What else can I do?

You’d think this town would be a bit more interesting considering we’re all one big science experiment? Literally no one’s put a tracker on me or has injected me….or probed me.

Disappointed honestly.

Don’t put ideas in their heads. Half the people out there don’t have a single brain cell to spare and we don’t need any more conspiracy theorists. It’s sad.

Veronica looked at the girl, great she was one of those women. She tried not to be rude to customers if she could help it, especially people she didn’t know but today she was tired and ready to go so she couldn’t hold any promises that she might pop off at someone unintentionally or intentionally. But she’ll try. She will.

“As long as I know they’re made from scratch. Never gone into a freezer for them" she said with a shrug. 

She really hoped this girl wasn’t going to give her shit she really just didn’t want it, but I mean if push comes to shove she’ll fight back and Vee hasn’t had any of that fun in awhile.

.

“So... a week?” she questioned, still looking around the store dubiously. Assuming this girl wasn’t a Westfield native, she couldn’t have known about the origins of the pastries for longer than that and honestly, it didn’t inspire trust. The things she did for publicity. At least it would make for a nice, down-to-earth instagram photo. “Reassuring. Let’s see that freshly made cheesecake then.”

Veronica nodded her head and began to put in the other women’s order, her fingers clicking away at the electronic register. At the others question she looked up.

She blinked a bit “you know… I’m not really sure about that. I assume it’s some company somewhere up North but the owner has never really indulged my with that information… will that be all for you?”

✈

“Hm.” She should have gone to Les Amis. And she’d known that -- their Italian roast was as amazing as it was expensive -- but it had seemed silly not to grab a coffee since she was here shopping anyway. This is what it got her. Coffee from Massachusetts for all she knew.

“I assume all the pastries get here... frozen?”

Conspiracy Theories were at an all time high in the podcasting world, and Vee was definitely on the train to write up a new script but of course there was one slight promise. Work. Another call in, which meant Vee had to stay behind and make sure someone was left in the coffee shop before the next person arrived, this meant her staying 2 hours later than she originally had wanted to. She just wanted to go home and write, go somewhere she could just be herself and not have to continue this fake façade of being a happy employee at a dead end job. 

She had been cleaning the espresso machine when she heard the bell above the door sound off. She looked up from the machine and moved herself away from it.

“Welcome to The Roasted Bean, what can I get you?”

Shopping bags dangled from Scarlett’s arms as she pushed through the doors of the coffee shop. It had been a lovely day so far, filled with changing rooms and instagram photos and she was ready to reward herself with a coffee mid-day. Heading up to the counter, she only offered a brief smile before she began scanning the menu behind the other woman. 

“Can I have a non-fat, sugar-free caramel latte?” A pause. “Where do you get your coffee from?”

“Oh no, never!” He replied, maybe just a tad too quickly, causing him to blush, and he coudl feel even the tips of his ears burning. She didn’t seem to mind though, and her laugh seemed sweet and not mean like the other people. “Um, hi, I’m Austin by the way. I don’t think I gave you my name? I’m sorry if I did.” He bit his lip to stop himself from babbling too much, just in case.

“I would never have guessed,” Scarlett commented, not making much of a show of hiding the sarcasm. This guy had the energy of a golden retriever and she was entirely convinced that a squirrel outside the window would be the end of this dinner party. “You didn’t. Scarlett. It’s nice to meet you. So, where do you live?”

She couldn’t help the snicker that left her, holding her arms up in defence. “Apologies Mother.” She responded, drily, trying not to seem too affected by the ruining life comments. She didn’t need the reminder. “I am not trying to embarass you.” She then added, in a softer tone, glancing down to hide any vulnerability on her face - a big no-no for them. “I’m just getting used to it. You won’t even know I’m here, I promise.” It was hard for her, to be like this, especially with her younger sister, but Aurelia knew when to pick and choose battles, and when to finally cede and surrender. And right now was one of them; it was Scarlett’s show after-all, and she didn’t want a part in it, especially as the jester or whatever.

Scarlett huffed, tension in her shoulders softening slightly. Admittedly, a part of her would have preferred if Aurelia had kept pushing. She was much better at being pissed than she was at dealing with... this. Emotions or whatever. “Good,” she offered after a moment, the annoyance in her voice a little more strained now. “Because I have no plans to play babysitter.” Exhaling, her hands moved down to straighten her dress, then her hair, making sure everything was in place. “I have to go mingle.”

Your guess is as good as mine. Ah, see, when I tried reaching for my dreams I ended up with a wonderful brick wall view. But congrats on the beach front, hope there’s not a tidal wave or a shark attack anytime soon.

We’re not all made to reach for the same stars. Some of us are just destined for a more... approachable lifestyle. There’s no shame in that.

Was that the wrong way to describe it? Austin panicked slightly, because he didn’t want her to think he was an idiot or anything. Or maybe it was a trick question, maybe it wasn’t even French? But she didn’t seem annoyed, just amused. So that must have been a good thing, right? “Um, yeah.” He answered, at her next question, though maybe he should be a bit more honest. “I mean, like, everyone is like, talking in code or whatever. I think. I don’t know, so I came and stood here and then, um, you came over. Which is nice.”

Scarlett couldn’t help it, the amused grin turned into a laugh as he explained his situation to her. She had to admit, this was reaching new heights of awkwardness towards her that even she hadn’t witnessed yet. It was quite impressive. “I take it you don’t usually... hang out at fancy events like this?”

