2007-03-02: Little Shop Demonstration

Starring:

Cass_icon.gif Alyssa_icon.gif Randall_icon.gif Stefanie_icon.gif

Alyssa wants to get a job, Randall wants a book about getting a job, Stefanie wants a book about growing plants, everyone gets to watch a plant grow.

Date It Happened: March 2nd, 2007

Little Shop Demonstration


Enlightenment Books

The store has shortened hours today. While everything is still being put back together, Cass can't afford to have the store closed for two complete days in a row. So, there are a few sections that still don't have their books back in the right order. Everything is mostly on the shelves…but in strange places. So, instead of behind her usual perch behind the counter, Cass is out among the shelves, alphabetizing and sorting.

**

It was a while in coming, but somehow always put off, so it's like releasing a deep breath of relief when Alyssa finally pushes open the bookstore door and steps inside Enlightenment. She also takes an actual deep breath upon crossing the threshold because, man, don't books just have the best smell ever. It seems so. Pulling her backpack more securely over her shoulder, she steps further in, eyes the empty counter, and then glances toward the shelves. A few titles catch her eye and she fails to call out. The noise of her entrance should keep her covered, at least, as she stomped her feet pretty heavily at the entrance to get off the slush of the street.

**

And just as the door is about to swing closed again, it's caught and pushed open a second time, as Randall steps in and takes a look around. The rearrangements and omissions don't hit him yet, at least not consciously. "Oh, hey there!" he adds, once he gets far enough in to see Alyssa's face rather than just the back of her head. "I was wondering if we might run into each other again. How're things going?"

**

From the shelves on Auras and Tea Leaf Readings, Cass has got a couple of books in her arms an one or two balanced on her head as she's trying to get all the Cs in order. The sounds of the door opening and closing and someone entering catches her attention. Slowly and carefully, making sure that the books stay where they're supposed, she turns to see who it may be. The girl looks kind of familiar, but she can't place her right away, so she goes with the standard greeting. "Welcome to Enlightenment Books! If you need anything, feel free to ask!" Randall, right on Alyssa's tail gets a friendly wave. "You too!"

**

Alyssa glances over her shoulder at the greeting from Randall and she smiles, albeit distractedly, "Oh, hey, it's the anime guy," No, you're not getting rid of that one. But we guess you can try. Things and their going will have to wait because then the owner has taken notice and Alyssa has spotted her, in turn. "Hey, learning by osmosis?" Walking further in, she puts out a hand for Cass to fill if she feels she wants to help. The offer is partnered with, "I'm just in here to drop off a resume like you said."

**

At least he hasn't taken a job that requires him to wear a kawaii giant teddy bear outfit. Yet. "If only that actually worked," Randall offers, nodding to Cass and her unusual choice of shelf. "College would be /so/ much easier…" After that, he contents himself with looking around the merchandise some more, leaving Alyssa to talk job prospects.

**

"Hmmm?" Cass then rolls her eyes upwards and realizes that Alyssa is talking about the books. "Oh! These! I just…ran out of hands." Tilting her head, she lets the books tumble into her waiting arm. Then, she hands them out to Alyssa since she did offer. That's when she places the girl. "Right! Great, thanks!" Looking over at the bookshelf, she shoves the rest of the books she hasn't filed already onto them so that she has free hands. "Thanks. Sorry, it's been a crazy couple of weeks." A quick glance over to Randall shows that he doesn't need any assistance as of yet, so she lets him browse in peace.

**

Stefanie makes her way into the shop, looking around. One major advantage to the smaller shops sometimes is that there is a better selection.. or the possibility of finding something more off the wall then you'd find at your typical Borders or Barnes & Noble. She glances around, getting an idea of the shop before she heads over to the self-help books.

