Realistic or Modern heartlines ⋆ ranix/sugar

[fluticasone]

[export][class name=maincontainer] padding: 10%; position: relative; opacity: .9; [/class] [class name=title] display: block; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 2.25em; letter-spacing: .2em; margin-bottom: -.2em; [/class] [class name=subtitle] display: block; font-size: .8em; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .1em; opacity: .8; [/class] [class name=content] display: block; margin-top: 15px; font-size: .9em; text-align: justify; [/class][/export] [div class="maincontainer"] [div class="title"]heartlines[/div] [div class="subtitle"]episode 1: estranged childhood friends[/div] [/div]

 

[fluticasone]

[import]9189341[/import]
[div class="maincontainer"][div class="title"]Justice Dennell[/div][div class="subtitle"]job hunting's a bitch but i need to live.[/div][div class="content"]Justice sat in the cafe of his part-time work, staring dejectedly at the email displayed on his phone. That was the fourth one since he'd graduated, and it had barely been a month since then. With a batting average of one dismissal per week, all he could do was drink his coffee and hope it was enough to mask the bitter taste of rejection. Thankfully, the place was quiet and empty. it always was during the awkward hour right after the lunch rush. Having finished his shift after said rush, Justice stuck around instead of returning to his apartment. He was thankful he did; having only the apology in his email as his company would've been much more depressing.

"Something wrong?" A co-worker took up the seat across him, and Justice could only sigh in response. Concern became evident on their face until Justice dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"Just another rejection letter." In sympathetic understanding, they nodded. Encouraged by the support, the brunette continued. "I need to start paying off my student loans and my rent's due soon. I can still make it, but I'll have barely enough to survive after if this keeps up."

"Thought about doing art commissions? Or just selling your art in general?" When Justice's gaze sharpened at them, they simply shrugged. "I've seen the painting you did for the art class. It's good."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't really like painting." There was a reason why he never painted outside of the required school work, but this was neither the time nor place for an explanation.

"I don't like working either but--"

The abrupt shrill of Justice's phone cut his co-worker mid-sentence, and for that he was thankful. The screen revealed an unknown number, but he didn't hesitate to answer. He had other applications out. It was possible one of them was getting back to him. Though the other person on the line couldn't see, he visibly straightened and fixed his posture. The change brought an amused smile to his co-worker, but he moved away and gave him some privacy to tend to the call.

"Hello, Dennel speaking. Who is calling?"[/div][/div]

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Blaine Thompson

The phone left on the coffee table violently rang, before receding into silence.

A huge mound on the sofa began to squirm, twisting, until the blanket was tossed aside to reveal the feminine figure underneath. Her long, dark hair was spread all over the place in one of the worst case of bed hair of the century.

And then, hangover struck back with a vengeance.

It took Blaine a few more minutes until reality began to seep in. Last night, she was kidnapped by her best friend and got shanghaied all over the city, jumping around from one pub to another. In the end, they were both too drunk to be considered a respectful member of the society. Thankfully she had managed to maintain her sobriety long enough to call a cab and brought Sam back home.

When she got back to her apartment, though, she fell on the sofa like a sackful of potato.

She squinted at the phone screen. So late. How long had she been sleeping?

Suddenly, the phone rang again. She fumbled around, at one point almost dropping that little spawn of satan itself, until she managed to hit the receive button and put the speaker on her ear.

A male's voice came through. She looked at the screen once again, but it only showed "unknown number". It wasn't someone that she knew.

At first, she thought it was just another telemarketer, until her memories started to surge back up from the depth of her mind. Slowly, her hangover began to fade as realization came crashing through.

"Hello? Wait," she muttered into the receiver, her voice a bit shaky. "Um... Mr... Dennel, was it? How did you get this number?"

That was a bit wrong. That wasn't what she had wanted to say. Feeling a bit panicked, she spoke once again.

"If it's alright with you, can we meet up?"

 

[fluticasone]

[import]9189341[/import]
[div class="maincontainer"][div class="title"]Justice Dennell[/div][div class="subtitle"]hope with a tinge of apprehension.[/div][div class="content"]"Um... Mr... Dennel, was it? How did you get this number?"

The voice that spoke to him was familiar, but it was distorted with what was either a cold or sleep. The question itself hinted towards the latter. He was a morning person, but even he had to admit that he wasn't his sharpest when just out of bed. "I gave my num-" Justice paused as the person spoke again, and the nagging feeling remained. He shook it off, assuming it was just one of the people he'd spoken with while he was inquiring about job openings.

The question caught him offguard. That was... a weird request to say the least. "Sorry, but with which company are you representing?" He quickly softened the question, lest he be misunderstood as rude. "Most of the places I applied for forgot to give me a contact number to watch out for." Brown eyes met his co-worker's; he mouthed "what's up?" Justice only shrugged in response. Truthfully, he'd asked because the call had taken a turn for the suspicious. But if there was any hope for a job in this call, he didn't want it gone just because he'd been a paranoid ass.[/div][/div]

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Blaine Thompson

The reply she had gotten made her blink a few more times. Maybe it was because of her drowsy state, but she felt like her brain couldn't process the words as fast as she'd liked it. What;s with that thing about company? She felt like she was missing something here.

