Fine Skylark

character name: Valeria Mariposa Ortega

age & birthday: 43. October 20th, 1970

gender & pronouns: She/ her

place of birth & time in Bridgeport: Three years. [ Born in Ohio]

district: Downtown bridgeport. 

occupation: Full time free spirit. Part time Cashier for Gas and Go

Faceclaim: Aubrey Plaza

triggers in headcanons: Drugs, sex, murder, pregnancy

“I seem to think that they did dodge a bullet” he said nodding his head. “Like what if this person is cheating on people and they don’t have names saved because they don’t want to mess it up.” He said shrugging his shoulders. “I’m going to cancel, I’m going to tell them I’m going to the peace corps” he said laughing. “See what they said.” 

“That’s highly likely, given their calling you sweet buns.” She mused, leaning against the wall as she waited for her order. “If they really cared about their precious sweet buns they would have figured out by now they were texting the wrong person. Makes you wonder, right?” She shook her head, taking the phone from him to see what the response was. “ As hard as it is for me to let you go, I understand your need to help others and I fully support you sweet buns.” She read it aloud. “Wow. They’re definitely giving Marty from Grease, when she pulls out that list of men she’s been writing too. Breaking up might do them a favor. One less sweet buns to keep up with. Damn. I miss having multiple boyfriends.”

…

“I mean, all anyone would have to do is ask my ex-wife.” With a shrug, Zander kept the smirk on his face. It wasn’t that he cheated on her or anything, but circumstances changed their relationship and dynamic. “I mean you’re not wrong. Pizza is just..amazin’,” he said, Southern accent shining through. “I mean, does Jeff work for you? Or should we do something like Jose or Yolanda?” A laugh escaped him as he brought up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “Poor alien. We’re just doin’ him so wrong.”

“Ohh? What would she have to say?” Valeria lifted her brow curiously. He’d opened a door and she wanted to walk right through. “Thank you! It’s such a versatile food. I can’t think of any occasion that pizza wouldn’t make better.” She laughed, catching his accent. “Where are you from?” Hearing his next round of names made her blush harder. “Damn. We really are. I feel like he’s gotta be a Jeff now though. Jeff who doesn’t give a fuck just likes to eat pizza and and causally abduct people to have pizza parties with. I swear I’m not high.” She kinda wished she was though. “All this talk of aliens and pizza is making me hungry. Do you want to go grab a bite?” 

 Isla raised a brow at her, as the brunette really didn’t see why wasps would be as a gas station, but then again she didn’t think that there were bins and such outside that people threw stuff in. “Oh right, I see..” She nodded back at her. “I will keep in mind to go get my gas somewhere else then considering the wasp issue.” She added with a soft chuckle before tilting her head slightly to the side as they elaborated. “I mean..” She straightened herself up slightly in her seat, “We don’t know one another.. How do I know you aren’t going to like.. Steal my business and all my ideas? I have  seen that happen in the movies, you know..” She told her with a small shrug off her shoulders. Had she watched some for research purposes? Absolutely. “I have Instagram.” She nodded, and and Only Fans, but that one she kept separate and under wraps. “And a decent following I think.” She mainly posted outfit pictures and such, it having been a much bigger thing when she lived in New York. “Wait, are you  being serious?” She asked again, not sure if this was one of those what seems to  good to be true usually are lessons or not. “I mean.. I was hoping to have a store open by December, but  I haven’t found the location yet.” No surprise there considering how picky she was. “Maybe we can um.. Talk about it some more? Over dinner or something perhaps?”

“Oh yeah. They like to congregate around the dumpsters outback. Little fuckers. I’ve also seen them buzzing around the free windshield cleaner.” Which was attached to the bottom of the trash cans near the pumps. Hearing Isla’s concerns Valeria couldn’t say she blamed her. “ I guess you don’t. You could get to know me though. If you don’t feel like taking my word. I understand it’s not your run-of-the-mill business proposition, but I’m not your average bear.” She shrugged. She did things on a whim and never planned much. “ Don’t believe everything you see in the movies, kid.” She grinned. “I’m not in the business of stealing other peoples hustles. I think you could really make big on this though.  It’s good that you’ve got a following and you’re advertising.Hell, you don’t really even need me. My money maybe. I was simply trying to help you out.” Paying it back, for those who had helped her over the years. “Why don’t you think it over, and we can talk about it more at lunch and go from there. I want you to feel comfortable going into this. I am serious though. I’d like to help you open your store.” She stood up and dusted her pants off, pulling out a pen. “Can I see your hand?”

