Who: Jess and Jim (Rose and Kermit) What: Jobs - and a bit of insight Where: The Magic Store When: Friday afternoon Warnings: Nothing! (Minus boomerang fish. Duck!)
Ask for Jim, and duck if you see any fish boomerangs.
Fish boomerangs.
Jess plastered on a smile as she stood outside of the Magic Store, staring up at the sign. The apartment thing had gone okay, so she mostly just needed money for, well. Food. And clothes. Right now she was in outfit number two, out of a total of... two. She didn’t want to spend her money until she knew where she was getting more, and since she apparently qualified as an illegal alien or whatever...
“Here goes nothing.” There was something about this place that at least felt good - That made her smile less fake and when she saw the group of people hanging around the entrance, she wiggled her fingers in a hello.
“Hey, do you know where Jim is?” There was a lot of pointing in a million directions, but Jess eventually found herself back in what looked like a office, and she wasn’t quite sure if she should stick her head in or not.
“Uh- Hello? It’s... it’s Jess, off of the- I mean, I think I have job interview?” She’d sort of dressed up for the occasion, although ‘dressing up’ meant mostly a skirt and tights instead of jeans, and a sort of rumpled button-down instead of a hoodie, and she tried to smooth her hair for the fourth time, but the humidity was making it curl. Calling into an office that may or may not contain the owner wasn’t what she’d been expecting, but the place had such a good vibe about it that she would hardly complain.
Ever since the robbery and the clown’s actions, Jim had been a little off from usual. Generally speaking, Jim was known for being upbeat - ready to face anything - a good sport. His usual bounce had left his step, leaving him flat footed and duller. He wasn’t even as angry when insanity erupted at the Magic Store. A soft sigh would escape him and he’d just check that the last explosion wasn’t rigged by clowns. All acts involving red noses, pasty faced figures had been eradicated.
The theater seemed to sense that things were off and the members did seem to be making an effort. There was no missing the fact that their boss was tinged green, slowly getting worse as days went on. Jim himself ignored the color and tried to shrug it off, but he was in a funk. His coloring and mood were off and he couldn’t change that anymore then he could get out of Seattle.
When Friday came around, Jim was still in the same funk. He’d settled in the office - conveniently forgetting the interview - until he heard someone moving from the backstage behind. His office bordered the right wing of the theater, often overlapping during acts or insanity. Brushing aside what was on his desk - with the back towards the door so he had a chance of getting things done - Jim spun his chair around. There wasn’t much enthusiasm in the movement, merely wariness. Not a familiar voice, which was generally a good sign at the Magic Store. He got up and shuffled forward, opening his door. He spotted the girl and what she said clicked. Oh, right. He’d chatted with someone over the forums.
“I’m Jim,” he said, attempting a slight smile. Gesturing for her to come in, he added. “Hopefully you didn’t have too much insanity to wander through?” Things appeared to be slightly more quiet today. Nothing had been set on fire yet.
He turned around, and Jess’s smile just... died. Out and out died, slipping off her face like it’d been wiped off. “I- no, it’s- it’s fine.” Two steps put her in his office, and the words sort of just... spilled out of her mouth. “Are you okay?” Then, a moment later, a very confused. “You’re... green.”
She looked around his office, her lower lip between her teeth as she forced herself not to shove her hands in her non-existent hoodie pockets, instead smoothing her shirt for the fourth time. “I mean, not that there’s any problem with being- Why are you green?” She sort of was hovering, like she couldn’t decide if she was supposed to sit down or stand or- she wanted to like... touch his shoulder or hug him or something to make him feel better, but she just ... hovered, clearing her throat. “Jessamine Tailor. And no, it wasn’t that insane. Just a lot of... people. Thank you, by the way, for even meeting with me. I- I’m not exactly rolling in job prospects, and even just talking to someone is doing something.”
She’d tried four other places already - she had no idea how to be a stage hand or whatever, so she’d tried a couple of department stores, a fast food place - one of them, she’d gotten so far as a preliminary interview, but the rest of them asked for her social security number, and she’d gotten two very nice calls saying that she must have written it wrong.
Right. So, here she was, standing in the office of someone who was literally green.
Obviously deciding to go through the portal was something she’d thought through, and had made a well-informed, prepared choice about. Right. ... Not so much.
Jim only hired Creations and most understood what his being green meant. Everyone had their weakness, their thing which didn’t go quite right - everyone had their power. Not everyone publicized theirs but Jim’s was unavoidable. He could run, dance, and hop like nobody’s business - but he also turned green while down. “Not a problem,” he assured her. He shifted from one foot to the other until she got in - he didn’t shut the door behind her, as he figured it was better to be safe then sorry. Something was bound to happen that needed his attention.
