Emma Carstairs (alsoflexible) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2019-04-24 22:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !complete, !completed gdoc, !log, !match-up, ~2019 april, ~50 points, ~~emma carstairs (alsoflexible), ~~violet parr (violetparr) |
Who: Violet Parr and Emma Carstairs
Where: College Campus
When: Spring break
What: Bonding over food
Status: Complete, Matchup
Aside from the midterms and the extracurricular activities and the lockers and the bathroom passes, there was another thing Emma hadn’t been exposed to back at home when she’d had a private tutor and had a life as a Shadowhunter in front of her: what to do after high school. She had the choice of going straight to finding a job or going to college where she’d had more midterms and extracurricular activities and lockers and bathroom passes (well, maybe not the bathroom passes), and while Emma’s first inclination was that she’d go straight to a job so she could contribute to the household, her counsellor had suggested that she at least check out some colleges. And since Alec and Julian were big nerds who liked school and she was a bit softie who liked Alec and Julian, she was checking out colleges.
At the moment, she was on a tour of the campus, conducted by a very enthusiastic sophomore who was likely also a nerd who liked school. She, however, was not, and hadn’t even gone into this prepared.
“When’s lunch break?” The question was whispered to a dark-haired girl who was part of the tour. Or maybe she was part of the tour? Emma had lost track of who was in the group.
~*~
Violet was still trying to decide which college she wanted to attend. It was easier to start in the fall so that part at least would be easy. She was inclined to just start fresh, too, so she could ease into things. Madison Valley was a weird and complicated place and she felt a little bit unmoored without her family to fall back on. She had a few friends though and she was looking forward to making more. College would be a good way to make friends with people her own age, to have good experiences and to grow as a person.
The tour was as much a way for her to suss out about the people as much as it was to decide if this was the right college for her. Violet was keeping track of people in the tour so she wasn’t too startled when a blonde leaned in to ask her a question.
“Um, I think in another half hour,” she answered after she glanced at her watch. “I’m kind of hungry too. Think they’ll have anything good?”
~*~
“Not by the looks of the cafeteria we just passed,” Emma replied, keeping her voice low. She’d checked out the lunch options when they’d passed, because the quality of food was a very important consideration when it came to choosing colleges. At least as far as she was concerned.
“But I think there are some places just off campus that look good, if we have enough time to go for them.”
And if there wasn’t time, she’d make time. She didn’t think she’d survive the rest of the afternoon without being properly fed.
~*~
Violet frowned. It was unfortunate that the food wasn't all that great here, especially considering how expensive the meal plan was to purchase. The cost was definitely incredibly important to her because she was paying for it all on her own. She was still trying to find a job that would allow her to earn as much money as she could before classes started in the fall and the bigger the target number got, the harder it would be to attain. She'd do it, of course she'd find a way, but she wanted to still have a balance of work and fun.
She glanced at the blonde and decided what the hell. "We could always ditch whenever we get hungry," Vi suggested. She'd poked around campus before and she felt like she'd gotten a pretty good sense of it considering she'd gone to way more college visits before settling on the one she went to at home. This college would be okay, but not great. Ditching to make a new friend would be well worth it.
~*~
Emma looked at the tour guide. Back to the dark-haired girl. To the tour guide. And then she grinned at Violet. “I’m starving.”
She’d done her part, she felt, in checking out this place. She had the general sense of what this college had to offer - enough to go home and talk to Alec and hopefully Julian about it. She still wasn’t sure college was where she wanted to go after she was done school, but at least she’d done her part in checking out her options.
“Wanna go eat?”
~*~
She couldn't help chuckle at the blonde's decision. "Yes please," Vi replied. Luckily enough, the tour guide led them around a corner and they could just not follow without drawing too much attention to themselves.
"I'm Violet, by the way," she introduced as they headed off in the opposite direction of the tour. That was where the main street was and the restaurant options. "I just got here a month or so ago." It seemed to be the basic introduction among people from what she could gather, which she didn't mind. The hardest part was when she accidentally said as much to a local and they stopped talking to her pretty quickly after that.
~*~
“Emma,” came the reply as they took off. “I got here just before Christmas. Like, literally before. It was Christmas Eve.”
In a way, it felt like a long time ago. Or maybe the days just felt longer because she didn’t get to spend them with Julian. She didn’t want to think about that, though, so she thumbed in the direction of the next street. “I saw a taco place just down the street.”
***
“Oh okay. So you’ve gotten to experience some of the weird stuff that happens here?” she asked, curious while still trying not to pry too much. The future kids she’d heard about seemed a little much but then again, so did a Sharknado or having it literally rain spaghetti and meatballs. They were just different kinds of weird. It seemed like there was something new she discovered every day about what could happen again in Madison. Even just understanding the scope of what had happened before was hard to wrap her head around.
“Tacos sounds great,” Violet added, though she probably would have said that about any suggestion Emma could have made. She wasn’t a very picky eater. “Have you found your favorite restaurants yet? It’s weird not having my go to Chinese place or even the diner from home. It was just around the corner so we’d go for breakfast a lot on the weekends.” She was sort of a creature of habit in that way. She had her people and her places and that was all she needed to be happy.
***
“I’m a pretty big fan of Hinkle’s,” Emma said as they walked. She had a brisk walk, and she didn’t always remember to slow down for anyone who didn’t keep up. Except for the Blackthorn children. She felt a pang of grief for Livvy, who would never walk again. Or do anything else, for that matter. Grief was funny that way. You think you’re doing better, that you were getting over someone’s death, and then you realize - at the oddest moments - that you really aren’t.
She focused on the topic at hand. “I do miss the Mexican food. It’s not the same here. And yeah, I went through the weird weather, the elevator, the power outage…” She shook her head. “I’m sure there’s more, but I’m starting to lose track.”
***
"Hinkles? I don't think I've been there yet," she replied. Violet didn't have any problems keeping up with Emma's pace. She was used to fast walkers courtesy of her brother, Dash. He never had been able to walk at a normal pace. "Do you want to go there?" She didn't mind.
Listening to all of the things that Emma had gone through already made Violet's eyes widen. "That seems like a lot, even though I know that's probably only the last couple of months. Honestly, it's been hard to wrap my head around all of this. I've gone through the network and all, just to see. I had to stop looking though. I figure there should be some secrets left." She shrugged. It was going to be what it was going to be as far as she was concerned. It was more important that she get her bearings and get to normal, mostly.
***
“Good call; you’d go crazy seeing everything that’s happened,” Emma said. “It’s like a non-stop rollercoaster here.”
They’d arrived at the taco shop now, and she gestured the other girl in. “We’re here now. Tacos first, and we can grab burgers another time.”
She hoped there was another time. Violet seemed fun, and Emma needed more friends.