Matt had a long week at work, and desperately needed to unwind. His original plan was to bum around his apartment, watching Netflix and eating an embarrassing amount of pizza, which felt pretty pathetic to him. So he was grateful when Valeria invited him for drinks and mini golf. By the time they got to Castaway Cove, his fingertips tingled from the buzz. “That depends, are we talking ice cream from a grocery store, or the kind you get at a mom and pop shop?” He asked, leaning against the fence, watching her fail miserably at hitting the ball. “You’re right, it’s definitely the ball,” he assured her. “Plus, the booze don’t help either. Would words of encouragement and positive affirmations help you? I want to at least give you a fighting chance here.” 

“Ohhh. I didn’t think about that. Shit.” Valeria put the club to her chin as she thought, warbling a little as she tried to keep her balance. “ i’m starting to regret those tequila shooters.” She admitted with a laugh , feeling them hitting her full force. “ There’s also gelato to consider. Dammit this question just got a lot harder… OK. Hmm. Let’s do favorite great value seaside strokes brand. I’ll go first. Butter Pecan. If we’re talking classic ice creams. Orange sherbet is where it’s at.” her mother used to make it for all the kids before she passed away. “ I think they gave me a faulty club or some thing. That balls got it out for me.” Her brow arched at his comment about affirmations. “ Nah. Save them for yourself, you’re gonna need them when I win. Go on. It’s your turn.” She said matter o factly. “ Isn’t this way more fun than sitting inside and watching reruns of friends?”

Val was very much like a younger sister to Tabitha, so she didn’t mind looking after her at all. She loved doing it, and loved seeing her happy. “Right now? Yeah we can do that. Do you have a list of things you want or do you want me to help you get the basics?” She asked, happy to do that. Grocery shopping was pretty easy, it just got challenging to plan out meals sometimes. That was the part Tabitha was bad at. She also felt bad that she didn’t have any updates for Val about her dad. She wished she did, and she wished the guy would get what he had coming to him. “Me too, to be honest with you. And I’m sorry that you have to live your life without any closure. He’s a horrible man.” Tabitha hoped she’d never have to see him again, because she knew she would snap for Val’s sake. Then, she let out a laugh. “I’m a boring grown up? Nope, not possible. I was just out at the karaoke bar the other night, got completely hammered.” Tabitha shook her head. “Consistently? No. Not interested in that.”

Valeria looked away when her aunt asked about a list. She never made those, didn’t Tabitha know that by now? Chewing on a piece of her hair out of habit, she felt like a failure as an adult. “I usually just grab whatever I can heat up. The kid sometimes has requests.” She referred to her spunky teenager. “ yeah well. I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles, right?” She was still bitter and probably always would be. “Mom deserved so much better than that shit bag,” She was young, beautiful like her aunt and had her whole life ahead of her.  With one swift blow had taken it all away. “You know, I always thought I got my lack of commitment from everything that happened, but now I’m saying I get it from you.” She laughed, nudging her aunt. “ Maybe we should get real food, try cooking. Mom was good at cooking, she was going to teach me..” 

 Isla looked at the other woman in almost complete shock, “And what do you do for work exactly?” She asked her out of curiosity, as she wanted to make sure she kept herself as far away from whatever that was as possible should her dream fall through. “Oh um, thank you! I am flattered!” Isla chuckled at the woman’s compliment. She nodded her head and held out her arm. “Go right ahead!” She encouraged her, as the potential more customers  she could have waiting, the better. “At the moment I am just trying to map out people’s interests and see what items they like etc based on some pictures I have  found.” She explained, that way she got a good feel of what people liked and maybe wanted more of in town that other places could not offer. “Your car?!” Again the woman had Isla in complete shock as she could never imagine living out of her old car. “Oh yeah no, I can imagine that to be um.. Cheap, considering how high rent can be.” She nodded, before the woman peaked her interest. “Oh, maybe? I mean, I am going to need some more fundings to cover the rent, renovations, stock etc.” She explained. “What, are you interested?”

