Chores
Who: Jeremy and Mazie Where: B Block When: Afternoon
She’d been over to this side of the compound once before today, but after retiring to her room for a while, playing around on the computer, and shooting off a request message to The Man, Mazie figured she should go by and see Jeremy again. The day had ended strangely yesterday on a lot of levels but she remembered something that still needed to get done over in Jeremy’s neck of the woods and repaying the helpful favor was the least she could do.
After making a few stops in various places around A Block, Mazie had managed to snag a flathead screwdriver, can of paint, and a couple brushes before riding the elevator over to B Block. Once there, she scoped out Jeremy’s room, thankful this time that it was painted on and thus a pretty obvious find. Knocking on it, she waited, readjusting her fingers on the can handle.
He’d left his room as usual, headed over to A Block for food and then looking through the library. He’d found a couple of books he found interesting, grabbing them from the shelves before heading towards his room. At some point they were going to give him a job, though he wasn’t quite sure what it would be, he assumed he’d make the most of whatever it was. What he didn’t expect was Mazie knocking on his door. “You get lost?” he said, smile creeping onto his features, reaching up to push the fedora back to he could see her better.
“Nope, I set out to find the one door in B Block that needed some repainting and look, here it is.” She held the paint can up and smiled a little back at him. “You up for painting your door now?” Something constructive to do was really starting to feel like the best idea she could have, especially since she was itching to bolt away from his door and back to that damn tree with the carving in it.
“I told you you didn’t have to do that,” he said as he unlocked the door to his room and waved her inside. “Though since you came all this way I think we can take care of it.” Jeremy set the books down on his desk. “Do you care if change my shirt first?”
Shrugging, Mazie stepped inside, but not really that far. Just to where the door had been held open. She put the paint can down as a doorstop and started prying the top open on the can. “Yeah, I don’t have to paint your door but I’m not doing it alone and it’s the least I can do for you coming to tell me about those nooses.” Plus painting the door was keeping her from trying to hack the camera systems and that was a win in her book right now.
Jeremy took the fedora off, giving her a good look at the mess of curls that hid under it. “I wouldn’t make you do it alone. And I might as well. Or people’ll be scared to come by,” he said unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off, leaving it on the bed. He didn’t seem worried about not having anything on, but the scar on his chest stood out against his skin, fading, but still very much there.
Mazie looked up and in the process saw the scar on his chest. She turned away immediately after seeing it, wondering what had happened to him to get that, but not sure it was appropriate to ask. Or well, pretty sure it wasn’t appropriate to ask. Instead, she knelt down and stirred as much of the paint as she could with the brush. “Well, we’ll paint this up and you can have all your guests come over to a freshly painted door. And maybe a freshly painted carpet too.”
Jeremy grabbed an undershirt out from a drawer and pulled it on, shaking his head. “Well, let’s try and not paint the carpet,” he suggested, moving to join her and closing the door. “I could work harder on having guests though. I’m not so great at that.” He picked up the spare brush, watching her. Have you done anything like this before?”
Picking up the can of paint, Mazie frowned. “Awe man, I wanted to update the carpet with a killer paint-splatter pattern.” Putting the can down between them, she wiped off some of the paint from her brush and took it to the middle of the door. “Yeah, you and me both about the guests thing. I’m not great at it either. My place always kinda smells vaguely of nerd.”
“Try again Jackson Pollock,” Jeremy teased about her splattering his floor. He surveyed the paint for a moment before dipping his own brush and echoing her movements with too sure of a hand. “You have Autumn though.”
She watched the way he painted, compared it to the way she painted, and decided she needed to get her painting act together. “Yeah, I do,” She said, letting the thoughts of what she and Autumn come to the forefront of her mind again. Sighing, she focused on the wall. “Hey, I’m sorry it went down like that yesterday. It’s...Autumn and I are working through some stuff. Didn’t mean for it to get awkward.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Jeremy lied. It had been terribly awkward. “What are you working through? Maybe I can help.” Or at least gain some insight into what went on in Mazie’s head.
She was quiet for another minute and then ended up shrugging. “I dunno really, just seeing differently I guess.” She wasn’t sure, like always, if this was something she should be talking to people about. “I made her a mix today, though...A playlist. That was fun.”