**

Alyssa dips slightly as the books are placed, having to reconcile this new weight with the unbalanced one constantly threatening to slide down her shoulder. Eyeing the titles she can see, she then glances up to watch Cass shove some more books rather haphazardly about. "Seems like you're kinda in the middle of a re-haul," she comments, "A good time for help." A smile and then she nudges her backpack off her shoulder with a shrug. Somehow it's possible to tuck the books Cass gave her under her arm and reach over with that hand to unzip the dangling pack. Thankfully the resume has been slipped into a plastic file, saving it from being wrinkled and abused in-between various other materials, books, and a random Playstation controller. Alyssa can feel that she's losing the books under her arm, though, so she dumps the backpack on the floor, instead, and sets the stack down respectfully. Would kind of be a fail to hurt the prospective employer's stuff.

The PSL/English graduate's resume is retrieved and handed over after that. It's not full, but has a good chunk of the usual: Wallmart, Village Fabric. The most notable is her ongoing employment under David Brennon, well-known author and political upstart. He hasn't done much recently due to 'health issues', but it's rumored he's working on it.

**

Randall makes his way down the end of one aisle and rounds the corner to the next, coming face to face with Stefanie before too long. "Hmm, this is always an interesting section," he muses, "tells you what people are aiming for." This seems to be addressed half to Stef, as a random conversational icebreaker, and half to himself. "How to get a job, how to get a date… How to start your own organic farm without the government seizing your land?"

**

Cass takes the resume from Alyssa carefully. She doesn't want to bend it or show that she doesn't care about it. After all, she does, and she'd like to be a good employer. There's a bit of a smirk on her face when Alyssa mentions re-haul. She glances up from the sheet of paper briefly. "Yeah, I got a bit of a forceable redecoration the other day. A tiny earthquake or something and all the books came tumbling down. I was meaning to resection, anyway, so I guess it's kind of a mixed blessing. Keeps me honest." Once she's finished looking over Alyssa's resume, she nods a little and then heads back to the information desk. "Well, you certainly have retail experience. And some work with author's as well. When can you come in for an interview?"

**

Stefanie raises an eyebrow and chuckles. "Well, actually, I'm looking for books on plants. Like, down to their molecules. How they grow, how to feed them. I have a general grasp, since I can make anything grow. I just…" She frowns.. "I had a flower die on me.. While it was in my hair… and that *never* happens." Obviously someone's still a bit distraught with it.

**

Alyssa steps after Cass to the desk, always looking around for different titles to see what catches her eye. The atmosphere of the place alone is enough to keep that smile there, even as she mulls over Cass' words, "Tiny earthquake, huh? Funny, we had a couple of those a day or something ago. Guys said it was a big truck. Guessing more than that this time. Just a sign, sounds like. Didn't happen to be a girl in here speaking Tagalog, was there?" The last is said very jokingly, with a pause for the language name she isn't even sure she got right. When Cass references the resume, it's quickly enough back to business, "Any day but Thursday. And if you happen to call Dave for the whole personality check thing, I advise you hang up if 'mutants' starts coming up in the conversation."

**

Randall nods to Stefanie. "I can imagine," he replies, instinctively glancing up at her hair before turning his attention back to the shelves. "I don't really know how these are arranged, but… guess the organic-farm one is going down the wrong alley. Maybe over with the textbooks? I think they're a few aisles over the other way," he adds, gesturing vaguely in the direction he came from.

**

Cass looks over at Stefanie when she asks her question and shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not sure. The only one I've been involved in was here at the store." And the one at the coffee shop, but she's not about the mention that one. "No, not really. There were a couple people in the store, but they fled pretty quickly once things started shaking." The joke about the girl speaking Tagalog is filed away for later. Maybe it's the same girl. Hopefully. Man would it be scary if there was more than one person that could do that. "And how is making the ground shake a trick?" Then, it's back to the resume. Pulling out a day planner, Cass looks it over. "Well, how does Wednesday sound, then? And…I'll be sure to not bring up mutants with Dave."