Valeria chewed on the question, a smile growing on her face. “ I work part time gas and go. Mostly for something to do.” She explained, wondering if she should clue Isla in on how much money she actually had. “I’m getting to a point in my life where I want to settle. My kids almost grown. I need something to preoccupy my time. What better then to go into business with you.” Did it sound crazy, probably? Val was completely serious though. It was simply who she was, she did things on a whim and something in her gut told her Isla would be the perfect business associate. “It feels nice. Good quality. Cute. Do you have a social media page? You should start putting your daily looks out there. If they have any events coming up, maybe get a few pieces and set up a booth. Only get a few of each thing though, the idea is to sell out so that people want more. Once thier hooked, we let everyone know you’re working on opening your own place and we set up a little Kickstarter event. I’m willing to cover anything else that’s needed beforehand of course..” She proposed. “I am. I think you’ve got some thing unique. With your eye for fashion and my marketing skills, I think we could have a successful business. So. What do you say?”

“Mostly just partying and things.” Colton replied with a small shrug. He was careful about what information that he gave out these days. Anything he said could be taken out of context. It was just how his life was unfortunately.  “You are really trying to get yourself in trouble with your boss now, aren’t you?” He added with a laugh. Colton didn’t want to be the one responsible if she got herself fired.  “Another complaint, huh? I guess you seem to get yourself into trouble often.” He said, but somehow he wasn’t too surprised. The woman had already been talking to him longer than she should be.  “I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.” Colton told her as it wasn’t as though he had too much in the works right now.   “I don’t know, I just met you. But you could always check it out.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Not when you’d seen and done the things she had. “A little party never hurt nobody.” She quoted the song, doing a little shimmy. When he mentioned her boss she laughed. “Maybe.” She smirked, crossing her arms. “He’ll get over it. He needs me. I’m his best worker and he likes me even if he acts like he doesn’t.” They had one of those love-hate work relationships. At the end of the day though, she and her boss off and got drinks together. Val didn’t really need this job, she had the money to support her self but she lacked real purpose since her daughter had started to live her own life. “Maybe I will. I should probably go, but hopefully I’ll see you around kid. I’ll be listening in for thar new song.” She winked, punching a few buttons before heading back towards the station. “We’ll just say the pump stalled. Your gas is on us today. Thank of it as a consolation prize for the break. See you round?” 

“Apparently bad decision really.” Zander let a smirk appear across his lips before he shrugged. He listened as she spoke, not wanting to interrupt. “No, I totally get that. Like who doesn’t like pizza? You can just whatever you want on it, and it could taste pretty damn good.” Eyes were on the woman in front of him as she spoke, asking him a question. “That’s a good question.” Eyes then took the time to look around as he thought of another name. “What about Jeff? It’s a common name, but it’s still got that interestin’ thing to it.”

“Why is that?” Arms crossed she looked at him curiously. “Anyone who’s a fan of aliens and pizza is okay in my book. Pizza is the nectar of the gods.” She added, not seeing why ye had such little faith in herself. Maybe I had to do with the fact that Valeria was confident in who she was and every choice she made. Such as trusting this random guy to pick out her tattoo. She’s lived off pizza many times in her life. “Jeff the alien?” She repeated, seeing how it tasted in her mouth. “We’ll.. it’s better than Fred I guess? ” She laughed. “ Jesus. Both of us are terrible at this.. poor Jeff. His parents are already failing him.” She joked.

“I had a bit of a wild streak in general over the years.” Colton replied as he knew that he got himself into more trouble than he should over the years. It just sort of happened that way. There was really no denying it.  “Free pizza is always a good deal as far as I am concerned.” Colton added with a small chuckle. It didn’t matter how much money the man had, he still enjoyed a good deal every once in a while. It was aa habit that he’d always had and was sure was never going to go away.  “I wasn’t too worried about it to be honest with you.” Colton told her as this was far from the weirdest interact that he’d ever had. “Around here? I don’t know. Maybe an after school program or something.”