“Well I can’t imagine you come from the same kinds of worlds,” Jeremy said looking over at Mazie then back at his painting. “I’m sure that was well liked and that she appreciated it. Seems like a nice gesture. Did you hear from her?”
“Not yet. Maybe I will but she said she wanted time or space or...both, I don’t know. If she doesn’t want to respond, she doesn’t have to. I just thought that with the couple of days we’d had, she should get to listen to some music that might make her smile. She has a really nice smile.” Mazie shrugged. “I guess we don’t come from the same world, but I also don’t really think that matters. Not a big fan of class separation. I think she’s just..well I know what she’s worried about and I just...” Sighing, she looked back at Jeremy. “If I got control of, you know,” She said, nudging her head vaguely upward. “Would that make you think I’m not any better than Them?”
“Did she ask for space or time? There’s a difference.” He painted a few more lines, seeming like he was considering her question. “I don’t think it matters. You’re using it for similar reasons that they are. You both want something. You just happen to want something different from what they want.”
“Time,” Mazie said, still feeling like that and space meant the same thing though. She listened to his reasoning then turned her eyes back to the door. “It does matter. The people that mean something to me here, it matters what they think of this. If they think that it makes me just like them, then I have to find something else to do.”
Jeremy nodded. “Time is workable. Space, not as much.” He smiled at her then reached out to pat her shoulder. “What else would you do?” he asked. He didn’t like the idea of her not doing what she said, but he knew better than to push it if she was doing it for people she cared about.
Putting her brush back in the paint, Mazie gave an exasperated sigh as she pulled her hair up. “I don’t know, maybe I need time to think about it. I just..no matter what, I feel like this would put my mind at ease. But I’ve never had people in my life who I really gave a shit about their opinions. I mean, my mom and my dad, but they didn’t know about me until the cops showed.” She was quiet for another moment. “Sometimes I wonder how my dad is dealing with this, what he tells the guys at the bar about me.”
“Maybe, if it puts you at ease,” Jeremy started, not looking at her. “Maybe you keep up what you’re doing...but don’t tell them. Same with your parents.” He then cut his eyes at her, smiling a little. “I’m sure he tells them he never knew how smart his daughter really was.”
Mazie gave a humorless smile as she reached for her brush again. “Yeah, that or how disappointed he is in me that I didn’t, fuck I don’t know, do an honest day’s work in my life or some shit. Hard to explain hacking to a coal miner.” Why was this coming out now? Her father had always meant the most to her and the idea of him hating her now was scary enough, but maybe it was the idea that she might never really know what he thought that was scaring her into this, just the way that she might never really know how other people felt about the choices she’d make, or how she’d feel about the choices she made. “I don’t want to have to lie to them though. Autumn or Adam or anyone, really. Maybe I’ll go to whoever the hell this Governor is and get some sort of opinion on it. They might be the only authority I have a chance not to hate outright.”
“He’s still your father. My guess is that he loved you one way or another.” Though that was making an assumption on his part, but he’d seen families. They seemed to be that way and he was fine with going with that. “I didn’t say lying about it, just...not telling anyone.” He ran his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. “What are you thinking as far as that is concerned? Who’d you vote for?”
“Wu. Went off the suggestion of a girl that made a lot of sense when I asked her who she was voting for. I voted for you for something, though. For Bartender. Partly because I think you probably can make drinks I can’t even pronounce, and partly because it sounded like a job that I could still come hang out with you at. Who’d you vote for?” And had he voted for her for the job she wanted?
Jeremy nodded. “Makes sense. And I can make drinks you can’t pronounce. I’m not sure what else I’d be suited for anyway.” He smiled at her. “I voted for you for what you wanted, computer junkie.” He knew she’d like that.
That did make her grin, a real one that shone through as she went to apply paint to her brush again. “Computer junkie. Good term for it. Not sure what else I’m suited for either,” She admitted, shrugging a little. “I think I’d like it, that job. As long as they don’t put me on cleaning duty, I’ll be happy, but I think I’d do good at that job. What did you vote for yourself for?”
