The Roof, Late Friday Afternoon

[whenshewasnice]

It was a nice day to be up on the roof. Warm but still not too hot for Natalie's taste. There was nothing weird going on in town, either, from what she could see. It looked almost normal, from up here.

Still, she couldn't quite say she was happy. There had been a feeling she hadn't been able to shake for a couple of days now. Ennui or homesickness or something else. She knew it would pass, because these moods always did. She just wished it would have gone away faster. She didn't have time to be feeling like this.

So, she was up on the roof, looking out over the town and smoking a cigarette that she intended to be her only one for now. Like she was willing her mood to be over in the span of a single smoke.

It was probably not going to work, but it was worth a shot.

[ooc: Open, naturally.]

Comments

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

Day five of exploring, and Frank had yet to visit the roof. This was being rectified.

"Hi," he said, stepping out onto the roof and shutting the door behind him. "We're... allowed up here, right?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie glanced back over her shoulder, flicking ash off the end of her cigarette. "To the best of my knowledge," she said. "Though I hear it's not as popular as it used to be."

There was no smokers' club. That suited her fine.

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"Cool," Frank said, relieved. "'Cause I wanted to see what the view's like from up here, and it's better to do that without getting detention." He set off in the direction of the ledge, surveyed the view, and nodded. "Yep. Definitely better than New Rochelle."

[whenshewasnice]

"And where is that, then?" Natalie wondered, idly watching him. It wasn't entirely genuine curiosity, but sometimes she was still inclined to play nice.

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"New York. It's where I'm from," Frank explained. "I'm pretty sure it still exists..."

[whenshewasnice]

"Still?" Natalie asked, though she thought she knew what the reason behind that was. Lots of time-didplaced people around. "New York does, at least."

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I met some people from there," he confirmed. By way of explanation, he added, "I'm from 1959, so it's sometimes hard to tell what people aren't familiar with and what just isn't around anymore. Where are you from?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Montreal," she shared. After a drag off her cigarette, she added, "Some time in the latest decade."

Canon was so vague about time.

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"Oh, cool!" Frank said enthusiastically. "So you speak French, right?"

Someone had grown up with a mother who was a native French speaker and loved showing it off. Shut up.

[whenshewasnice]

Oh hey, this same question twice in one week.

//Fluently,// she replied. In French. Not really caring at that particular moment whether he knew the language or was just under the impression that a person from Montreal automatically knew French. //I'm Anglo, but a functional bilingual.//

And had an accent that betrayed her origin, yes. It was most likely not like his mother's.

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

//Me too!// Frank exclaimed. //Speaking French, I mean. My mom's from France.//

Look, back home this made people think he was really really cool.

[whenshewasnice]

Yeah, it was less so with Natalie. But mildness was her game, anyway. It would've have taken a little more than that to get any kind of a strong reaction out of her.

Though she did raise a slightly amused eyebrow at the enthusiasm. //Really. How cool for you.//

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"I know, right?" Back to English, apparently. "You too!" He offered her a hand, then fumbled and switched it to account for her cigarette. "I'm Frank, by the way."

[whenshewasnice]

"Natalie," she replied as she took his hand, briefly. "Hi."

A woman of so many words, our Natalie.

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

That was okay; Frank had more than enough words for the two of them.

"So how long have you been coming here, Natalie?" Frank asked. "I'm really really new, so I don't know everyone yet. Or most people." He blushed, then admitted, "I mostly know six people."

[whenshewasnice]

"I came here at the start of the fall term. So, a full school year." And yet she kenw... about six people. That was fine with her, though. "I don't know everyone, either."

Oh, understatement.

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"Oh, good, so you're a credible source," Frank said, trying to keep from bouncing. "So tell me, is this place always this exciting?"

Frank, you naive soul.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie... paused, and glanced over towards the town.

"Is it particularly exciting to you now?"

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

Frank laughed. "Well, yeah," he said, a little startled that she'd even asked. "I mean, there's a castle right there, we're a land bridge away from a major city, there are people from all over the world and all over history here, not to mention the future, there's a ball pit in the same building as where we sleep, and I'm pretty sure there's a pink pony that talks."

All of which he said with the gigantic, dramatic arm-sweeps of a theater character. La.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie did wonder if he was going to burst into song next.

"I suppose that's true," she allowed. "For a newbie, anyway."

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

Frank blinked, but didn't stop smiling. "What do you mean?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shrugged a shoulder, flicked her cigarette again. "Well, for me, the town is being delightfully normal and non-exciting, today."

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"Non-exciting?" Frank repeated. "You mean it gets better?"

The puppy eyes. Oh god, the puppy eyes.

[whenshewasnice]

"I feel like I should be feeding you treats," Natalie observed absently. Because puppy eyes. Then she shrugged again. "Depends on your definition for what's better. Not all the excitement is fun."

[catchmeifyoucan.livejournal.com]

"...how do you mean?"