At the alley - Takumi/Izzy - open!

[fryn]

(thread open to anyone!)

He still wasn't sure he was doing the right thing but Izzy had been adamant. Still, it didn't feel quite right to Takumi. He checked his mobile phone for the fifth time that minute - just in case she'd sent him any kind of message.

She hadn't. Was that a good thing or a bad one? Good, of course. It meant Jett was there with her and between them they were dealing with the death of their mother. Something as personal and private as that didn't really call for a stranger's presence. Even one who was close to Izzy. That didn't mean, though, that he didn't *want* to be there with her.

He glanced at his phone once more before wandering across the car parking area after having left his Vespa safely to one side.

Taki frowned slightly as he peered at a couple in a nearby car... A girl in a dress that could only be called the most vibrant shade of green he'd ever seen. He glanced down at his own clothing... Right, like HE was dressed in any way normal. Ok, so it was normal for Yoshino Takumi but that counted for little here in the USA.

And was that Elvis next to her? Takumi was sure he'd died many years ago and yet... No, it was someone clothed in the same style. An Elvis fan perhaps? That didn't account for the green dress but.... He drew in a deep breath borne from sheer confusion before wandered towards the bowling alley's main entrance. Hopefully Dare and Evan would have already arrived as otherwise the chances were he probably wouldn't recognise many other faces... If any at all!

[fryn]

(OOC Izzy's post from the other thread)


Izzy was ready for bowling. Things were arranged. She spoke with her father and everything was being taken care of. Jett was making funeral arrangements and Izzy was working on the wake and everything else. She could do this. Izzy was focused and driven. She could do this. She had her time to break down. Now it was time to push past and get over it.

Time to move on. Sure deep down she was not dealing at all. He whole demeanor right no was a facade cause she was not ready to still deal with all this crap. She could not deal or even think about it. Her mother was dead and it was time to move on. So Izzy decided to go bowling. She would act like nothing happened. Her mother died, and yeah sure Izzy said something bad, but that was yesterday and this was today.

Izzy was wearing a jean skirt, sandals with heels, a gray shirt that showed her right shower. She drove to the bowling alley. Izzy got out of her car and ran inside only getting mildly wet. At least her hair was back in a bun, so it did not get too messy. She looked around the moment she got inside and finally spotted the object of her affection. Taki.

Izzy quietly snuck up behind him and covered his eyes. "Guess who?" She asked with a laugh. Just as if this was another day and everything was fine.

[fryn]

Takumi jumped slightly. "Izzy!" He turned to face her, arms slipping around her waist. "I didn't think... I mean, I'm glad, but..." He smiled. "I am very happy to see you here," he said instead.

With his arm still around her waist they wandered further into the alley. Takumi spotted Dare and Evan talking with... "Is that a clown?" He shivered. "I am not all that brave around clowns," he admitted in a soft whisper. Better that he steered clear... Just in case. A girlish scream wasn't really the best way to impress your girlfriend... was it?

"On my way in here I saw Elvis," Takumi confided. "Well, someone dressed like him. I didn't mean I saw a ghost or anything," he added in swift clarification. "He was with a girl in a really weird coloured green dress... And now the clown? Does this all seem... strange to you? Or do people always dress like that to go bowling?" He checked around some more, noting a couple of other oddly-dressed people but then again, he could hardly talk seeing as though his own clothing was less than normal.

"How is Jett?" he asked. "And you... How are you doing? Is your heart a little less heavy today?" It was far too soon to seriously hope for that but it was worth asking regardless.

[Izzy Chen]

Izzy smiled when Taki wrapped his arms around her waist. She settled her hands on his shoulders and leaned up to give him a quick kiss. "I told you I was coming." She said in a matter of fact voice. "I could use some fun right now, you know?" Izzy's looked dropped slightly as a brief moment she felt an emotional pain, but yes, she did need this. "I am glad you decided to show up. Lets try and have some fun."