“I’ll be alright in a few days. I just get like this on...occasion.” He shrugged helplessly before motioning to a chair. “Take a seat, it’s not booby trapped last time I checked.” Which was a day or so ago, which meant it...could be but it wasn’t likely. Such warnings were normal for him, part of the coping with insanity process. Jim moved to his desk, leaning his back against the edge and crossing his arms. “We’ve all got our quirks from coming over, you know? If you haven’t found yours yet, you will soon enough.” She’d just come over, hadn’t she? Jim got new crossovers fairly often but sometimes he’d forget - even though he’d been over for only little more then a year.
There was a pause before he shook his head. “Anyhow, what’s your work experience so far? You’re not here to audition, right?” He thought he recalled that.
Jess settled into the chair, biting her lip. This... was not how this was supposed to go. She probably shouldn’t have said anything, and then what he was saying now filtered through her own internal monologue. “What do you mean, quirks? You’re green. How is being green a quirk? Were you green before? I mean it’s-” She paused, her brows knitting, speaking a little slower than she should be. “It’s not like coming through that thing changes you.”
A very, very long pause later, she continued. “. . . Right?”
She blinked when he continued, and bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth. “I... I worked at Macy’s for a year and a half. Back h-” She cut herself off, looking down. “Back there.” Back home, she’d been about to say, but you can’t call somewhere you’d never see again ‘home’, now could you?
“But- I mean, I work hard. And I- It’s- I really, really need a job.” She just sort of stopped pretending at the end, her fingers tight on her skirt. “Seriously, I’ll do anything. I just- Nobody will hire me, and they all want a working social security number and mine doesn’t work. I don’t have a license and I can’t get one, and I don’t care if you just have me scrubbing bathrooms. Honestly, hand to god.” This wasn’t what she wanted, it wasn’t what her life was supposed to be like, but a job was a job. Money was money, even if she was wrong about this place. It’d seemed bright and sort of... happy when she’d come in, but now- now it was anything but, but she didn’t care, because when it came down to it, it was work.
Jim had to stare a bit curiously. He’d seen his share of confused people, but didn’t most do a little research before coming over? Enough to know what everyone did - you’d end up in Seattle. You could arrange for paperwork if you went to an office. You got a power and a weakness. These things seemed common knowledge to him. “I have a friend who explained it pretty well to me once - it’s like a translation.” He put up his hands, about a half of a foot apart to make his point. Nodding to his left hand, he said, “This is someone in Musings. He’s normal there. We all stop aging at a certain point and we remain...normal.” He nodded at his right hand, turned sideways. “Over here though we haven’t changed. The world just responds to us differently. We all age and keep going, no matter what.” He let his left hand drop, focusing on his right one still angled.
“See, we also gain something...different. We all have a power and a weakness. Kind of like superheroes. Obviously people call themselves different things here - we’re not humans. We’re Creations. They term ‘human’ as normal though.” Jim shrugged and let his hand fall. “I don’t feel much different. It makes sense for how I’ve always been. Things just are different on this side of the portal. My friend, Jeep - you’ll see her around here or hear her - is good with languages. Her weakness seems to come out with her allergies. She can’t eat anything, but she always had that.” As far as he knew. He placed a hand over his heart, shrugging sheepishly. “I’m good with my feet. I’m good at jumping around and dancing. Things get easier. Unfortunately, when I’m...feeling blue, I end up green.”
Eager to switch topics - though he hadn’t wanted to cause any trouble on her end, Jim nodded over her experience. Cracking a slight, almost wry smile - his green coloring lightening a tad - he quipped, “We leave bathroom duty for Mo and if you blow anything up.” His hands fell and he rubbed his pant legs. “But we probably can figure something out. We’re covered at ticketing, but...that doesn’t really stop us from filling spaces.” Not really. Jim couldn’t turn down anyone. Ever. “Experience helps but beggars can’t be choosers. Most of us wouldn’t be here if that was the case.”
With a slight shrug, Jim went on. “We’re a unique theater in that we only hire Creations. Because of our quirks, we’re not a...traditional theater. Things tend to be crazy-” And that was putting it lightly. Jim coughed. “About half of the time we dodge things and the other time, we scramble to keep up. However, I can assure you that our pay is steady-” At the expense of his own pay. “We had a donation a little while ago and business has been more steady since our show with Varian Graves...” Jim shrugged. “You know? We’re a tight community. If nothing else, if you ever need a hand, you’ll find someone who can spare one.” He paused. “Sometimes literally.”
