just get going.

@magnoliawhetstone

🌟 : Not particularly? The only places she wants to go are anywhere in the clearwater beaches so like tropics and to do a mission to help undeveloped villages like she did in college.

olivia: i swear if i run into one more scrooge telling me that it's too early to sing christmas carols i'm going to scream

olivia: like, it's december now! let me live my life\

what’s in my bag?

“The weirdest thing I’ve ever eaten?” Beau looked at Joey incredulously after hearing her ramble about eating batteries. “Well, certainly nothing like that, I was once like… a preschool helper in California for like.. three weeks. I used to coax the kids into eating crayons and the glue on their hands with glitter by doing it myself, so probably that?” He gave the girl a sheepish smile- “I mean, It was all non-toxic stuff, okay! Kids will eat anything if you tell them it tastes good and honestly, the joy of hearing about the mothers wondering why their kid’s shit was glittery and cotton candy pink was always a joy.” He shoved a bite of his bagel in his mouth and shrugged his shoulders, “No way- we’re not just gonna dip on hearing more about the weird shit you find in people’s stomach for the sake of my boring ass job.”

As she begins shoveling the spinach leaves in as quick as socially acceptable - she’d not eaten in a while and was feeling the affects. “The fact you remember that in great detail is funny in itself. But that’s why they make sure the stuff in those class rooms are non-toxic. ‘Cause of kids like you.” She snickers as she takes a sip of the drink in front of her. As Beau starts on to ask more things about work she shrugs. “I mean, for starters, we had to get that battery out, so I did that. I’ve also dealt with some less than pleasant things on night shift because... people don’t know when a limit has been reached.” 

shish pulls his ghost-piss adorned shirt over his head and begins to wrap the table cloth around himself –– this plan ? yeah. he’s going all in. making a grand paranormal escape in a tablecloth toga now perches at the top of this life’s bucket list. he finishes tying the cloth into a sloppy knot over his left shoulder when joey dares question his vision.

“ green, sure. i knew that, ” he mumbles like he didn’t, pulling the knot tight with one last yank. he knew that. but letting joey think he didn’t ?  that’s part of the fun.

“ so since this is green, ” he starts, giving a ceremonial model-esque spin, “ think we should make some fuckin’ ornaments ? ” a smirk. “ maybe our dead buddies will lay off if they’re distracted by something shiny. ”  a pause. a tilt of his head. “ nah. that’s preston. ”

his toga knot unfurls. the table cloth whooshes to the floor. shish spreads his bare arms wide and looks up to the ceiling, like he’s speaking to an all-knowing power up above.

“ aw, how’d you know i’m a wannabe stripper ?  talk about makin’ a guy’s dreams come true. ”

shish squints at the cloth at his feet and purses his lips. “ maybe we can make a rope out of these instead. huh ? ” he looks to joey with a shit-eating grin. 

“ friggin’ indiana jones this shit. ”

she finds herself, tempted to watch the dress shirt leave the other’s torso, but hides her eyes out of respect. sure that’s what it was. maybe it was to hide the furious blush that came the second he’d rushed to it. once he’s messing with the fabric, she pulls the one in her hand to her chest, leaning against the cabinet behind her now. 

“oh yeah, right. because you definitely didn’t hesitate in saying red-ish?” she offers as the fabric rests and his shoulder in some greek fashion reminiscent of caesar and friends. 

“i’m sure the malnati’s got some baubles somewhere. they’ve got to have started pulling them from the shelves already right? hotels and malls seem to decorate for christmas the second halloween is over.” at the mention of preston she shakes her head. “be nice, maybe that’s why the ghosts are messing with you, ever thought of that?” she teases. 

as the table cloth falls from his body she snickers at his words, a blush reaching her face again. “they must be able to read your mind. no other explanation, really.” 

joey stands upright, placing the fabric back on the shelf he’d found it on and look to shish with a furrowed brow. “a rope? what the hell do we need one of those for?” she quips, and at the note of indiana jones she rolls her eyes with a laugh. “ok, we are not climbing off the balcony all rapunzel like.” 

“I once ate a peanut butter cracker in grade school because my friends were raving about them, and that was the most exhilarating thing from my childhood.”

“You know, it probably would. I mean, I’d offer to help but you’d just tell me you’re ‘more than capable of handling it’ so I’ll sit here and wait ‘til you give up.” 

honestly, situations like this almost make his entire being here worth it. yeah, chicago’s… a waystation. a place to hide out ‘til the coast is clearer. but fuck it, maybe being pissed on and trapped by ghostie powers isn’t the worst thing. after all, it’s giving shish an excuse to rummage through private property and catalogue where the spare cutlery is. not that he expects he’ll need it. 

he might need it. 

quick hands sift through cabinets and drawers until, at last, they settle on a pile of folded fabric. shish snatches two of them from the drawer he’s crouched over and tosses one joey’s way.

“ you say rusty. i say… ” he tilts his head and purses his lips, surveying the silken fabric. “ red…ish velvet. ” 

joey isn’t normally one to get to experience normal things, as she called them. with two doctors as parents, she was constantly guarded and was only ever around people they approved of. so college had been her time to find herself, friends who weren’t really... great for her. which was what she felt like at the moment. not the hospital’s resident surgeon, nor this well mannered woman her parents had raised - but the fun loving, spontaneous and flirty wild child she’d been in college. 

and she was adoring it. 

it was beyond freeing and considering the ghostly activities that had been lingering, and the fact they were trapped in the ballroom, it was a breath of relief. the redhead watches as the other pulls the fabric from the cabinet, finding a hand taking one of them as he begins describing the material. she has to press her lips together to hold back a laugh, a not so convincing serious face hiding a snicker. 

This is one of those things that Joey hates to admit to but it’s a part of her job. She’s personally sat with passing patients when their family wasn’t able to be there for them - especially Emergency Room cases. It’s been about six people over the course of both her residency and her full time employment.

“I honestly wish I could tell you. From what I know and the one English class I took in college - it’s kind of a trope. Dumb people instigate the actions that are happening because they don’t know any better. If that weren’t the case they wouldn’t be subject to being targeted.” 

“Handing out candy! And I’m definitely guilty of hiding some away for me to keep later. Especially since my parents used to have to confiscate half of the candy I got on Halloween because there was peanuts in it. I don’t know what it is with people and chocolate and peanuts. Since moving out I’m always on candy duty and it’s so fun to see all the costumes!”