“That makes two of us. I ran away from home when I was sixteen.” She looked towards the sky as she recalled, hugging herself. “I wasn’t what my grandma envisioned I guess. What about you?” Despite coming off as blasé fair most of the time, she was interested in other peoples lives. “You got it, pal. I can also throw in unlimited slushies and peach rings.” Sue raised the bargain, her brow arched as she tried not to laughed at her own words. God, her life was anything but what she imaged it would be right now. “Good. That’s a relief. I don’t need another complaint to my boss, he might give me the boot.” She teased. “Seriously though, I don’t mind catering one of your parties with gas and go snacks if it means I get time time at s private pool.” She hated going to the community pool, too many gross wondering eyes. “ do you think I’m after school program material?” 

Today had been shit and Valeria needed a pick me up. Which is why she had invited her friend Matt to get cocktails and then go play putt putt at castaway Cove. Doing the course tipsy certainly added a new level to the fun. “ if you could only eat one flavor of ice cream for the rest of your life,what would it be?” She arched her brow questionably before positioning herself, game face on. She threw couple practice swings before missing. She threw down her club in annoyance. “Listen.. that balls a slippery mother fucker! Good luck, pal.”

 Isla was glad the other understood, “I know right? Like wasps this year have been insane too, so I am sure I’d be eaten alive if I sat down over there.” She added with a small shake of her head. “Oh I got this online.” She said, “I am trying out a few different styles and such at the moment to try get a feel of different items of clothing as I am planning on opening up  a shop in town.” She said with a grin, proud of her wanting to chase her dream and figuring the more people she told, the more accountable she’d be if she didn’t go through with it. “Nice to meet you. I am Isla.” She introduced herself. “I don’t have one. I was helping out with the parade and such, but maybe next year if all goes to plan!” she grinned. “What about you? Do you  have one?”

Her nose curled at the mention of bugs. “Don’t even get me started. I got chased by a horde of them at work the other day. I think I’m going to have to start wearing a full body suit to get groceries.” Her interests peaked when isla began talking about opening a shop. “Really? Sounds like a lot of work, but if anyone could make a business take off in town. It’s you.” Valeria could spot a natural born leader a mile away.. ”I’d wear it. I bet lots of people in this town would by it too. May I?” She wanted to feel the fabric, to see it’s quality. “Make sure you cater to the soccer moms in town. Oh, and the older ladies that schmooze at the country club. If we could get a few of them in your clothes, you take off like that.” Val snapped her fingers. “ No. I’m sort of trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I lived out of my car for the last thirty years more or less, but I saved a lot of money doing that.  I wanna invested, and some thing that I think will make a good profit and be meaningful. I was actually checking out some of the booths, but I think your idea of a shop interests me more. Are you looking for a partner or investor?” 

Tabitha looked at her niece and nodded. “That’s fair,” she replied. “I just want to make sure you have everything you need, you know that right?” She couldn’t help but be protective. Val was like a sister to her and she wanted to make sure she was looked after, even if she didn’t have a lot of money herself she would do whatever she could to help. “Yeah, of course. I’d love to go with you, when are you free?” Tabitha asked. Not that she was the best grocery shopper, but she’d show her what she could. In response to Val’s words about her boss, she let out a laugh. “You should and let me know how that goes.” Then, she shook her head. “No, I haven’t heard shit about him. Sorry, they really don’t tell me anything anymore, wish I had an interesting update to give you. Like that he’s dead or something,” she shrugged. “Not this year, maybe next time. I got too much to do with the cafe.” 

Val averted her eyes. “Yea. Thanks.” She chewed at her nail beds viability stuff with anxiety. It was hard for her to allow anyone to look after her. she was so used to being on her own. “When am I not free?” She laughed darkly. Her part time schedule left her flexible. “Tuesdays are good. Right now is also good?” She looked at her aunt to see what she thought. Valeria was always up for adventure and being at home was putting a damper on her mood. “Oh, you better believe I will.” Valeria lived for giving people she loved a hard time. Her boss being one of them. “I’d sleep better at night if we was.” She muttered under her breath, taking a sip of her warm sprite. She hated her father so damn much. “Your always too busy to do anything fun anymore. Your turning into one of those boring grown ups. We’ve gotta fix that.” Sue chuckled dryly. “You seeing anyone?”