“I’m sure you’d be suited for whatever you wanted,” Jeremy said with a grin. He was building her up, just a little. “I went with bartender as well. I figured I was qualified and it’d be nice to get out and see people.”
“You’ve got the grin of a bartender. Or well, I guess you would have the grin of a bartender in a fancy place. Jimmy back home is missing most of his teeth, but he’s a good guy still.” Mazie said, smiling a little at the thought of their one watering hole back home. She was only allowed in there with her dad, but they still went pretty often. His compliment was nice, adding to the smile. “I guess I just gotta figure out what that is, huh?”
“I blend in more places than you’d think,” he said smiling a little. “Though I wouldn’t try and take Jimmy’s job from him.” Jeremy was glad to see her smile. “You’ll figure it out kiddo. I know you will.”
Mazie laughed, a real laugh, and shook her head. “Ok, hit me with your best West Virginia accent. You can model it after mine,” She offered, stopping to cross her arms over her chest and wait to be impressed. “Show me how well you’d fit in in a coal mining town.
He took a moment, licking his lower lip before fixing his fedora. “I don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re talking about,” he said mimicking her accent almost perfectly, his own New York accent falling away. “What accent?”
She narrowed her eyes a little bit, studying him as he spoke and trying hard not to grin at how good his accent was. Interesting. “And who do you listen to? If you’re gonna put on a record, who is it?”
“Hank Williams,” Jeremy said without hesitation, still using her accent. “What else?” Sure he gave giving a little away, but it was fun to see her like that.
“Hank Williams, good choice. Also, Loretta Lynn is acceptable, but let’s not get into that.” She didn’t exactly need Jeremy to know that her namesake was a country singer. “All right...what’s next. What’re you eating for your last meal?”
“Last meal? Steak and a baked potato, that consistent no matter where you’re from,” he said still smiling and going back to work on the door. It was like a game now, playing along with what she was asking.
“Well, it’s passable but if it doesn’t include a biscuit or cornbread, you aren’t really Southern.” Mazie said, shrugging. “In West Virginia, add some moonshine for good measure and you’re golden. I think you’d be too bored in a town like mine though. Not much for you to find interesting there. They took away all the money I gave to the library so I don’t even think they can project movies on the big screen they bought with it anymore...”
“You gave money to the library?” he asked looking over at her for a moment. “I think I could find a way to entertain myself. Especially if there’s moonshine involved.”
“Yeah. I gave money to a lot of people. Money that I took from people too stupid to guard it properly. My town didn’t have shit. It’s the twenty-first century and we didn’t even have a movie theatre. So I gave the library money, they bought a screen, and I provided pirated movies. No one really said anything because it suddenly got a whole lot easier to watch Twilight.” Mazie shrugged. “What we did have? Coal and moonshine.”
“I’ve heard about those kinds of towns. You were lucky you were able to do what you did.” Most wouldn’t. He was surprised she wasn’t married to some roughneck already.
Shrugging again, Mazie went for a dip of the brush and then the door. “It’s a close-knit town, that’s the good part of it I guess. The bad part is that it’s a close-knit town. Lots of people, little to do, lots of drugs and pregnancies...I managed to find technology when a lot of people didn’t or didn’t care to, but I figured if it helped me, it could help them too. Until I got caught and now I bet they’re probably back where they started. I’d do it again, though. Give them money.”
“Not many give like that,” Jeremy said, sounding impressed even if he didn’t fully understand it. “And while you’ve wound up here, you’re probably better off than stoned and pregnant.”
Making a vague cha-ching sound with her tongue, she pointed at him. “Right you are,” She said. “Especially the pregnant part. I guess no one can ever say I didn’t get out of Hicktown, West VA. But enough about me, tell me more about you. You don’t talk about you, like...ever.”
He smiled a little and nodded. “I can’t quite see you married to some miner,” he said. “There’s nothing to tell. I grew up in the city. School, college, work. Nothing interesting.”
“Bullshit,” Mazie said, shaking her head. “Bullshit there’s nothing interesting in your past. You want me looking into it myself?” Like she could here but it didn’t stop her using the threat. “I feel like we’ve had this conversation before, where you said the same kind of vague crap. Give me something real, from your past. I just shared a lot with you, share something back. Besides, you owe me for the biscuit tip.”