"Company? N-no, I wasn't-"

Before she could finish, she abruptly stopped. It seemed to be a misunderstanding. A weird misunderstanding. However, misunderstandings could prove useful in some situation. This one in particular was quite a lucky coincidence.

"...Yes, I'm from Thompson Architects and Design. You've... uh, left your number... in our office."

Maybe? Actually, she wasn't even sure. Anyway, using her mother's company should be fine, right?

"Anyway, if you're still interested with the offer..."

 

[fluticasone]

[import]9189341[/import][div class="maincontainer"][div class="title"]Justice Dennell[/div][div class="subtitle"]hope with a tinge of apprehension.[/div][div class="content"]Again, the person on the line was suspicious, but there was little he could do against the impending doom of his bills. He breathed deeply, trying to wrack his brain for the company. Nope, no memory. Admittedly it wouldn't have been hard to get his curriculum vitae, as he'd gone through a job fair and left it at almost every booth that would look at a web development and information technology major. Which was almost every company in this day and age. He was fortunate that he took a major that he still somewhat had interest in, but had a decent number of job openings.

The name Thompson, however, brought back memories of a different time. But it was impossible; Blaine' mother's company was a big shot. An average fresh grad like him would be quickly swept under the rug by more experienced applicants or the honors graduates of his university. He wouldn't be surprised if he'd accidentally left his cv with them at a booth or if he'd been referred by a different company, but Justice knew he'd made a conscious decision not to apply for them. Blaine had been clearly avoiding him during high school, and he didn't want to make things even more tense between them.

"Yes, I'm interested. When and where would the meeting be?"[/div][/div]

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Blaine Thompson

When and where? Only now did she realize that she had mostly blurted out everything without further thinking. The time wasn't of any substantial problem, but the place... maybe a coffee shop? Maybe Starbucks-

No, wait, he was coming for job interview, not a casual chit-chat over tea! A better-suited place would have to do! Then, how about that branch office in the city she's currently living in? The employee knew about her, since she would sometimes came over to learn a thing or two. They would understand if she said that she was bringing a potential recruit, right?

"Right, Mr. Dennel, how about the day after tomorrow, after lunch hour? As for the address, you can reach our branch office at..."

After telling him the address and ended the conversation, she threw the phone on the bed before collapsing on it as well. That name hit too close to the thing hurting in her heart. The voice sounded different, though, although it could be attributed to the long years after that time. But she couldn't be sure. With how much people came and went in the city, the chance of meeting someone with the same name and the same appearance was abnormally high, but getting the exact person that she knew was on the other end of that spectrum.

In the end, it was just a wild flail in the dark, purely out of whim.

Or was it?

She was reminded that she had never given this number to anyone else aside from Sam. What's the chance that someone with the same name as him would suddenly call this number, out of all the way that people could contact her? A stray e-mail was a more likely occurrence. At least that way she could say that someone else had given him the address.

The phone... what if...? She stared at the small block of electronic wonder in her palm for a while before tossing it back.

"Just my imagination," she murmured. And then, she finally let go of everything and roamed back to sleep.

 

[fluticasone]

[import]9189341[/import][div class="maincontainer"][div class="title"]Justice Dennell[/div][div class="content"]Two days later, Justice stood in the lobby of a generic office building. The woman on the phone had said to go straight to the 3rd floor. Belatedly he realized that he'd yet again forgotten to ask for the woman's name, but googling the address showed it was a legitimate place of business. It was also revealed to him that the company he'd been thinking of actually owned the branch office he was going to. While it took the call off the shady radar, he was now left wondering why such a bigshot would even look at his curriculum vitae. The only connection he had to the company went up in flames when he was in high school.

He spoke to the lobby person in front briefly, stating his intended location and was allowed to the elevator well where he punched in the floor upwards. There was a faint ding as the doors opened. Justice stepped in, pressed the button for the 3rd floor and faced his reflection in the metal doors. Justice didn't think he stood out much. Save for the dark red hair he'd begun coloring halfway through college, he was pretty average in the looks department. A perfect analogy of his life after high school.

The elevator opened directly into an office space, and he found himself fumbling forward as he tried to catch his bearings. He had his resume and portfolio in leather messenger bag (a grad present from his parents) hanging off his left, pulling it forward lest it get caught as the elevator doors closed. The place was... tasteful was the best word he could think of. While it looked like an office, everything in it looked to be of quality. The generic paintings that typically graced such places were replaced by either photos or sketches of the company's works. He recognized many of them.

A woman looked up from her computer, an inquiry on her lips. Justice quickly moved forward to introduce himself, lest he get kicked out for being suspicious. "Justice Dennel. I have an appointment here at 1pm?" [/div][/div]