Roleplay in Different Eras! discussion

1-20-18
Ready. Set. GO!

Piper held her lunch tray as she looked around the cafeteria for a place to sit.
"Let's sit with the cheerleaders today." Diana said as she came up behind her. "Ironically, of course."
"We sat with them two days in a row now, but you go ahead. I need a change." Piper spotted a guy staring pretty intensely at a book as if it held the key to immortality or something.
"Suit yourself." She heard Diana say before they split up.
She sat herself right across from book-reading-guy and rested her chin on her palm. "Hiya." She said cheerfully. "Colt, right?"

"Piper." She said it in a way that there just had to be a exclamation at the end. She tapped her toes rapidly, but lightly, on the ground as she looked around, mostly at whatever was on the table. Ewie lunch. Book. And...
"Dang! That's so old school!" Her hand reached for the Walkman. "What the heck even is that?" Her eyes widened to full circles on her face.

"Wow. A Walkman." She repeated. The look on her face transformed from one of exaggerated amazement to puzzled. "Huh... I wonder why it's called a 'Walkman' and not a 'Walkwoman' or 'Walkperson.' Sounds kinda sexist, don't you think?" She didn't wait for a reply. "What are you reading? Is it for school? Is that why you're taking notes?" She looked at him expectantly snd waited. But she wouldn't have waited long.

"Wow, you read for fun. That must mean you're like super smart, huh? I could never. I guess by default that means I'm not smart." She laughed.

"Well, what is lunchtime for if not to talk?" She met his eyes. "I can wait until you're ready to listen." She angled her head slightly and waited...

"Hm." She looked amused. "You would think so, wouldn't you? How can it be? The stuff they serve here can hardly even pass as food." She brought her finger to her chin, "I often wonder if this is all just a twisted social experiment to see what they can get us to ingest."

"Ha. Funny." She smirked. "Are my musings annoying you?" She quirked a brow at him. "Come on, lighten up!"

"Tell me about the book?" She glanced at him hopefully. "You've piqued my curiosity. I have to know what's got you so... immersed."

"Oooh, that's about the Greek guy who married his mom?" She nodded. "I admit I only skimmed it. I lived in Greece, though. Not that it's relevant or anything."

"Ohmygosh. They have the best beaches. Ever. Period." She gushed. "Ugh, what I wouldn't give to go back." She played around with what was left of her lunch, pushing it back and forth with her fork. Her eyes had a distant look in them, as if she was mentally back in Greece, then just like that her countenance fell. "We were gonna go to Spain next, before..." She stopped short. "Yeah, Greece is awesome."

"The sand is sooo soft. You wouldn't believe how clear and blue the water is. And absolutely perfect for sailing. My parents used to take me all the time-- we had our own sailboat and everything, but my dad sold it before we moved." The dreamy look returned.

"Wait, don't--" she stood and watched him go in a hurry. That was weird. She glanced down and saw the Walkthingy still on the table. She would have to return it next time she saw him, but for now she would have to go to class. She grabbed it and stuffed it into her purse, then quickly forgot about it.

Back home after school, Piper dumped the contents of her backpack onto her bed and found the forgotten Walkman.
She took it with her as she walked out on the beach and listened to the music on the cassette tape left inside. The music was alright, but not really her type as of that month. Now, if she had heard it, say, a month ago, she would have enjoyed it so much more. But she let it play as she sat in the sand and watched the waves meet the shore.

"Eek!" She squeaked and almost dropped it. "I-I was gonna give it back, I swear!" She hurriedly explained. "I just forgot to do it at school, so I figured I'd return it tomorrow." She grimaced and thrust the Walkman toward him. "Here."

"What's so special about it anyway?" She followed and matched his stride. "It doesn't even look that valuable."

"You're grumpy, and that's okay, I forgive you." She also sped up. "Why did you leave so suddenly at lunch?"

"I'm throwing a karaoke party this Saturday at my friend's apartment." She kept talking, unfazed, "You should come. You look like you could use some fun."

"You don't have to." She grinned. "An audience is always welcome." Her eyes widened, much like a puppy's, "Pleeease. Please please please?"

Piper climbed into the passenger seat and stubbornly crossed her arms. "I'm not getting out until you say yes." Yeah, she had like zero boundaries, but whatever.

She didn't think that through. She flinched when he yelled, finally rendered speechless.
She shuffled up to the rundown house and just stared up at it for a while before knocking on the door. She just had one more thing to say to him.
She waited. And waited. "I'm sorry!" She shouted, hoping he could hear her. "I know I can be... a bit much. I just really need to be friends with everyone. I don't know why." She waited some more. "Also, I don't know my way home from here, and I left my phone at home." Silence. "Kay, bye." Her feet dragged as she walked away, wondering if payphones were still a thing.

She squealed happily as she ran back and threw her arms around him. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You literally made my day." She pulled away. "Alright, now take me home."

She gave him the exact directions from his street to hers while nonchalantly staring at her nails. It was a mere two minutes away by car.
"You're lucky my dad is preoccupied with his trophy wife, or he'd have a cow."

"Oh, don't beat yourself up." She patted his back comfortingly, "You're not THAT bad of a driver." She grinned and then slid out of the car. "Thanks! See ya!"

"It's at Diana's place. Do you know Diana? I'll give you the address." She was practically jumping up and down in front of his window as she spoke, partly from excitement, but mainly from the inability to sit still for long. She quickly scribbled down the address and her phone number on a scrap of paper and handed it to him.

Piper ran into the house and zoomed past her dad and Cece. As she passed she could hear her dad's "Hey, there, Pal" and Cece's overly enthusiastic "Hey girl!"
"Hi, Dad!" She stopped long enough to say. "I have homework, so bye now!"
She bound up the stairs to her room and threw open the doors to her balcony then sat down to journal, listening to the waves as they crashed onto the shore.

(Skip to the party?)

Diana opened the door to her apartment and furrowed her brows for a second before her brain registered who Colt was. "Oh, Piper's newest friend, right?" She gestured dramatically with her hand as she opened the door, "C'mon in."
There were about six other people in the small apartment living room, but Piper wasn't one of them. "Right," Diana bit her lip, "Piper's out on the balcony." She pointed to some curtains covering the sliding door to the balcony. She tossed a box of tissues to Colt. "You might wanna giver her these."

Piper sat cross-legged in one of the balcony chairs. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she couldn't stop sniffling. She couldn't believe she didn't remember today would be the anniversary of her mom's death. It was the first time she'd forgotten and she felt like she betrayed her mom somehow. She wouldn't have done the whole party thing today if she had remembered. She usually spent this day with her dad, but he didn't say anything to her. Probably forgot too.

"Hiii!" Piper sat up straighter and smiled apologetically, "My bad. I forced you to come to my lame party, and here I am feeling all sorry for myself and stuff." She sniffed.

"My mom died five years ago today." She accepted the tissue box and planted it next to her. "This day always sucks for me. But I actually forgot what day it was until like an hour ago." She shook her head. "I can't believe I let myself forget. As if it isn't enough that I have no memory of what happened that day."
She could hear Diana's off-key singing in the background, but it was slightly drowned-out by the traffic below.

Piper bit her lip and stood. "The whole yelling thing does appeal to me... so sure, why not."
What was it Diana had warned her about the other day? Something about Colt being a loner or a waste of energy? Pfft. Nah. She knew she made a good decision when she decided to talk to him at lunch. She was pretty proud of herself for being right.

Piper looked puzzled. "Oh, Diana? She's a friend and she won't mind." She waved a hand. "In fact, she'll probably be psyched that I won't be here to one-up her with my mad karaoke skills."