Nathan Summers (alter_nate_ive) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-02-25 20:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, anya corazon (spider-girl), elaine mallory, nathan summers (cable) |
Who: Nate Pryor, Elaine Mallory, and NPC Corazon Mallory
Where: a park
What: meetings!
When: Wed, Feb the 20th!
Warnings/Rating: PG-13 for slight angst involving parental units
Status Complete
Elaine had taken Corazon to the park to meet up with some friends. They’d brought a soccer ball, and the kids immediately started up an improvised game, which went on for quite a while before they began to trickle back to their respective parents for snacks and beverages. Corazon wasn’t shy, by any means, so Elaine was not surprised when the little girl came back with a slightly bigger group that she had started with.
Nate had been out enjoying the day, and when he spotted the game, he joined in enthusiastically. It was fun, sometimes, to just forget his normal ways, forget sorrow and weirdness, and let go. He played hard, and smiled a lot and ended up teaming up with a girl named Corazon a few times to make goals. It was fun!
He grinned as he trooped along with her, digging out his backpack from a nearby table and pulling out fruit juice as he joined her returning to her mom.
“Hi, Corazon’s mom! I’m Nate!”
Elaine smiled at the pair, giving Corazon a squeeze as the girl bounced excitedly over to their table to make introductions. “Hello, Nate,” mom said, offering a handshake, just as she would have done with any grown-up. “I’m Elaine. Would you like to join us, if it’s all right with your folks?”
Nate shook her hand and smiled, and nodded. “I’d be obliged. Mom didn’t come along today, so it’s just me. I can add fruit snacks and cold ice waters to the food supply though!”
He slung his pack around and unzipped it, revealing an inner compartment almost packed wall to wall with ice and water.
“You certainly won’t get dehydrated, will you?” Elaine praised, glancing over his backpack.
Corazon opened their small cooler and unpacked the celery, carrots, and cucumbers, and the sandwiches. “What kind do you like?” the girl asked, “We have salami and cheese, tuna, or Peanut Butter & Jelly. Oh, and it’s strawberry jam.”
“I always try to be prepared. ” He blushed and handed over waters to them both, then took one for him. He swallowed at the choices. “Uhm... peanut butter and jelly please! I love strawberries!” He nodded. He picked them every year when he could. Though he supposed he couldn’t this year, since the patch he used to pick them from was destroyed in Alaska. He sighed, but smiled anyway.
Corazon smiled back, and slid a baggie with one peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich over to her new friend. “Grandma makes jam, every year,” she said, “It’s the best.”
Elaine could see from her daughter’s face that Corazon really hoped Nate would like Grandma Mallory’s jam as much as she did. Elaine was proud of her for sharing her favorite sandwich. “Do you come to the park by yourself a lot, Nate? You must be a very responsible young man.”
His face fell a little at the idea of her grandma, remembering his, and his grandpa and how they were killed a few years back, but he smiled, then and forced himself to think away from that.
“Thank you. I bet it will be great!” Grandmas were the best!
He blushed and nodded. “I do. I go most everywhere by myself. Mom works a lot, and I... well, I got used to it up in Alaska, where we lived before.” Nate had always been precocious and independent.
Elaine saw the look that passed over Nate’s face, and she saw that Corazon had noticed, too; the eight year old pensively biting a hangnail as if trying to work out what she had said wrong, and how to make amends. Thankfully, the subject moved on; but it didn’t escape Elaine’s maternal notice that Corazon happily passed Nate the biggest of the oatmeal cookies they had brought for dessert.
“Alaska, huh?” Elaine said, “That’s quite a long way to move. How do you like it in California so far?”
Nate smiled at Corazon, then snapped his fingers and dug out a special treat from a protected pocket; a carefully crafted brownie with fudge icing, obviously handmade, and held it out to the girl, grinning. She was being so nice, and he wanted to return the favor.
When Elaine asked him the question, he smiled at her, though his smile was a little strained and his eyes sad for a second. She was nice for a grownup! He made himself relax more and keep talking. “Yeah.We had to move after things happened, and I like this place! It’s sunny and there are things to do everywhere and it’s not a small town but a big, big city, or really like seventy cities all pressed together and it’s fun!” He waved a hand outward, feeling like the whole of Orange County was an awesome playground.
“Have you lived here all your life?” He glanced at both of them.
“I have,” Corazon said, “Mom moved here with Grandma and Grandpa when she was a teenager.”
“That’s right,” Elaine said, “It takes a while to get used to the big cities, after growing up in a small town--but it looks like you’re adjusting pretty well.” Still, she couldn’t help but feel a bit protective of him, wandering the city on his own. “Your mother must be very proud of you.”
Nate smiled at Corazon, and then at Elaine, listening. “I like it. Even if it is pretty hot here.” He’d grown up almost entirely in Alaska, until the last couple of years, Still and all, he was getting used to it.
When she mentioned his mom, his eyes and face didn’t change this time. About her, he was used to glossing over and lying. She was a good mom, but she had been visibly and audibly bothered by him being smarter and more independent than most kids, and by him not fitting in at all. She worried all the time, and he worried now, about her. He didn’t know how to help her and he knew that sometimes she cried about the situation, which just made him feel worse.
