Josh Dylan (less_traveled) wrote in mcdermott_game, @ 2009-07-17 18:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | josh, lee, lee/josh |
Who: Lee and Josh
When: Afternoon
Where: Josh's room in Keaton
What: Lee invites Josh down to her father's tattoo studio in North Carolina
Rating: PG
"Hey! OC!" Lee pounded on Josh's door, shouting loud enough that he probably could have heard her from across campus. It was probably just as well, because she didn't know if he was actually there and her volume pretty much insured he'd know she was looking for him. The need wasn't as urgent as she was making it sound, but it was something she was excited about and if she didn't tell him about it now, she'd probably forget. Not to mention, it was an idea that made her want to get going on it right away.
She banged on the door again, pounding out the drum riff from "We Will Rock You" as she yelled some more. "Come on, open the damn door!"
Josh was at his desk quietly retouching a few thing in photoshop. Or, at least he had been working quietly until the angry Southern girl in the hall started started yelling. He quickly saved his progress and got up to pull the door open before the yelling got worse. "God, chill. What?" Since Josh decided to make tattoos his independent study he and Lee had been hanging out a bit, but they were almost never polite.
Lee pushed her way into his room and flopped down on his bed, her red hair fanning out around her head. "We're gonna take a road trip," she announced. "I'm gonna take you to Winston to meet my dad. You know, for your project thing. I already talked to him about it; he's cool with it. Says long as you're not a jackass about it he don't mind you comin' 'round. When do you wanna go?"
Josh stared at her, feeling like he was entering a conversation already three steps behind. "Do you always do this? Walk in a room and announce you're dragging them to who-knows-where? You want to go to Winston?"
"Yeah." Lee dragged the word out, her lazy Southern drawl turning it into multiple syllables. She turned her head, looking at him as if this was the most obvious answer in the world. "You wanna get good stuff for your project, don't you? Gotta go where the action is!"
"To North Carolina? How long does it even take to get there? Do I need a passport?" Josh was still wondering why she wanted to drag him down South; what so good down there he couldn't get without hauling down to the boondocks?
His ridiculous questions made Lee wonder if all the rich kids from Southern California were as dense as he was. A passport, really? If this was his attempt at humor, it was pretty lame. "Yes, twelve hours, and you're not really asking me that, are you? You said you wanted to study tattoo art, right? If you're gonna do that, you gotta learn from the best. And my daddy's the best in North Carolina. Curtis apprenticed with Daddy; that's how come he's so good. And he's good, but if you want to see the real good shit, you gotta come with me."
"Twelve hours? That sucks." Still it was an interesting idea. The pictures he'd been getting were all right but this sounded like it could be so much better. "If I go all the way down there, I want to be there long enough to get my whole project done. I'm not driving 24 hours to not finish. I need the good stuff, the really good stuff, and it'll probably take me a few days to get it."
That answered that - Josh really was as dense as she figured him for. Sitting up, she let out a long-suffering sigh, feeling more like she was talking to one of her nephews than a fellow classmate. "Josh, long as you don't piss nobody off, Daddy'll let you stay for however long you need to. Hell, he kinda likes the idea of havin' his work showcased at my fancy art school. And I'll talk to the other guys as the studio, too, but ain't none of them gonna say no, not if I'm the one askin'. You ain't gonna get any closer to the kind of stuff you're lookin' to photograph than goin' with me to Winston, trust me." Then she laughed. "Betcha I can talk Daddy into givin' you one of his old machines and lettin' you try tattooin' a grapefruit or somethin'. I can show you how - I was gettin' pretty good at it before I came up here."
Josh hadn't realized there was something he hadn't caught on to but suddenly he got what she was telling him. "Hang on, your dad owns a studio? Why didn't you tell me that start with?"
"Oh." Lee laughed. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. Yeah, Daddy's been tattooin' long as I been alive. He's the one who did my flowers. I told him 'bout your project and he liked it, so I'm gonna take you down there to meet him and see the studio. I figured you could really get some good stuff for your thing that way."
"That's awesome." This was more help than Josh had ever expected, especially since he was almost positive Lee didn't actually like him. "Okay, so that's two days of driving and I'm going to need at least three to finish. Maybe more. How's the light there? Is there good light?"
Lee shrugged. "It's not bad. Fluorescent. But don't think you're bringin' a bunch of equipment with you. It'll fit in my truck, but it ain't gonna fit in the studio. Customers ain't gonna like it if they're havin' to walk around all your camera crap."
That was enough to stop Josh in his tracks. "Your truck? I'm not riding in your truck; no way." There was no chance Josh was going to spend a full day in a truck held together with duct tape and a prayer.
"What's wrong with my truck? Better'n drivin' around in your car." Lee crossed her arms over her chest, clearly offended. "I ride around in it plenty; it ain't killed me yet. And I'm sure as hell not rollin' up to my dad's shop in your Beamer, oh hell no. Damn thing's likely to get stolen out there anyway."
"Stolen? Where do you live - Detroit?" Josh crossed his own arms, clenched his jaw and glared. "What's so wrong with my car? I like my car. My car is nice. Your truck will probably break down before we even get there. I'm telling you, if I can't drive, I'm not going."
Unfortunately, Lee had to admit he had a point. There was a reason she either coughed up the money to fly herself home or stayed on campus for breaks - her truck made it from her hometown to the college, but without some serious work probably wouldn't make it back. It was fine for driving around town, but that was about it. "Fine," she said in an annoyed huff of breath. "But I get to choose the music."
Josh groaned. "If you have an ipod, bring it. But no Dixie Chicks or Garth Brooks or anything like that. I hate country." Somehow, Lee managed to take all the fun out of winning. "When do you want to go? I'll need a few days to rearrange my work schedule."
"I can go whenever; you just let me know." She threw herself back down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Ain't nothin' wrong with country," she grumbled. "Better than that emo bullshit all you rich kids listen to."
Josh just shook his head, wondering if she'd ever stop calling him rich. "Whatever, Lee."