Prologue - Jaylene Harris

[Shrike7]

Jaylene let out a sigh. Another slow day at the Toad, and that meant less tips, though she did get better ones from the customers that did appear, as she could spend more time with each of them. The other waitress had gone home early as well, leaving her the entire floor to herself. A glance at the clock showed that nearly half of her shift had gone by, and she had only three customers at the moment. There were a pair of men in one of the booths talking quietly, one a regular and one she had never seen before, and a woman she knew was a golddigger, who looked about as disappointed at the lack of people as Jaylene did herself.

The sound of the door opening drew her attention. A man strode in, looking rather road-weary. A little under six feet, wearing simple clothes under leather jacket and pants, he looked like a biker. He had a day old stubble and a set jaw. There was something off about the entire image, though. The way he stood, how he walked, didn't match the perceptions Jaylene had of a biker. It was like he wore all of it, but it wasn't him, wasn't who he was. There was something about that that endeared him to her, in some small way.

He looked around the bar, locked gazes with the man in the booth she had never seen before, then shivered a bit and went to sit on the opposite side of the bar. He walked with a fluid grace, speaking of confidence and experience as he settled down in a seat, examining the items on the wall for a moment before his gaze settled on the television and stayed there, watching sports commentary.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

Well, that was something special... Jaylene hid a smile and brought out a pencil and a pad of paper as she sauntered over to the newcomer, curious about that duplicity that she'd seen in him upon entering the room. "Hey there, what can I get you?" asked she, deciding for now to refrain from leaning on the counter or getting too friendly. He was new, after all, and she didn't want to scare him off. He had a bit of a look of being flighty around him, if anyone in biker's gear could be called 'flighty'. "Eye opener for the road, maybe?" She'd gathered also a menu... the supper rush was well over, but that didn't mean that people didn't want late-night chicken wings with their beer. She wondered if the man would stay that long, or if he'd take some coffee and run.

Curious that he'd taken note of the other newcomer... the two didn't look like they had much in common at first glance.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

The man turned to her and gave her a warm smile.

"Just a beer for now please, whatever you have on tap is fine. I'm hunkering down for the night, thanks." Upon closer inspection, the man doesn't have any tattoos or peircings visible either, again odd for a supposed biker.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

Definitely not the usual sort of man. Returning the smile, Jaylene replied, "I'll have one right over. You just tell me if you need anything else, alright?" Hunkering down for the night, really? The young woman wondered if maybe she'd have time to chat him up a little.

Slipping around the bar, she got the man his beer, giving him a chance to speak freely if needed. If he was just planning on hunkering down, she moved on to check on the other three customers. She was curious about the other two men... why'd the faux biker given her other newcomer such a shudder?

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

((The booth man gave the biker a shudder, not the other way around. Also, mixing up the actions a bit to make it easier ))

The man nodded as she left to get his drink, and a round of the other customers kept her busy for a moment or two. The gold digger had a refill on her soda, she usually doesn't get into it until she has someone to buy her drinks for her. Oddly enough, she stayed away from the latest addition, maybe she didn't like bikers.

The other pair stopped their conversation as she came around, so she didn't get a chance to catch any of it. Her Regular had another of his usual, while the person she didn't recognize still seemed to be nursing his first drink. It was only about half gone, and he had already made a trip to the washroom earlier, maybe he had a weak bladder.

Returning to the odd biker man with his beer, he smiled again and took a sip. "Thanks. Is it allways this lively in here?" He asked, trying to start a conversation.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

((Oh, thanks!))

Jaylene finished her round with an inner laugh. Mr. Nurses-his-drink seemed like he was going to be more difficult to crack than the biker, and the biker was more interesting, anyways. Taking her cue to let the pair be, she returned to the leather-clad man and rested an elbow on the counter. "You came in on a slow night," she admitted, grinning slyly. "I don't mind too much, though. Makes it sort of cozy. You traveling by yourself or have you got some friends coming by?" she wanted to know. She'd seen the lone biker through here often enough, and preferred it that way, but the more the merrier... for tips, anyways.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

The man shook his head slowly. "Just me, roaming around a bit. I'm Charles, nice to meet you." He said with that same winning smile, extending a hand in greeting.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

Jaylene took the hand, grasping it carefully demurely. She used to crush boy's hands in class when they were assholes, but Charles was being pleasant, and she was at work of all places. Delicacy was a prerequisite.

"Jaylene, and likewise." Releasing his hand, scanning the room to see if her other three needed anything, she took a seat if they were willing to let her be. Half-standing, half-perched, she asked, "so where've you been roaming? Heading East or West? Or just around the province?" Not much north of here save Edmonton or For Mac... though there were plenty of people going that way... or coming from that way. Alberta at this time of year didn't seem quite so exciting (so she'd heard) as heading for the mountains.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

The other three looked fine, the gold digging lady had walked over to the bar herself to try and strike it rich with the bartender, so he could deal with her, which was fine, she never tipped anyways.

"A little bit of everything, but mostly West. I'm from New Brunswick, at least most recently, figured I'd just wander my way to the other coast as a vacation. Did you know there's a town like an hour and a half south of here that practically worships Gophers? They have all their fire hydrants painted like the things, and there's a museum and everything!" He says with a laugh, pointing off in a general southernly direction.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

"From out east, huh?" Jaylene grinned more widely, the curiosity in her twinging. "You've been through Saskatchewan already; you live on the prairies long enough and you're going to be excited seeing anything pop up, even if it's varmint." Taking pot-shots at gophers was something that her dad liked to brag about, though by the time that Jaylene had come around, the conservationists were tagging them and deeming the damned things endangered. She wasn't convinced -- she'd broken her ankle when she was younger, stumbling over one while running through her friend's farm's pasture.