“When- When you say ‘we all’-” She’d given up any pretenses of this being a job interview, and she was just staring up at him. He was green. he was green, and she’d just watched him change color, become less green because he smiled. She was so down anyway, and now- “How does it happen? All of this, this- you turned green and now I’m just- I’m here and I don’t know anybody and I’m living in some guy’s spare room and I can’t find a job and you’re green.
“People talk about this place like it’s fine and dandy, like it’s exciting, like it’s a fresh start. I want to do something with my life, and now I’m begging someone - who is very nice, thank you for being very nice - who is green and it’s all perfectly normal that you’ve got magic powers and you age- and my mother is still on the other side and she doesn’t even know where I am because I was an idiot, and oh, god I’m never going to get a job, and I have magic powers.”
Her outburst abruptly ended with her pressing her fingers against her eyes, and her taking deep breaths because past the fact that she just totally killed her interview - her one interview - she’d rather not just cry in front of a total stranger.
“So,” she said, more to her lap than to Jim, “how do I figure out what I can do, anyway?”
All things considered, this wasn’t too crazy for Jim. In the last week, he’d been held hostage in a bank robbed by clowns, had a fire break out in his sound booth, and managed to lose his roommate (literally). Having a girl break down in his office, however awkward this was, didn’t even make it on his top ten list of craziness. His lips pressed together as she went on, frowning a bit but otherwise ready to wait till she calmed down. It was a lot to take in after coming over - and clearly she hadn’t prepared - sometimes, it just needed to sink in.
If he’d been in a better mood, perhaps he’d be a better help. As it was, he was down in the dumps himself, barely able to keep himself on an alright mindset. Not perky, not ready to sing about rainbows, and the potential tomorrow. Instead, he could only offer - voice sheepish, “If it helps any, you’re already hired.” It didn’t matter that they hadn’t figured out a position; that as a small detail. They were always in need of Go-fors.
“As for powers...” Jim shrugged. “Wait and see. It’ll make itself obvious. There’s supposed to be this place, the Academy, that will open up. Supposed to help you train your powers.” His shrug said that he was neutral on it himself.
“What?” Jess looked up at him, her mouth slightly open. “Sorry, I guess I can’t hear anymore, to go along with going nuts. Did you just say I’m hired?” She had to have lost her mind. Seriously. She just completely flipped out, and now he’s hiring her?
At that, Jim finally laughed. It had been the first time he’d truly laughed since the robbery, even with hanging around the theater or Janet’s comfort. It bubbled up from below, coursing through his whole body in relief. A hand crossed over his eyes, gathering the stray tears - noticing his hand looked appropriately flesh-toned. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“... Oh. Well.” She nodded once, and then looked up. “Hey! You’re.. you’re not green.” She smiled in relief, and bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth. “I really appreciate this. My savings was pretty... I mean. Thank you. I can’t say it enough. When should I be here? I mean, I’m here now, but to work-” She was babbling, and pressed her fingers to her lips to stop herself.
Thank god.
Jim chuckled once more, passing a hand over his face. “I needed that. Thanks.” Even if she was thanking him. There was another urge to laugh as she rambled on, but he kept it down for now. “Show’s are at seven P.M. Be here at around four or so. Sleep in, don’t show up on Wednesday’s and grab a map of the city. Where are you from back in Musings?” Friendly conversation now - he knew enough people who could probably chime in from there.
“Here. I mean, not here, but Bellevue.” She shrugged. “It’s... I mean, now I’m at the Hamartia for another week, then I’m going to find somewhere else, so... It’s not that bad, I guess.” It was that bad, but the last thing she wanted was to make him go green again. “What show are you putting on now?”
“So the change shouldn’t be so difficult,” Jim said nodding. “I’d never been to Seattle before crossing.” He shrugged. It hadn’t been his intention to stay on this end either. At the question about the show, a hand went to the back of his head, scratching awkwardly. “I...have no clue. We tend to put on variety acts. I think our boomerang fish act is premiering tonight. Ben might be doing something.” He shrugged. “These things tend to change last minute.”
“How do you- I mean. The fish. The boomerang fish. Is that somebody’s- I mean. Fish aren’t very... They’re fish.” Jess’s face made it clear that this was going to be a really interesting adjustment period. “Seriously. Fish. The only way they boomerang is if somebody throws them back, right?”
He laughed, rubbing the back of his head again. “No, they come back. Always. You’ve got to duck otherwise you’ll have a mouthfull of raw tuna, without the tastiness.” That said he heard a shout out in the halls. There was enough time to duck before a fish came flying in through the open door, before pausing then swinging back in again. A smack as it collided with someone passing by - followed by a thud when they hit the floor - was unmistakable.
Jim slowly rose up, offering a sheepish smile to Jess. A shout of “SORRY BOSS” echoed in, followed by groans from the fallen. “Welcome to the Magic Store.”