When Taki mentioned the costumes she looked around and saw the clown, but not the other too. "No..people do not dress like that to go bowling, there must be some costume party going on or something." Izzy let out a tiny chuckle at the idea that people were dressed up to go bowling. This was proving to be quite interesting. "You should feel honored you saw the king....even if it was a costume...but the green dress I cannot say I know what that is."

When Taki asked about Jett and her heart it made her want to break again, but no...not this time. No crying when in public. No crying in front of Taki again. He probably already thought she was crying fool cause she soaked his shirt the night before.

"Jett is doing good. He is making arrangements and stuff. We spoke with my dad. So for today things are a tiny bit better. Its okay...." Which was true. For now, in this moment she was okay, but Izzy knew if she took a few moments to process she would cry again. right now she was not really grieving. She was not allowing herself to grieve cause she did not want to. She just wanted to forget for a moment. Just forget and smile. "How about we go get some shoes, and you can show me your mad bowling skills."

[fryn]

"Bowling skills?" Takumi laughed. "I think you have me confused with the Japanese kid who's actually BEEN bowling before, Izzy!" he said, still laughing. They wandered over to the counter and requested shoes in their size and with them dangling from one hand he and Izzy made their way to a table. He waved to Dare who he could see across the room. "We should go challenge them to a game but I have to warn you I have not done this before."

He nodded at the boy dressed all in black who was carrying a plastic sword. The boy returned the gesture, asking, "Your costume is nice... What have you come as?" A hefty French accent posed that question and Takumi frowned slightly as he glanced down at himself from his toes all the way upwards...

Black tennis shoes. Light grey drainpipe jeans. Even lighter-weight grey overskirt adorned with a newspaper print effect. Not any newspaper, though. Le Monde. The words 'Vive la Révolution! Vingt-cinq étudiants français donnent l'assaut à la Bastille. Une révolution moderne de jour!' adorned the left side, accompanied by an image of said French students storming the Bastille in a modern-day replica of events from history. Further up still... a white buttoned shirt - long sleeved - with pointed stand-up collar. Black fitted waistcoat that flared slightly over his slim hips. Black tailored military-style blazor that came down almost to his knees with white braid around its lapels and wrists. At least 5 large Hello Kitty buttons sat proudly down the right lapel. And to finish his look Takumi had woven 3 longish red feathers into the right side of his hair towards the back.

He looked back at the caped boy. "I am not in costume," he stated in a flat tone.

The boy - to his credit - smiled politely before escorting his date.... "Lia!" Takumi smiled broadly, not having seen her until then. "It's good you could come! You look... very pretty," he added. "Izzy! See who is here!" he called over to the table when she was putting on her bowling shoes.

[christophe]

The alley seemed full to bursting point and with a fair number of those present dressed in a series of equally bizarre outfits. Clowns, dancers, swordsmen. He'd even spotted Elvis and Shrek's bride, Fiona out in the parking area. Others were less easy to recognise... up to and including the boy they were rapidly approaching. A French newspaper had been wrapped around him in the mode of a skirt and the jacket he wore was... beyond description. And Hello Kitty pin badges? But it was his hair that really drew the French boy's full attention. Red feathers. Had he come as some sort of Native American? A Japanese one? Were there even Japanese Native Americans? Christophe didn't think so and yet.... Perhaps he was meant to represent a burlesque dancer? In tennis shoes? Christophe mentally shook his head.

There was only one way to find out... He drew close to the boy and nodded in reply to the oddly-dressed boy's greeting. "Your costume is nice... What have you come as?"

The Japanese boy glanced down at himself and Christophe loosely folded his arms as he awaited a reply. When it finally came it took him completely by surprise.

"I am not in costume."

Oops.

Christophe smiled politely and cringed inside his head but luckily Llyria emerged from behind Christophe's back at theat moment and distracted the Asian boy instantly. They clearly knew each other and for that Christophe felt profoundly grateful.

