing for years. I mean, when I was little, I was in charge of the tambourine when we'd have after dinner parties at the commune, but I've graduated to the guitar." She let out a small chuckle, and then said, "Any requests? I do like to keep my audience happy."
Billy: D'aw. Billy's eyes dropped and he gave a humble foot-shuffle before letting the embarrassing matter of his generosity drop. Others may have rolled their eyes at the you-can-make-a-difference rhetoric, but to Billy it seemed a profound new perspective on his capabilities as an individual. He could scarcely wrap his head around this idea of his own capacity for change and goodwill, and was thankful for the opportunity to talk about something he found easier to process.
"That's really cool." He replied with a smile, "I always wanted to learn, but I never really had the time. Was it hard?" When asked for requests he puffled out his cheeks and exhaled thoughtfully, "Uhhh, I don't know, I don't really know too much popular music. Do you know anything by Kenny Rogers? My dad loves him."
Tina: Tina looked up at him with a knowing smile. It was easy to see that he didn't want to talk about it, but the simple fact of the matter remained that just by making one person happy, the world changes for the better. She'd stick by that until the day she died.
Tina shook her head at the question, "No. It wasn't difficult. It just takes practice, and a high tolerance for pain." She laughed a little bit, and explained, "When you start, your fingers are really painful until the calluses set in. Then you're home free."
The familiar chords started to piece together, and she said, "Oh, I might know a few songs by him." Sure, they weren't her normal fare, but she could play a few.
She cleared her throat and sang,"On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere, I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep. So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak."
"He said, son, I've made a life out of readin' peoples faces, And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes. So if you dont mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces. For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice."
Billy: Billy offered a good-natured whistle to show how impressed he was at her pain threshold, and then grinned - he was actually getting comfortable, even if he wasn't sprawling out on the grass alongside her. He tapped his foot and bobbed his head along as she played, betraying an absolute lack of rhythm but continuing to smile with approval and mild awe. He closed off her segment with enthusiastic clapping - perhaps a little too enthusiastic - and a beaming smile. "Wow, that was amazing! Maybe you could show me how to--"
His words were cut off by the deep familiar bong of the campus clocktower, signaling the hour and, to many students, heralding the imminent beginning of class. He looked off into the distance reluctantly, then back to her with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'd best get along if I'm going to be in class on time. It was really nice meeting you though, Tina. And," His lips curled in an awkward smile, "I'm sorry if I said anything, y'know, mean or insensitive when we were talking on the internet. I didn't mean it to come off that way, there's just a lot of stuff here that I'm still getting used to."
Tina: Tina laughed a bit at his applause, and waved her hand in the air, taking a makeshift bow in the grass. "Hey, it was nice to meet you too, Billy. Don't be a stranger, and don't you worry about anything you said. It's completely fine." She smiled and offered, "And I meant it when I asked if you wanted to go to dinner at the commune. It's really even more laid back than this. Go to class. I'll talk to you later."