#event003.

she's  a  few  ciders  in  when  she  first  spots  nate.  oops  !  IT'S  HER  PARTY,  AND  SHE'LL  DRINK  IF  SHE  WANTS  TO.  she  squeals,  arms  thrown  lazily  around  the  other  in  an  embrace.  “oh,  i'm  so  glad  you  came  !!  i  feel  like  you've  been  so  busy  lately  –  it  really  means  a  lot  that  you  took  the  time  out  of  your  busy  schedule  to  be  here  !”  she  gives  him  a  squeeze  before  pulling  away.  “did  you  just  get  here  or  have  you  had  a  chance  to  explore  ?!”

"no, it's 1 churro for $1.25 or 2 for $2. i'm saving you money, money that could be going to the learning center, while you get a second churro discounted." every year, tori seemed to have this same conversation with at least a handful of patrons. "these are homemade! i could charge more but i won't, because i'm a nice person." the transaction ended with the individual taking four churros, yet another hard fought victory for her end of the bake sale. shaking off the interaction, she put on a smile and greeted the next person. eventually her begging eyes would succeed in getting her relieved from managing the booth. "hey! we have churros, churros, annnnd churros. prices are listed on the sign and we have samples."

reuniting  with  veronica  had  eased  winona  in  a  way  she  hadn't  thought  possible.  while  they  were  still  in  the  baby  steps  of  rekindling  their  friendship,  they  were  definitely  in  a  better  place  than  they  were  when  they  first  spotted  each  other  at  the  beach.  well,  maybe  BETTER  wasn't  the  correct  word,  seeing  how  they  were  both  barely  getting  by  on  their  ice  skates.  it  was  like  clockwork,  almost.  they'd  both  have  a  good  rhythm  going,  and  then  one  would  start  to  slip  and  need  assistance.  winnie  felt  good  about  the  fact  that  she  wasn't  the  only  one  struggling.  “should  we  have  chosen  something  easier  ?”

       -- “ Like your dress. ” her glares and scoffs made it clear she doesn’t enjoy being here. she doesn’t like dancing or selfies. but doesn’t matter how shitty and out of place she feels, whenever she starts speaking with the youngest faulkner, her voice kind of goes softer and a small smile appears on her lips. very uncharacteristic of her. “ how is your night going so far ?? ”

she  lets  out  a  short  scream,  doing  her  best  to  pretend  to  be  scared  –  however,  her  laughter  completely  gives  her  away.  “JUST  KIDDING  !  i  knew  your  axe  was  fake  !”  she  reaches  for  sloane's  free  hand  so  she  can  spin  her around.  “you  look  AH  -  MAZING  !”

“IT'S  GIVING  PIRATE,”  she  says,  pretty  confidently,  as  she  gestures  towards  his  outfit.  “tell  me  i'm  right.”

the  costumes  were  her  idea,  but  as  she  watches  julian  flex  for  what  feels  like  the  millionth  time  this  evening,  she's  beginning  to  regret  the  decision.  “ALRIGHT,  HERCULES,  you're  doing  too  much,”  she  tells  him,  the  smile  on  her  face  cancelling  out  the  eye  roll.  “who  are  you  trying  to  impress,  anyway  ?”

“you  know,  IT'S  KIND  OF  A  SHAME  we  didn't  plan  a  theme  this  year,”  he  comments,  only  half  joking.  “i  hate  having  to  come  up  with  my  own  costume  …”  he  looks  down  at  his  POPEYE  outfit,  that  he  was  able  to  make  out  of  regular  clothes  in  an  attempt  to  not  look  so  costumey.  “be  honest,  but  nice  …  how  stupid  do  i  look  ?”