“I was vague about why I got arrested,” he said looking over at her. “Not about who I was. And you could look, it’s just not interesting. Boring rich kid stuff. The most interesting thing about me is that I was one of the more eligible bachelors in the city right before my arrest.”
Mazie scoffed at that. “So what, you handed out roses to the crazy women you dated too?” She rolled her eyes. “Of course you were an eligible bachelor. It’s the only way people would date you with that fedora,” She teased. “Can’t see you getting married either.”
Jeremy laughed. “Not the kind of the television show,” he said rolling his eyes. “Just well known as being single and there was more than one rumor and more than one plan about me and ending my bachelorhood.” Her last comment got a face out of him. “No?”
“Not sure marriage is all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, my parents did well, but I saw a lot of failed marriages too. Figure if you’re happy, then what’s the point of pushing it so the government could tell you that you can legally be happier, whatever that means. Besides, you seem lone wolfish anyway,” She said, dipping the brush again.
“Lone wolfish...” Jeremy echoed thinking that it sounded completely accurate. “I just never found the right person,” he said instead, looking over at Mazie. “That’s all. Worked too hard I guess.”
“Hey, if you wanna get married, I guess go for it. I guess I just don’t see the point.” Shrugging, she stepped back to check on their progress. “Looks pretty good so far, right? You’re gonna have to paint that top part on your own though.”
He watched Mazie for a moment. “Not even if it was Autumn?” he asked, curious how she’d take that, but he didn’t keep her under his gaze. Instead he just went back to the door, working on the parts she couldn’t reach.
She was quiet for a moment. “I mean...maybe, if it was Autumn. But what’s so different about us being married than us just being happy together?” Needing something to do with her hands, she went back to the door and knelt down to work on the bottom parts of it.
“They say there’s something about the commitment. I wouldn’t know,” Jeremy said with a shrug. “I suppose I would understand more if I was in love and wanted to show it. Wanted that promise, but I’ve never been in love.”
“Don’t see why you can’t just commit yourself to someone without the government having a say in it,” Mazie said, though she figured that marriage made sense in some places. For commitment, for a promise to someone. “Well, when you get out you won’t be the most eligible bachelor in New York, for one. Maybe you’ll actually find someone with some substance. And if she doesn’t like biscuits, I veto her.”
“So it’s not the religious ceremony you have an issue with it’s the piece of paper from the courthouse?” Jeremy asked to clarify. When he got out. When he got out he’d get back to where he was in no time, he just needed a new name. “I’ll make sure she passes your screening first.”
“I guess not,” Mazie started. “Where I come from, when people get married, God’s a part of it. Just...is a normal thing I guess. Don’t think anyone from my town got married anywhere else other than a church.” She gave him a grin at that last part. “Good. Because biscuits are serious business. Every good person in the world loves a biscuit.”
“So start thinking of it less for the paperwork and more for the feeling, if you want to understand it. The only people I know who got married for the piece of paper rather than the commitment ceremony, were in it for green cards.” Jeremy smiled at her grin and nodded. “So I can tell. I’m glad you were here to enlighten me.”
“I just don’t see why I can’t have the feeling and not get married,” Mazie said, shrugging again. She didn’t really want to talk about marriage anymore anyway. It had always seemed antiquated to her and something that people did, especially in her town, by way of shotguns and seeing as she never got close enough to a boy to have that problem, marriage wasn’t on her mind. Putting her brush down, she moved for the door handle. “I’m gonna put some music on, have something to listen to while we do this...even if it’s muffled. That cool?”
He found that interesting, her desire to be so closely linked to others and yet not wanting the institution that made it official. “By all means,” he said waving to give her space to go into his room. “Just pick something upbeat.”
“Upbeat, got it,” She said, carefully opening the door and heading to the computer. Settling on something upbeat, Mazie threw together a quick playlist of up-tempo songs and boosted the volume, returning to close the door and focus more on painting. At least it got her mind off of some more confusing thoughts, for a while.