"If you're looking for wacky, there's always the giant egg, or the giant sausage, or the giant space ship," she ticked them off on her fingers, thinking of a few towns that came to mind. Grinning, she wondered aloud, "so what's it like out in New Brunswick? Furthest I've ever traveled was down to Banff for camping... must be nice picking up and wandering where ever you want." She had to wonder about that. No face metal, no tattoos, and he'd come this far as if on a whim? Something wasn't quite adding up.

Ooh, maybe he was rich. Jaylene's glance slid to the gold-digger harassing the bartender, and she inwardly snorted. It'd be ironic if the one man in green here tonight was the one that she studiously avoided.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

"Yeah, I guess when you point out the spaceship, gophers don't seem that crazy." He agrees with a snort. "It's alright back there, lots of fish though, gives anywhere near the coast it's own aroma, sort of like the cow thing you guys have around here. The furthest you've travelled is Banff? Isn't that only a few hours away?"

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

Jaylene made a rather unenlightened looking face. "Yeah well, it's not like I have the money to toss around on grand adventures. I'd like to... maybe avoiding the fish-smell though." She grinned, tried a giggle though it came across as more a chuckle, to her own embarrassment. Scanning for the two men again (how long would the newcomer be able to nurse that one glass?) the brunette added, "I think you'll like the mountains. First time I saw them rearing up like that, slipping into them out of the foothills was something else. I've heard some real horror stories though... weather likes to change in a snap. Don't know what it's like on the other side, though. Probably more fish-smell."

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

((You haven't seen the guy in the booth actually drink any since he took that bathroom break, so quite some time. Or do you mean Charles?))

Charles just chuckled as well. "It takes a lot less money than you think, if you do it right. I came all this way on about five hundred bucks, and that's mostly just gas. If you don't mind me saying, you sound like your itching for a change, aren't you?"

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

((I meant the nervous-pants man, not Chahles, dahling. X3 Poor guy.))

Jaylene quirked a brow, grin taking on a different light. Oh, jeez, she'd heard that line before. Shifting on the seat, moving partways to stand in case that 'off'ness in Charles turned out to be the kind she didn't like (endearing though he was, some of them were sneaky that way...) Jaylene replied, "you could say that, if you wanted, couldn't you?" She traced a line in the lingering condensation on the bar, eying him appraisingly. 'Itching', heh. "I'm not quite irresponsible enough to dump things and run, tempting as it might be."

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

Charles just blinked, noticing her slight change in attitude and needing a moment to figure out why. When he did, he rubbed his temple with his hand and spoke up with a wry grin.

"Shit, I went and worded that wrong, didn't I? You just look to me like you were tired of your circumstances, is all. I wasn't trying to suggest anything."

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

Cocking her head slightly to the side, she snorted at him, then laughed. "Oh yeah? Well, it's usually more the kind who does mean something than doesn't. I don't mind." She grinned, then backed off. If he didn't mean something by it, then she wasn't going to, either. "So, what're you planning on doing when you get out there? Sticking around for a while, or wandering back across the continent?" She wondered if he had had friends to crash with... or someone important to see. The only way that she could imagine doing such a grand adventure was to have someone waiting at the other end, or to do it with, really...

((Just wondering what Charles's hair colour is if he has any. XD I keep getting the mental image of a bald person as soon as you mentioned that he was a biker. X3))

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

((Sorta like John Travolta's hairdo in Grease, but a bit shorter, less greasy, and sandy brown. In other news, I need to read these more carefully :/ ))

Charles leans back in the chair, looking lost in thought. "It all depends what I find there, I guess. I might even stop sooner, if I find somewhere more agreeable. I pretty much decided to wander until something made me want to stay somewhere, and it just hasn't happened yet. I think I'm getting close, though."

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

As he leaned back in his chair, Jaylene took another glance at his glass, her smile and mood settling and warming like a maturing fire. "Yeah well. There's a lot of flocking to the province," she told him, purposefully avoiding taking the bait just yet. "You can get some good money here if you you're willing to put your back into it... of course, if you're not looking for money..." She shrugged, "Just keep in mind that up here it's long winters and longer nights most of the year, don't let the heat out there trick you!

"...Then again, you don't look like you take to a bike most of the year, Charles. What are you looking for?" She was curious; she figured that if he was going to drop little hints on her, she might as well oblige him. Jaylene had since calmly noted that her endearment might have taken on a little more of a fascination, but she knew the feeling, so she was willing to bank it to something manageable for now.

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

A glance at his glass showed it still full, the only time she'd seen him touch it was that first sip when she brought it to him. The pair in the booth however, looked ready to leave, the one she didn't know walking up to the counter by the till while her regular went off towards the bathroom.

Charles let out another laugh. "Bike? I supposed I am kind of dressed for it, aren't I? As much fun as that would be, I have a '96 Neon out front, nothing so grand. As for what I'm looking for... It would take a lot of explaining, but basically, just a place to settle down some, where life isn't too hard. that's not too much to ask, is it?"

 

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Re: Prologue - Jaylene Harris

Jaylene chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Oh, you got me. You're right, though, you do look like you own one, you know," she told him. "Excuse me, I'll be back in a sec."

Dodging off to get her other customers all paid up, she returned soon enough. Having had a moment to think, she settled next to him and drawled, "of course it's not too much to ask... though that depends on what you plan on doing with all of your spare time. Sure I can't get you something to eat?" she asked, still in server-mode.