Still, here and now, he just smiled at Elaine. “I think so. She says so.” He grinned. “I’m taking the California Standardized diploma test and the ACT college exam in a few weeks. She’s been helping me study.”
“College? Wow!” Corazon was obviously impressed. Elaine reached out and rubbed her daughter’s back, and then Nate’s. Being a single parent herself, she could imagine how much work it must be, looking after a child in such advanced placement. And how stressful it could be for Nate, being so much younger than his intellectual peers.
“Congratulations, Nate,” she said, “I hope you do very well. I’m sure Corazon and I will both look forward to hearing all about it.”
Nate blushed and relaxed into the touch, and smiled softly, looking at her. She was nice. Weirdly touchy, but he could tell, somehow, that she was feeling more... warm and compassionate. He liked that. She meant no harm.
“Yeah. I’m sort of a genius. Doesn’t mean much except that I do different work, But the classes I’m in, they can’t afford to split the work, so this is a better solution.” He looked down then at them, smiling a little. “Thank you, both.” He blushed, not having realized they would both want to know about it.
“I’m hoping it’ll go smoothly.”
Elaine withdrew her touch, and went back to her lunch, while Corazon nodded enthusiastically. Apparently, the little girl was not at all intimidated by genius--which Elaine figured was a good thing. Nate seemed like a cheerful, optimistic young man, but he was still just a kid. “So what do you like to do when you’re not studying?”
Nate started eating and grinned at them both. This was fun! He had met a lot of cool people while in the OC. And these two were cooler than most! “When not studying? Well, hiking, and playing and writing music, and sketching or painting, or cooking.” He could barely reach the stove or counter tops and couldn’t carry anything too heavy, but he worked hard at it and mostly made cookies. “Mostly music and art, really.”
“What do you two do?”
“Soccer!” Corazon told him, bouncing happily on her seat. “And Dance! I like music a lot. And mom has a massage clinic next door to our house.”
Elaine smiled, and nodded. “You said you write music, Nate? What instruments do you play?”
Nate smiled at Corazon. “Soccer is awesome!” And he nodded. “And dance? What kind? I’m not a very good dancer, myself.” Of course, at his height, it was hard to find partners.
“Saxophone, flute, and guitar. I hope to learn the piano next.” He nodded. “I want to learn to write all sorts of music, from all sorts of periods of musical interests.” He loved making music.
“Different kinds,” Corazon said, “It’s like...dance theater.” She caught her mother’s look, and corrected her own grammar. “It is dance theater. At the end of the year, we do a big musical. You should come watch!” she added, “If it’s okay with your mom.”
Nate listened, grinning, smiling as she explained. “I’d be glad to. She likes me to meet people around my own age.” He grinned at her and Elaine. “She’d be glad to know I know at least a few people like that, and a dance musical sounds like fun!” He hmmed. “What sort of music do you have in it?”
“It’s sort of a history of storytelling through film,” Corazon explained, sounding very grown up and matter of fact for a moment. “There’s all kinds of music, from the kind they used to have in silent movies, to big, epic, Lord of the Rings music. And Star Wars! We get to do...what’s it called, mom? Not a spoof...”
“A send-up?” Elaine put in.
Corazon bounced again, nodding enthusiastically, and reverting to her usual eight year old exuberance. “Yeah, send ups of famous movie scenes.”
“Your mother is welcome to come, too,” Elaine said, “If she’s not working.”
Nate listened, grinning. “Sounds awesome! I’ll definitely be there. And I’m sure she will want to come, too.” He nodded, though he actually doubted it. His mom worked a lot, and he felt like he had to make excuses for when she couldn’t be at things. But this one was a ways away, right?
Elaine nodded back. There was plenty of time to plan, even if Nate wound up needing a ride. No need to worry about it. “We’ll have to keep in touch, so you know when to mark your calendar.”
Nate pulled out a small piece of paper and jotted down his number, then handed it over to Corazon. “That way we can reach out and say hello.” He nodded. “I hope the rest of the school year is good before then.”
“Me too,” Corazon said, handing the paper to Elaine for safekeeping. Elaine handed her a business card for Evergrace Massage in return, and Cora printed her name and their personal number on the back in neat, but youthful handwriting. She then passed the card to Nate. “What time do you have to go home?”
Nate took the card, grinning as he memorized the number, then tucked it into his shirt. “Got it.” Cool
“I have to be home by around five, which means catching the 4:15 bus.” He nodded.
“Cool,” Corazon said, “So we can hang out a little bit longer before you have to go? I mean, if you want to.”
Elaine smiled. It seemed the pair were getting along well. “It’s all right with me.”
“Yep! Want to go check out the new monkey bars now that most of the kids have wandered off?” Nate grinned at Cora and winked at her and Elaine, bouncy, and happy to just enjoy a nice day playing. He enjoyed a lot of things older than most of his agemates did, but sometimes he liked kids things.
“Yeah!” Corazon hopped down from her seat and bounced excitedly on her toes.
“All right,” Elaine said, “Have fun. I’ll be right here watching if you need anything.”
Nate smiled and nodded to her. “Thanks, ma’am!” And he bounced off, one hand snagging one of Corazon's and pulling her along with. He enjoyed making new friends, and both Corazon and Elaine seemed awesome!
FIN