the future's here and then it's gone,

luciana was someone who had always been able to calm whatever was going on in zahra's head. truthfully, without luci's friendship her senior year, she wasn't sure that she would have coped. "well, it really is passed time we shared our usual fried oreos," the brunette replies, a small smile rising to her painted lips.

“ nick is high on everyone's suspect list right now, ” is he ? taejin doesn't care. he didn't have a problem with the male, but stirring the pot has always been one of his favorite activities. “ but i think it's the secret sibling. i've known the wilders my whole life and this is the first time i'm hearing about that. they're starting to sound like my family. ” the seongs were known for generations of messy affairs, broken relationships, and bastard children. it wouldn't surprise him if he had secret siblings to add along with his half-siblings he didn't care for. pushing his sunglasses up, elbows  prop  themselves  on the table  and tae leans  closer without warning, faces just a few inches away. blown out pupils inspecting the painted butterfly wings. “ green is really your colour. ” leaning back, he hands over the paintbrush he's been playing with, points right against his cheek, and says, “ i want a smiley right here. ”

at taejin's mention of the secret sibling, zahra's hands momentarily still from where they were adjusting one of her brushes. "why do you think the sibling would send them?" she asks, genuinely curious. what had the messages really accomplished? they were strange, sure, and maybe had brought some of their classmates back to lincoln city...but it didn't seem as if they'd done much to bring chris home. if she were sending them, that would be her primary purpose.

mari really didn't know how she'd gotten to where she was.

"maybe," she hums, grateful for the familiar face. mari was easy company, someone who zahra associated with one of her favorite places. not only that, but the redhead was interesting. she'd gone places, done things, lived a life outside of lincoln city. it was something that zahra had always hoped to do before that awful night her brother had gone missing.

staring at the popcorn stand, mindlessly, taejin rubs against the scar on his elbow, itching over the facebook message he received earlier. anything and everything in this town reminds him of his loss. he's lost in another repetition of escapism when he hears a voice speak. it sounds as if the words had been spoken right into his ear instead of feet away. “ you can't be serious, ” he over exaggerates, “ i've been wanting to go on that ride. ” taking a seat on the empty chair before her, he doesn't linger on how unwelcome his presence may be after what happened with luci. fingertips run along the painting materials, brushing against the feathery softness of a paintbrush like a rare antique he just discovered. “ you think i should write a complaint letter or send a facebook message ? seems like thats effective these days too. ”

zahra and taejin had spent plenty of time together in this town, at this very carnival. they'd all but grown up in the theater, him performing and her creating art for him to shine in front of. they'd even kept in touch after leaving st mary's...until he'd royally messed things up with luci. lips pursed, she watches as he runs his fingers along her materials, wishing to both swat his hand away for having hurt her best friend and to reach out for a familiar form of contact. at the mention of the facebook message, her grudge is momentarily forgotten, or at least no longer center stage. "who do you think keeps sending them?" because regardless of what name is attached to it, zahra knows that it isn't her brother. not because he's dead, but because he wouldn't do something like that.

zahra hums at michael's comment, willing to let him use his money and whatever else to bring back a childhood favorite. "you should. and make all of the chairs a different color, and some with glitter paint," she replies, tone rather dreamy. as michael sits down, bright white teeth doing their best to convince her of his charm, she lets out a dramatic sigh. "as long as you," she begins, reaching out with her index finger to boop him gently on the nose, "promise not to talk about my immortal soul."

River figured everyone would be talking about one of two things at the carnival. The newspaper that was released that detailed parts of the investigation regarding Chris, or the fucking texts everyone just seemed to receive today. And River had made the executive decision not to mention either. That would be on brand for him, right? It's what everyone would expect, that he wouldn't want to talk about the case that was such a big part of his life ten years ago? He didn't want to seem too interested, and then have people questioning that.

