The Stellar discussion

Cricket sat in the library, reclining comfortably in a red leather armchair. His feet were up on the little round table that was littered with Popular Science and Highlights magazines. He had his Ipod in his lap, playing Journey while he read Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln.

((I'm assuming we know eachother already. At least by name.))
Cricket looked up as he heard someone enter and sit in a corner nearby. "Oh, uh... Hey, Briden." He tried to speak quietly, but due to his music, was just a bit too loud. This warranted a glance from a nearby librarian stocking books. Cricket removed one earbud. "You realize the chairs are more comfortable than the floor, right?" He gestured to the chair in front of him.

"Well, okay then, I won't argue." Cricket answered. "So what are you reading, anyhow? That's quite a stack." He craned his neck to see if he could make out any of the titles.

((Quick question and then I'll leave y'all alone. How does Cricket have an ipod? I mean, he lives in an abandoned theater that doesn't have enough money for candles.))

Max (Mace) wrote: "((Quick question and then I'll leave y'all alone. How does Cricket have an ipod? I mean, he lives in an abandoned theater that doesn't have enough money for candles.))"

((He stole it.))

((Cool! Okay))

"You're missing one, then." Cricket answered, then sat back. "I'm usually not this talkative. I can shut up if you like."

"Oh, you read them chronologically." Cricket nodded. "I read them in published order at first, but I agree that that is the way to do it." He went back to his book.

"Reading would be the obvious answer. But honestly, I'm just trying to get away from all the noise of..." He broke off, not wanting to say too much, in case anyone was nearby. "You know. I take you're here for the same reason?"

Cricket nodded. He continued reading in silence for a few minutes, then checked the watch he wore on his wrist. "The library closes soon. Want me to check those out for you?" He figured she probably didn't own a library card.

"I see..." Cricket replied to Briden. Then suddenly, he stumbled forward as someone bumped into him. He turned. "Oh, Sorry. Excuse me." He apologized to the girl, even though it wasn't his fault. Then recognition struck him. "Oh, hey Rain! Looking for a book? Hurry up and I'll borrow it for you."

"Yeah. I figured I was here a lot and I like reading, so it seemed a good idea." He talked as he walked up to the checkout desk. He figured the others would follow. "Uh, hey, Stephen." He greeted the librarian and handed his card to him.
Stephen grinned. He had perfectly combed white hair with a freshly trimmed Santa beard and thick lensed tortoiseshell glasses. He wore khakis, and a tweed jacket with patches on the sleeves, and a little green bowtie. "Killian." He said simply and rang up the book. "There you go."
Cricket handed the book to Rain. "Thanks."

"Well, that escalated quickly." Cricket said to himself after they had left. Stephen the librarian looked stunned. Cricket thought for a moment before heading out, a book in hand. Wonder if I can find some food for a few bucks around here. He glanced around and saw a house with an open garage. Craning his neck, he could just make out a large freezer unit. Ooh! Free waffles sound really good right now. I'd have to find a toaster, though.

Lydia wrote: "Briden dangled her feet off the edge of the building as the sun began to set. She preferred to be alone, but she sort of needed the added protection."

As Cricket thought about this, he Looked up and noticed Briden. "Oh, hey! I figured you went back to The Stellar. Mind if I join you?" He called up to her.

Lydia wrote: "She looked down. "Sure, if you want." She tossed her apple core and grinned when it bounced off a nearby guys head. He glanced around wildly before continuing on his way."

((This reminds me of a time when my sister and I were at Six Flags, standing on a bridge, watching the crowds. She was eating an apple and some guy with the most ridiculously tall rainbow mohawk walked into view. I tried to convince her to hit him with the core, but she wouldn't. (I was younger and stupider then.)))

Cricket climbed up and sat down. "Wanna see if that house over there has waffles?" He pointed to the one he meant.

"Pffft. Yeah, of course we're stealing. Unless you wanna waltz up to the front door and put on your puppy dog eyes. Put on a sheet and pretend you think it's Halloween, perhaps. You could even reenact Oliver Twist, if you were so inclined. 'Please, Sir! May I have some more?'" Despite his hyperbolic sarcasm, he realized that this might actually be a better plan. People would give just about anything if you acted pathetic enough. But there was no fun in that.

"We'll just grab and go if someone seems to be home. Otherwise, I'm gonna try using their toaster." Cricket smirked. "Maybe we could get lucky and borrow some syrup too."

Cricket looked at the dog and scratched his ear in thought. "Is she trained? Because she could be a distraction, should the family show up."

"You misunderstand. I meant if they show up, we sic her on them and we run..." He trailed off when it became clear that she wasn't listening. He followed behind her, hand in his pocket, clutching his penlight.

"Yeah. See the freezer unit?" He pointed to a large white ice chest in the garage. It was plugged into the wall to keep food cold. "The toaster will be inside, obviously, so we'll have to make sure no one is home. I don't see any cars in the driveway, but there's that light on the second floor. I'm hoping it was left on accidentally."

"Eh." Cricket wobbled his hand back and forth in an, 'It's iffy.' gesture. "I don't have a lot of practice. Someone else usually does it for me." He felt embarrassed by the statement. He was eighteen. He'd been doing this a while, but he still couldn't even open a door most of the time.

"Why? The garage is wide open?" He asked following her. "Then he realized that he'd just answered his own question. It seemed like a trap. He stopped at the gate leading into the back yard and placed his hand on the latch. "Crap! I bet there's a dog here."