She wasn’t expecting her little sister to suddenly shoo whoever it was a way, but Aurelia comically raised an eyebrow at her instead. “I’d hardly call it yelling, Scar,” Aurelia drawled, making her contempt fully known. Her lips twitched at Scarlett’s choice of words, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically. “I thought making scenes was what we’re supposed to do here?”

Scarlett’s eyes rolled so hard, she was afraid they might just pop out of her head. “Stop being a fucking child, Aurelia,” she hissed under her breath, wanting to avoid any bystanders catching any of this. She’d worked too hard to play perfect hostess all night for that. “If you want to ruin your own life, fine, whatever. But whatever you do here will reflect on all of us.”

Not with money no, but the soul….the soul is paying for it. Anyway, I bet you aren’t in the downtown apartments are you? Why not, since they’re so lovely?

Then why are you here? And no, I’m not. Cozy charm is nice and all, but I’ve always liked the idea of beach front and they say to reach for your dreams where you can, right? And I can.

Victoria was at the shop getting a few new outfits when she saw a face from her past. “ Scarlett! It has!” She smiled as Daffodill sat at her side. She took the hello kiss and made a move to return it.  She supposed that her parents knew that people from their circles would be here, an attepmt to get her back into their perfect daughter. “ How have you been?” 

“Oh, I’ve been great. I’ve been working at the New York spot for the past few years but it’s nice to get out of the city for a bit. It’s... quaint.” The slightly condescending tone was almost inaudible in her tone. So far, her icy facade of pretending to love a small town hadn’t quite broken. “What about you?”

Things were going swimmingly so far. The project had thus far gone off without a hitch, her fans were raving about her political awareness and how down to earth she was to be participating herself and her new house was adequate as well. So, she’d decided to reward herself with a shopping trip to one of the many boutiques lining the promenade along the ocean.

It was there that she spotted a familiar face between the racks of clothes. Vivienne? Veronica? Victoria. Something like that. Their gazes met and a smile immediately sprang to Scarlett’s face - one of her many talents. She made her way over and leaned in for a hovering hello kiss. “My god, hello. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?”

Austin’s excitement was still evident, though it had faded slightly. People were talking all fancy-like and he couldn’t quite keep up and he laughed at what he thought were jokes, and then not getting the actual jokes they told, so he just lingered around, hoping that maybe following his mom’s advice: stand there with a smile, and let people approach him, would work better in this situation. For a while, it didn’t seem like it would work, until the prettiest girl he had ever seen approached him. Austin didn’t know where to look, and he could already feel his cheeks reddening, despite the fact not even a word had uttered between them yet.

“Um…uh…y-yeah I guess,” He stuttered out, looking at his own glass of champagne. Truthfully, he really didn’t like the taste of it. Kinda sour and fizzy and the glasses felt too small in his big hands, but he didn’t want to disagree with her. “It’s like…super French tasting and stuff.”

Scarlett was used to people stumbling over their words with her so this wasn’t shockingly new but it never failed to entertain her. In her opinion, everybody should have a basic level of nervousness in her presence. Plus, he was at least cute enough for it to not be annoying as well.

“French tasting,” she repeated, smirk almost audible in her voice. A fun idea struck her. Given how boring this evening had been for half of it, she could treat herself to the joy of seeing just how much more she could make this guy blush. She deserved a bit of entertainment, she had earned it. So she tipped her head to the side, eyes locked on him despite the fact that he wasn’t even looking at her. “Are you enjoying the evening?”

Clem was beyond nervous. This was far from her type of thing Church dinners she could get behind, and the gallery openings were usually just apps.  She smiled at the nearest person, “ You enjoying the night?” She asked. 

“Very much so,” Scarlett replied, face beginning to ache slightly from all the smiling. To be frank, she was ready for this dinner to be over with so she could stop having to socialize with all the boring people around. “It’s so nice to get to know everyone. What about you?”

That depends on where your accomodation is. I have a feeling it’s a bit better than mine because if it was the little shit hole like the one I’ve been dumped in, you wouldn’t be so smug on the beach and swimming with the dolphins or whatever they’ve dumped in the ocean to make this place seem magical.

As someone who’s seen the downtown apartments, I think they’re lovely. I mean, they have such a cozy charm about them and have such a good location, don’t they? Especially for something you don’t have to pay for.

There was a lot of things Aurelia didn’t cope well with, and the feeling of various eyes on her during this event was one of them. She had arrived, in a decent outfit her mother had approved of over FaceTime, and got herself a plate. She did what she had to do. So why were people eyeing her? “What?” She demanded, turning around, eyeing the nearest person around her with an accusatory glint in her eye. “Can a girl not just sit here and enjoy her food?”

Scarlett had known Aurelia would be here, of course. Her parents had let her know and while she usually just left her sister to do whatever, unfortunately this was not possible now. Her mother’s request to keep an eye on her sister rang in her head, getting her on edge already. What was she, a babysitter? But, of course, she did what she was asked to. So when she found herself nearby as Aurelia snapped at a bystander, she didn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes. Shooing the rando away, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Yelling? We’ve been here twenty minutes. Can you not make a scene already?”

Emmet was enjoying the dinner, seeing the people he would be spending the next bit of his life with.  “ Just about to take a sip.” He smiled. “ Moving in go easy for you?” He asked, after taking a sip.  It wasn’t very different then the big industry parties.  

“Of course. I hired very capable people,” Scarlett assured, smile still on her face. This was probably the longest she’d tried to consistently be nice to people and honestly? It was draining. The things she did for publicity. “Where do you live, if you don’t mind me asking?”