"you'll have to come round to meet him sometime. i bring him to the shop on wednesdays; he's the vip guest," she mentions, the topic of discussion one that lightens her a bit. at river's response, she can't help but to laugh, her gaze following his hand as he pats his stomach. "that's a good way to celebrate! the deviled eggs were fab that night, but everything else was bleh."

setting: event 3: the carnival tagged: @classcursestarters

zahra hadn't missed a carnival since moving to lincoln city as a child. sure, she'd (mostly) traded the rides and games for paintbrushes and little ones requesting superhero masks, but she was still able to enjoy the ambiance. dipping a paintbrush into water and swirling it in the purple paint, she's distracted by a vaguely familiar voice. "what would lincoln city be without its carnival? it's a staple...that and tourists getting food poisoning at the angry crab."

who: @zahra-burch

zahra wasn't one to read the newspaper, but only a complete recluse would have been able to miss the news that had spread through lincoln city. the mention of her interview wasn't what had made her stomach drop, however. it was the thought of chris' shoes buried in the woods and all of the terrible things that such a discovery might suggest.

lincoln city wasn't unfamiliar with tragedies. there was chris, of course, his disappearance and according to some, his death always in the back of everyone's minds. most recently, however, there was the kemal family. it was violent, it was gruesome, and perhaps most notably, it was still fresh. zahra hadn't really known the kemal's, despite having gone to school with sanem, so it wasn't as if she could speak to the woman's normal behavior. was the frosty gaze a staple of hers? was it the recent trauma that caused her to appear so distant? at the other's reply, zahra's gaze shifts briefly to the (admittedly still rather crowded) shop. "who was it? i can get them kicked out, if you want," she offers, mostly because she doesn't really know what else to say. zahra wasn't the best at talking about tragedies. usually she'd just burst into tears instead, but it felt a bit odd doing so for strangers. "it's okay. i'd run too," she shrugs, adjusting the strap of her bag.

in truth, it wasn't the first time that her and cherry had physically fought. it wasn't even the first time that they had fought in this bar. cherry's slap connects mostly with the bottom of her face, and she feels her top two teeth cut into the bottom lip, a metallic taste quickly following. it's not bad, just a nick, but zahra lets out a shriek as she snatches the hand that just smacked her and twists cherry's arm behind her back. moving so that the other's face is steadily approaching the counter of the bar, she only stops when she hears her (former) boss let out a loud, "that's enough! not in my bar. take that mess outside." his tone is more exasperated than anything, no true concern there. zahra releases her grip on cherry's arm, shoving the other into the edge of the bar counter as she does so. not hard enough to cause any real damage, but enough to get her point across. "then don't you talk about shit that you know nothing about," she spits back, glare fierce.

"they are fuzzy, aren't they?" elise commented, more to herself then zahra, getting a closer look at all the different rodent options. would this be a better option for willa? smaller, contained, definitely cheaper and to be honest... a shorter life span. god forbid willa's attention span for this creature lessen's over the next few months, to the point that elise is the only taking care of it, she isn't sure she wants it to stick around.

"so fuzzy. like little balls of dryer lint," she hums, leaning in until her nose is only a few inches from the glass. one of the orange ones approaches, fluffy fur giving it the vague appearance of a toupée.

open starter : @classcursestarters !!

zahra and her mother had a standing coffee date on wednesday mornings. once the opening rush had calmed down, zahra would stop by before work and the two women would spend an hour or so catching up. there had been a time when they'd catch up over dinner at her mother's house, but zahra refused to even be in the same room as her father mother's husband now.

setting: weeks after the alumni event, at the pet store tagged: zahra burch @zahra-burch

zahra had worked at an almost impressive (concerning?) number of local businesses in lincoln city. some of her work experiences had ended on good terms, while others...had not. the pet store just off of main street was a more amicable parting, hence why she still stopped by regularly to pick up supplies for jeremy and say hello to her old coworkers (and the animals)!

and just like that, cherry was off, her gaze cold but her words leaving zahra to burn with a mix of hurt and anger. what did cherry know about what her and chris shared? the only reason that they hadn't spent time together before he went missing was because zahra hadn't been brave enough to tell him they were meant to go through this life together, as family. "said like a true friend," she scoffs, not even caring if she's speaking to the other's back. "what does it say about you that you'd rather he be dead than just not want to hang around in this shithole with you?"