Cricket sighed with relief. He looked around. The yard consisted of a small patch of trees that surrounded the brick walkway around a kidney-bean shaped pool and an adjacent hot tub. The underwater lights cast a bluish light. Three steps led up to a railed wooden patio strung with with Christmas lights. A table with six chairs and a red umbrella sat at one end, a grill at the other. "Well, this is nice." Cricket mused as he made his way toward the sliding glass doors that led inside. ((Should we jump threads?))

"Probably. Consider this a reconnaissance mission. We'll scope it out tonight and grab our precious waffles, then come back later, better equipped to deal with the security."

"We're not even inside and we're already on camera? That sucks. Know anyone who can take care of that?" Keeping out of the spotlight was his biggest concern right now.

"That's good. Lead the way." Cricket gestured for her to come forward." He made a mental note to learn some of her tricks. He felt really useless right now. He'd always looked for the easy way, visiting soup kitchens and food banks." Of course he'd stolen small items from people's pockets, but this was totally different.

Cricket shook his head and mimicked what she'd done as quickly as possible. "Okay. So to the garage, then?" He said coming up beside her.

((Maybe he got caught for a brief moment, just enough to see his face? I think it might be fun to do a jailbreak later on.))

((Whichever you prefer.))

"I know which way the garage is. I'm not that incompetent." He teased at his own expense. He nearly knocked over a glass of orange juice that had been left on the edge of the island in the center of the kitchen. "Woah! That was close. You know, that's one of my pet peeves: people putting things on the edges of surfaces. It just makes me uneasy."

((Alright, cool.))
"Not anymore." Cricket smiled. At her suggestion to close the door, "No. Too noisy. Tell you what. You check in there. I'll check the fridge here." He walked across the room and opened the large refrigerator. "Wow. These people are health freaks. There's a whole drawer for avocados. And who the heck needs this much Activia yogurt?"

"That sounds delicious actually. Grab a slice for me?" Cricket answered hungrily. "So long as there are no anchovies or broccoli, I'm good." He moved aside a half-drunk gallon of almond milk. "Speak of the devil, there's a whole broccoli cheddar casserole back here." He then noticed a brown glass bottle. "And here's the organic maple syrup."

"Organic. Vegan. GMO free." Cricket read the label. "Man. This is a box of disappointment and depression. It's not even blueberry." He shrugged and opened the plastic wrapper. He dropped four into the toaster and pushed down the lever.

Cricket tore off a paper towel from a roll on the counter and wiped up the OJ. "Gross." The toaster popped. "Ooh! Food's ready! " He grabbed the hot waffles in paper towels, then found some paper plates and plastic utensils in a drawer under the sink. He drizzled them with maple syrup. "Alright, let's bail!"

Cricket nodded and began to retrace his steps, wiping everything he could remember touching. He even went so far as to clean off the door handles and those of the drawers. "Good call. Are we done yet?"

"I really don't want to push our luck." Cricket said with a shrug. "We could check the master bedroom if you like, but it's an unnecessary risk, in my opinion. Not like this." He pointed the waffles. "I was about to eat my own arm off, I was so hungry."

"Fifty bucks? From Lewis? No way! You'd be lucky to get thirty." Cricket laughed. "But in all seriousness, that is a lot nicer than mine." He flashed his watch, which was a cheap plastic analog. He thought it was cooler than a digital one.

"Agreed." Cricket made his way toward the garage door. "I'm not going part the cameras again."

Cricket bit back a curse. He wished he had studied the family and the house more. "The back, I guess. I don't want to pass the cameras again, but it can't be helped. "

"Well, I've already done it once. I just need to do the same but in reverse." Cricket shrugged, trying not to look flustered. "I'll be alright."

Cricket did his best to remember, stumbling on a loose rock only once. He didn't think it took too long to recover and was 99% sure he hasn't been caught. "That could've been smoother, but I think we're okay. Let's go." Now that they were in the front of the house once more, he tried to look casual, meandering back toward the library. He made sure to take the long way back to the Stellar, and ducked into a few alleys from time to time to throw off anyone who might follow, with the exception of Briden.

"Thank you. I mean, it wasn't great either, but thanks." He never knew how to just accept a compliment. He opened a side door into the old theater and held it open for Briden.

"No problem." Cricket shrugged. He followed her in, but then broke off to find a quiet corner to read in. First, he dropped the rest of the box of waffles of in the dining room. He settled on a former dressing room, where he sat in one of the makeup chairs and propped his feet on the desk of the vanity mirror. Since there was no power in the building, he couldn't use the lights on the mirror, and used his penlight instead.

((How should we continue?))

((Maybe Cricket could invite her to the park?))

The next day, Cricket pulled himself groggily off the rough carpet. He went to go find Briden. He wanted to see if she'd go to the park with him. He needed as change of scenery. "Briden?" He called through the building.

Cricket barely held back a smile as Briden pulled her hair back. "You look like the girl from The Ring. Uh... But I didn't come to insult you. So, sorry. Anyway. Uh... Would you want to go to the park with me? I'm sure Teara would enjoy the exercise." He gestured to her dog.

Cricket scratched Teara's ears and led the way to the park. He smiled inwardly. Eight was hardly an ungodly hour.
((To the park thread, then, I guess.))

Kenny skipped down the street, a childish twinkle in his eye. He had been taken into care by Johnny and went out around the town when the older boy was working or hanging out with Ashton. In his pocket was his watch and a newly acquired one, gold.

“Hi Billy!” He giggled and ran his finger over the new watch in his pocket. “The old man on the corner that always tells me jokes have me a new watch”

“I-I’m not supposed to go with the men in the blue suit.” he sputtered and shook his head as he shoved the watch in his pocket.