[Izzy Chen]

Izzy ordered her shoes, "Don't worry about it...with me as your teacher. Then you will become better then me...maybe I should keep my secrets to myself." Izzy said winking as she attempted to put her shoes on. She watched Taki speak with a guy dressed as Zorro, then heard him call out to Lia.

"Oh Lia hi...and Zorro...nice to meet you." She gave him a smile. "I am Izzy." She offered her hand to the guy. "Is there a reason everyone is in costume...i must have missed that memo." She told the two. She defiantly missed the memo to dress up when she finally saw all the people in costume. Well this would be interesting. "You can say I am dressed as..." Izzy looked down at her clothes. Bowling shoes, carpi jeans, and a green shirt with a four leaf clover on it. "A clover...." She offered pointing to her shirt.

"I was just telling Taki that I will teach him bowling and soon he will be so good he can beat me. I think the only secret to bowling is to have fun. As long as you have fun it does not matter if this is your first time or your tenth." Izzy liked bowling. She was decent. Not the best.

"So you both wanna join us?" Izzy asked Christophe and Lia. She was glad Lia was out ad about, it had been a while since they hung out and talked. She liked the younger girl. She was nice and so sweet. Perhaps she could ask Lia for a charm to help with what happened. No...she was not going to think about it...not right now...

[christophe]

(OOC in response to Lia's post in the other thread)

"Would you?" Christophe asked, glancing down at Lia. "Like to join them, I mean. Its good to meet you... Takumi and Izzy," he replied once Lia had made her introductions.

Lia nodded and Christophe was more than happy to make up the foursome... even if the boy *was* dressed in a bizarre manner. Then again, wasn't he also oddly attired? Difference being, apparently, Christophe's was intentional. Not particularly desired but intentional none the less.

"The rules are the same here I hope," he added with a flash of uncertainty. At least now he could dump the hat, cape, mask AND sword. Something he'd be entirely grateful for.

He placed the discared costume components on a chair and followed Lia and Izzy - who were deep in conversation - over to the counter to get their shoes. "You're from Japan?" he asked and Takumi nodded. "I have never been there but it looks amazing," he added in his heavily accented voice. "Are you from Japan, too, Izzy?" he asked. "You are brother and sister?" He could, perhaps, be forgiven for that mistake but the poke in his side from a certain flaxen haired beauty told him he'd just made mistake number two.

[Lia Juarez]

"Taki and Izzy are both interested in local legends of a paranormal nature and like to investigate sites that have been rumored to have sightings of a ghostly nature. I would love to go with them sometimes, my own area of research is similar though a bit more religious in nature. Lia giggled and thanked Ian when he found her a pair of turquoise and black bowling shoes to match her dress. She pulled socks out of her purse and began to change into the ugly shoes that were required to keep the alleys' floors from harm. "I think the rules would be the same. They have them laminated on the scoring tables though, so you can compare," she told Christophe and was glad she wasn't in France instead. She would never be able to read the rules in French. She decided then and there that she would take French in September."Izzy and Taki are dating, not siblings. They are so cute together though the mistake makes sense." she said, though it was hard to say considering her own feelings for Taki. Looking through the nearby balls, she found a black 10 ball and put it in the ball return for the lane they had claimed.

[Kian O'Connor]

Kian spied Christophe and wandered over to give him a pat on the shoulder. "Hey how's it going? he asked. He was glad to see that he had found Lia, if anyone could help him with the local coastline, it was the young surfer/life guard. She had helped him find someone to inspect his houseboat before he bought it. "Hey Lia, the boat is great, thanks for your help," he said with a warm smile. He didn't normally warm up to girls, but she was all right in his book. He was going to have to invite her to one of the hang out parties sometime. He smiled at the Asian couple he had seen around school. "I'm Kian O'Connor. I'm a Gould Junior and theatre geek."