**

Stefanie blink-blinks.. "Wait.. Tagalog… that's NOT the girl scout cookie.. um…" She tries to think.. "Is that some kind of asian language?" Too many dang coincidences today… Stefanie's no scientist, but you don't need to know the species of duck to know it's a duck when you see it. She nods to Randall and heads in that direction. She.. doesn't venture any further into the conversation… She's starting to thing herself daft, she can just imagine what everyone else is thinking. She looks through, finding typical grade-school textbooks. "No.. This is… to primary school." She thinks.. "Do you have any college books here, perhaps? Something in biology?"

**

"Trick?" Alyssa repeats blankly, her palms pressed against the side of the information desk as she leans in, "I said truck. Or did you mean that joke? Cause that's a totally different inside thing. We were talking about how mustard gas changes DNA and stuff. Which, actually, is where the whole mutant thing came up that Dave now hates that I mentioned. I think he'd rather I stuck to high fantasy sometimes. Wednesday is totally cool. And Tagalog," she twists to the side to watch Stefanie move about the shelves, "Uhh… crap, I forgot what that guy said it was the most like. Hey, are you looking for boring college books or, like, how to connect spiritually with your household plants?" It's an occult bookstore, after all. Which is what makes Alyssa so happy to be here.

**

Randall picks up one of the how-to-get-a-job books for himself, tucking it absently under one arm as he heads back out to better follow the other thread of conversation that's developed. "That /is/ a neglected field of study," he offers. "And earthquakes… man, I thought that was one thing I was leaving behind, but I guess not. Those could do a /lot/ of damage around here, if they were big enough. All the skyscrapers around…"

**

Ever mindful of the customers, Cass immediately looks up when she hears a book question. "Hmm…we don't really have any textbooks. Those are all up at the Barnes and Nobles and stuff. The closest I can come are some of the Alternative Medicine books right over on that shelf. Is there something in particular you're looking for? That'd help me pinpoint something for you." To Alyssa, she blinks and then laughs at herself. "I'm sorry, wow. I misheard you. Sorry about that. Yeah, a truck makes a lot more sense than trick. A truck rattles the ground, but I can't see how a trick would do that." Her eyebrows raise when she's starts talking about mustard gas and DNA. "Well, I can understand the desire to keep mutants out of the conversation. As well as mustard gas. I'll make sure to keep that in mind." Pause, then an added aside to Stefanie, "Oh, and the Spirituality and Herbs is toward the back, if that's what you want." Randall is given a nod and a bit of a smile. "Yeah, the damage of my bookstore points out that kind of damage."

**

Stefanie just stops and looks at Alyssa.. "Spiritually?" and then to the others.. "Can someone….. do that?" She asks sheepishly.. wondering if that's why she's got such a green thumb. "I mean…" She sighs, shaking her head. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm looking for. I can make anything grow.. even if it's dead, or been cut.. It's like they can't help but grow… But today, at the subshop, the flower in my hair died… then there was this loud noise, as if someone turned the volume up really loud, and then we had some kind of earthquake……" She shrugs.. "And then it stopped.." She looks around sheepishly.. "I know… Crazy.. Maybe I ate something."

**

"That'd be some trick," Alyssa agrees, almost wistfully as she pushes away from the desk to do a little browsing of her own. Her finger is tracing the spine of 'How to Succeed in Tarot Cards Without Really Trying' when Stefanie's spiel begins. Peeking her head curiously around the shelf, the writer listens, blatantly staring. All of this has come conveniently on the tale of Cass and her mutant mention so it isn't hard for her brain to continue on that trail. "I was sort of just going with the whole theme of the bookstore but, uh… huh. Did you just say you could make zombie plants?" She isn't making fun; her interest is, in fact, earnest, "I had no idea you could be /that/ green."

