don't call me by name

Musings

Olivia smiled a little awkwardly, not used to being praised even if it happened more or less often. “I- I try, Miss-Oh! Jin. I try, Jin.” She almost choked out, then beat herself up mentally for being so... Weird. “Ah, yeah, I love the running around part, but it’s nice to rest here from time to time.” She chuckled. “I haven’t been hit yet, but I probably will as soon as I’m back on the field.”

Lorina got distracted watching people move around in their own worlds as she heard Delores talk. Those types of town events were always a funny thing. “I’m an only child so I don’t get it, but I’ll be rooting for you either way.” She chuckled. “This town has a lot of traditions, doesn’t it?” She mumbled, then looked at the girl. “I guess it’s nice. The sense of community and everything.”

“Maybe I will.” Penelope mumbled, then chuckled a bit, although it came out cold and humorless. “Have you been around for long? Do they really do this every year?” Sometimes, Penelope wondered if maybe it was better to just pretend to be local, but that was almost impossible in small towns. 

Jaqueline smiled at the woman. “Tarot. Fortune telling. However you want to call it.” She gestured to the items with her hands as she spoke. “And some crystals for sale.”

Jiwoo smiled at the woman, who she still felt bad about being rude with just a few days earlier. “Thanks. Red might be one of my favorite colors.” She chuckled. “I’m having an okay time. I just got here.” Jiwoo crossed her arms as she heard the other speak, curious. “I didn’t know you had a son, actually. I hope he liked it here. I used to have a lot of fun when I was a child.” She didn’t know if she still felt the same about the bonfire, but she remembered having her best times here.

Jiwoo laughed sourly, knowing full well that she had taken forever to catch up to the man. Although he didn’t have good aim at her or vice versa, she still kept her gun pointed directly at him. “Dressing appropriate is for people who can’t run in heels. Also, it doesn’t matter. I caught up.” She made a noise with her tongue, deciding to hear him out. "What could we work out? I have you beat.”

The night wind blew Jiwoo's hair everywhere, but she was determined to get the man she’d been following. Capture the flag was not for the weak, and although she was wearing high heels, she still did her best to be silent. She just needed a good, clean aim to take him down. “Stop right there!” She said, with a smile.

Jiwoo always walked like she owned the place, and today was no different. She was smiling as she walked with long strides, trying to look for a familiar face, and as soon as she found it, she walked faster towards them, hoping, maybe, not to spend the entire night by herself. “Hi! Fancy seeing you here.” She said, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her red jacket.

Penelope nodded. “October sounds like a better month for a bonfire. And a costume contest sounds less prone to accidents than running around in the woods at night.” She turned to the guy. “Do you come to these every year?” She looked at his jacket, his lips parting slightly as she thought of an answer. “How would you warm up if I got your jacket?”

Charlie smiled when she saw Cristiano. She was getting ready for the tournament, which she participated in every year. It was a tradition that, despite being probably too old to still be playing, she always took joy in. The only thing she’d miss when she moved away. She laughed when he spoke. “You can sit here, it’s fine. Are you participating in capture the flag?”

Olivia smiled at Ms. Zhang. “Fine. Jin. I’m sorry.” She chuckled. Although Ms. Zhang had always insisted that Olivia called her by the first name, she was never able to do it. And inside her head, she really couldn’t do it at all. “We’re taking turns, but I don’t mind staying here with you.” She laughed. “I’m a little tall and lanky, so I’m probably better here than actually running around.”

Nina looked at the girl. She looked like she was freezing, but Nina hadn’t brought a jacket that the girl could borrow. Instead, she just looked at the bonfire. “My parents used to force me to come every year, but I hated it.” Her mind was elsewhere, far away by now. She wasn’t over it yet, and she doubted she ever would be. “I don’t know why I came this year, though.” She chuckled. “The meteor shower is pretty, though. How are you liking everything so far?”

Charlie looked at the girl. “I think I left my jacket somewhere, you can have if you find it.” She smiled. “It was brown leather. I’ll meet at the Books and Brews one of these days, and you can give it back to me then.” She chuckled when the girl said she was rooting for her. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your brother. But thank you for rooting for me, God knows I’m gonna need it.” She extended her hand to get Evelyn’s water, still a little too tired from running to be talking this much. “Oh, don’t worry, I do not want cold water. It’s cold enough as it is.”

Lorina looked around, at the people getting ready for capture the flag. “Well, I hope you get to beat your siblings.” She chuckled. Lorina was, and always had been, very competitive, so she understood the instinct to be the best at something, even if in Delores’ case, it was just to be better than her siblings. “This is a weird town.” She replied, about the meteor shower coming every year. “Do you come here to see it every year?”