**

By this point, Randall's attention is firmly on Stefanie as well, and not just because she's a pretty young thing either. (A little too young, really.) "I don't think you're crazy," he replies. "What you're describing? Making dead plants grow again? That would be magic… but the thing about magic is, it's got to be all complicated and full of exceptions, right?" Ah, so he meant the word literally. "If it worked all the time, then we could test it and call it 'science'. Now hte earthquake thing I don't know about— might be something, might just be coincidence."

**

Cass smiles at Stefanie, a reassuring smile. The girl seems out of sorts. A lot of people have been coming in like that lately. "I think you need the book Activating Evolution, by Dr. Chandra Suresh." Stepping out from behind the counter, she goes to the well known section of the store and takes out a copy for her, then holds it out. "He talks a lot about what you're mentioning. It's not crazy. His theories are very…sensational, actually. I think it might help you." She smiles at Alyssa, amused by her phrasing. "You might have a wonderful gift. I couldn't even make grass grow if I wanted to." Randall's spiel gets more of a raised eyebrows. He seems very into this subject. "I'm not sure I'd call it magic, either. You might just be a very good gardener."

**

Stefanie's eyes go really wide.. "Zombie? Um.. I wouldn't call it that.. Zombies eat brains. These just grow without the need of sunlight, or roots." She fails to mention about her 'collection' in the market's basement. She turns to Randall. "Magic? Science?" She looks around. "Do you have any live plants in here?" Doubtful, with all the books and dust.. She looks at the book handed to her. She fails to notice the similarity between the helix symbol on the book, and the pendant she wears around her neck. "Um.. Alright… and yeah.. I just thought I was good.. It was something I got into when my mom passed, and.. well.." She shrugs.

**

Alyssa crosses her arms across her chest, leaning against the side of a shelf where she can see most of the parties involved in this wonderful discussion, "It doesn't have to be magic," she offers, "There's totally other schools of theory. I remember Dave bringing up that Suresh stuff before. He told me to keep my nose out of that bullshit which, of course, made me more curious." This aside is more to Cass than anyone else, but Stefanie is quick to catch the attention again, "Yeah, but, those're human zombies. Maybe zombie plants eat parts of other plants… though I guess now it sounds like you mean serious to God resurrect 'em, which, like, rules in that Poison Ivy kind of way. Wow, we're really talking about this for real, aren't we?"

**

Randall grins, even as he nervously reaches around to scratch a spot at the back of his neck. "I guess I'll have to check it out myself, then— the more points of view you look at, the better. And I'd love to check out your plant thing in person some time," he continues, looking back to Stefanie, "if you'd be okay with that. If you could figure out /how/ it works, one way or another, then maybe it can move further out from there…"

**

Cass gives Stefanie a rueful smile. "Unfortunately, no. I've killed too many to allow myself any more. It weighs down the conscience." A bit to caught up in discussion, Cass doesn't notice any necklace that Stefanie might be wearing either. "Well, I'm not sure what it is, but I've seen some weird things lately. And this book says that some people have evolved into having different…abilities, for lack of a better word." Returning to her safe place behind the counter, she laughs at Alyssa's reference. "Or maybe it's Little Shop of Horrors. Maneating Audrey IIs hidden in plant shops everywhere. And, hey, she's not a carnival, mister." Cass isn't being snappish, she's just reminding the young man of that simple fact. "We are talking about this for real. I guess, if this is a real conversation about genetics and making things grow. It all depends on what you can believe, I guess. And since we're all standing in a bookstore about beliefs and things that most people don't believe in, then I think we can safely say it's something we can consider."

**

Stefanie looks a bit shell shocked.. "Yeah, I'd like to show you.. if for nothing else then to prove that I'm not completely mental." She looks at the book.. "Perhaps it's not the plants, it's me.." She says, placng the book on the counter to buy. She then looks up.. "Nono! It's not like.. they're sentient, or anything… That'd just be weird." As if this conversation hadn't jumped off the weird end long ago.

**

Yeah. This is seriously the best bookstore ever. They're having what the writer would usually consider a brainstorm session for a new short story. Only apparently for real and all. Alyssa bites the inside of her cheek, which moves into the nibbling of her lip as she thinks. Pushing off from the shelf and strolling to where she left her backpack previously, she nods at last, "Horrors, that's true. Hm, no good ever seems to come out of the plant growing thing, does it? Or maybe it's the people that wield it. Poison Ivy was kind of crazy— you're not crazy." Alyssa is up near the counter where Stefanie is purchasing the book at this point, her expression a smile but she turns to Cass, "Yeah, come on, it can't be too bad to ask. She brought it up, after all, in front of us. Aren't you curious?" Alyssa is curious. It's all over her face and her anxious movements. She's gripping the desk a little tighter than before and considering this book laying out in front of them.

**

"I know she's not a carnival," replies Randall, instinctively getting defensive for a second there. "I mean, I'm not saying to stick her in a booth and charge five bucks a peek or anything— no good /ever/ comes of anything like that." He takes a look at the Suresh book, now; perhaps he too misses the connection with Stef's pendant, or perhaps he just writes it off as a common minimalist icon for a double helix. It'd make sense, they're both into the subject. "So, um… I guess we have to work out how to get in touch with each other, and go from there."

**

"I doubt you're mental," Cass replies with a reassuring smile. "Like I said, I've seen some weird things lately." But she won't bring up what, as it's not for her to say. As the girl is going through with the purchase, she states the total and then starts to write out the receipt. "Does it work with cut flowers?" Cass asks nonchalantly, because she's got some of those back in the employee room. When she looks up from writing and getting everything ready for the purchase, she looks over to Alyssa and then to Randall. Both of them look too curious for their own good for this poor freaked out girl who just came in for advice. "You know, you don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

**

Stefanie's eyes go wide once again.. "Crazy? Well, I never ruled that out. However I'm not homicidal. I'm not looking to kill anyone.Totally not my way of doing things, and Poison Ivy had vines shoot around and stuff.. I can't…do that." She's still having a hard time believing that it's possible that she's the one responsible for the plant life. She looks to Randall.. "And I don't sit in ANY kind of booth." She giggles.. "Again, totally not my way of doing things." She pulls out her cell and then looks to Cass. "Cut? Yeah.. They'll work as long as they're real."

**

Alyssa shifts in her place, glancing back to Randall, again to Cass as she speaks, and then even to the rest of the empty bookstore. Her face goes still with some heavy thinking before all that falls away into her smile once more, "Ha, the vines, yeah. You also don't wear a green leotard, so I figure you pass the whole 'not a comic super-villain' test. For now." A wink. The light drumming of her fingers against the counter. It's starting to show through how nervous she is, even past her rabid curiosity. Good thing Stefanie is the focus here, and Alyssa feels she can safely stare at her own hands, her fingers flexing in and out, and then to a seemingly random stack of books nearby.

**

The young man laughs as well, though there's no real mirth in it, and carries his own pair of books over to get them purchased before anything else happens and he forgets about them. "Uh, my name's Randall," he says, finally introducing himself to Stefanie - he doesn't address the others, perhaps he's met them before - "I didn't get yours, if you brought it up earlier."

**

When she gets the confirmation from Stefanie, Cass disappears into the backroom for a short moment and comes back with a vase filled with dried flowers. They're cut, right? Just…long dead. "This is the best thing I've got. I couldn't kill these," she grins, self-deprecatingly. She comes in back in around the introductions, so she offers hers up as well. "Cass," she adds to the list of names. What with everything going on, the normally observant Cass doesn't pick up on Alyssa's nervousness. She's curious about what may happen with Stefanie and the dried flowers.

**

Stefanie looks around as she stands at the counter with everyone else. She puts the vase on the counter and picks up a flower, pulling it out. It's withered and certainly on it's way out. She looks at it, smiling. The stem starts to perk up, the flower itself opens. Colors once faded are vivid once again, and shrivelled leaves unroll and fill with moisture. She holds it up, showing that the flower is indeed cut and devoid of roots. "See?" She says, beaming.. "And the name's Stefanie." She says, avoiding using her birth name.. Starlight would've pushed the conversation from weird into insane.

**

Wow… it kind of really happened. Alyssa, whose full attention returned the moment Cass came back out with the dried flowers, makes a grab for one of the flowers still in the vase and then attempts to tip the vase itself up to see… who knows what she's looking for. Anything to say this was a setup between the two women. "This… might be the best publicity ever or else the single /coolest/ thing I've seen all week. Or both. I'm open to both and also various other things that aren't coming to my brain right now… whaaat, this is so—" Her own abrupt grab for her phone interrupts her rambling speech. She's got the phone up and the camera function running in a few practiced seconds. The trigger press of the phone goes off a second later. The actual photo she got depends on people's actions therein.

The aim seems to have been to get the live flower and perhaps its dead companions in the background.

**

Randall squints as Stefanie picks out the flower, and stares intently as it comes back to life. "Wow," he says, simply. "Wow, I—" He takes a step back and traces a pattern on the countertop with his fingers, glancing up again at the restored bloom every so often. As such, he offers no obstacle to Alyssa's photo shoot.

**

Cass's eyebrows raise when Stefanie succeeds in turning the dried flower into a living one. "Wow," she murmurs, clearly impressed. The people she's been meeting lately have all been quite strange. "Nice to meet you, Stefanie," she store owner replies. Then Alyssa's got her camera phone out and trying to take a picture of the flower. She frowns at the girl. "You might want to ask Stefanie if that's okay," she gently reprimands. Though, really, what's someone going to get out of that picture?

**

Stefanie shrugs, placing the flower back into the vase, grabbing another. The original reverts to its lifeless state, and the new one grows just like it's predecessor. She shrugs to Alyssa.. "Um… It's alright… As long as it's not video. Photos like that don't mean much." She places the flower back. "Thanks.. i need to get going.. School tomorrow, and I'm gonna crack into this book." She says, holding it up for emphasis.

**

"It's more for me," Alyssa explains, staring at the picture she's just taken as if that's more real than what Stefanie is doing right in front of her eyes, "I can't even… well, I probably won't believe I was here tomorrow morning," twisting the camera towards Cass, she notes, "There's no faces in it or anything." The phone isn't quite put away, though, because first she has to ask, "Dude, I have to know all this all goes for you. The book and stuff. Do you have a number?"

**

Randall tucks purchases under arms, nodding to Stefanie and the others as he too prepares to depart. "Hold on to that belief," he says to Alyssa, "it's important. And I'm sure I'll see you all around here from time to time." Little shops like this are good for community, after all.

**

Cass nods at Stefanie. "I understand. Enjoy the book…I think it'll explain a lot for you. If you ever want to talk about it, feel free to stop by again. It was lovely meeting you, Stefanie." Then, with the book paid for, she gives the girl her receipt and a bag. "No, it's fine. I just wanted to make sure it's fine with her." After all, she's not the one involved in all this. "I've got to make a quick inventory list, I'll be right back." With a smile to everyone gathered, she takes her dried flowers back to the employee room, where the computer is.

**

Stefanie nods and smiles, turning to Alyssa. She takes out a pen and scribbles her cell number. "Here. I'm in high school, so I don't have much of a life. I'm available most all the time." She smiles and waves, heading out.

Stefanie has left.

**

Alyssa slides the piece of paper she's given towards herself and immediately dials the number into her phone. Small slips of paper… they have a way of vanishing on you. Especially with the extent Alyssa usually collects them. Pocketing each thing anyway, she hefts the backpack onto her shoulder again and calls, "I'll see you again, Wednesday, thank you!" for Cass' benefit before nodding to Randall, the only one seemingly left. The door is both their target, "Yeah, around. This is… yeah."

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