No.5128
>Date: November 3rd, 2017
>Location: Sanctuary City
>Time: 7:01am
>Constance Ratti falls out of bed, hitting her head, as her phone alarm blares out.
>With a groan of pain, the young meta-human woman picks herself up from the ground, although not before awkwardly reaching up to the phone to turn the alarm off.
>Still rubbing her head, Constance walks out of her room into a cramped hallway, having to dodge out of the way as a rat-eared teenager rushes past her.
"No running in the- why do I even bother. . ."
>Turning to her left, Constance knocks on a door then opens it when she gets no response, walking into a bathroom.
>With a stoney-faced look on her face, Constance stands in front of the mirror of the bathroom, brushing her teeth, before switching over to using several skin lotions on her face with one hand as she absently brushes her hair with another one.
>Picking up a tube of lotion, Constance presses it to take a portion out, only for it to be empty.
"Great. . ."
>Her face even more down than before, Constance Ratti looks into the mirror again, using two of her fingers to push against her cheeks so her mouth is in a "smile".
>Just as she seems to get used to it, the woman's phone alarm blares out again, having only been put on snooze, making her jump.
No.5129
>>5128>Time: 7:47am
>Constance Ratti walks into the main living area of her family's apartment, grabbing a slice of bread from the side and casually putting in the toaster. As it cooks away, she leans back against one of the sides, staring out at nothing."Back late last night."
>Constance doesn't even look to the source of the voice."Yeah."
"Out drinking, or have you got yourself a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Connie, please, I'm trying to talk to you."
>Constance snaps out of her state, looking over at the source of the voice, a blonde woman with rat ears."Yeah, I know ma, I'm just. . . not in the mood. . . gonna be a long day at work, and someone used my special skin cream. . ."
>The woman looks like she's going to object for a moment, but relents."Ok sweetie, just keep safe, ok?"
"Ok."
"Oh, and we need milk."
>Connie sighs, then quietly picks up her singular piece of toast, walking out of the room."Yeah, I'll get some. . ."
No.5130
>>5129>Location: The Sanctuary Store, Sanctuary City>Time: 8:50am
>Constance Ratti stands in front of a locker in the staff room of the Sanctuary Store department store, putting a motorcycle helmet into the locker and closing it, letting out a long sigh and pressing her head against the locker door."Oh, Angie not in today?"
>Constance pulls her head away from the locker to see one of the managers, a man in his late 30s, standing near the entrance of the staff room."No Bob, she's out sick, I'm covering. . . need the shifts anyway with Christmas coming up."
"She didn't phone in to tell me."
"She said she would. . ."
"Don't worry about it, Connie, just get out there and give it your best, ok?"
>Constance Ratti forces a smile, adjusting a name badge on her shirt."Always do, Bob."
————————————————
>Time: 10:48am
>Constance Ratti smiles"That's a great choice, I actually use it myself. . ."
————————————————
>Time: 12:18am
>Constance Ratti smiles"Personally I'd recommend. . ."
————————————————
>Time: 1:23pm
>Constance Ratti smiles"For your complexion you should. . ."
————————————————
>Time: 5:53pm
>Constance Ratti takes the motorcycle helmet out of the locker, carefully putting it on."Good work today, Connie."
"Huh? Oh. . . yeah. . . thanks Bob."
>Securing the helmet, Constance Ratti steps out of the department store. No.5131
>>5130>Time: 6:12am
>Constance Ratti rides her motorcycle through Sanctuary City, heading from the expensive financial district towards the residential district.
>As she idles in some traffic, Constance looks down at the fuel gauge of the bike, letting out a frustrated sigh underneath her helmet."Crap. . ."
>Turning off from the main street, Constance heads down a side street, looking at the sides of the road as she does, until she notices a gas station, which she pulls into.
>Dismounting the bike, the woman starts filling the bike to a certain point, then pulls a card out to pay for the fuel with a card at the pump's self-service point.
>Constance swipes the card, only for the machine to buzz as the transaction is declined."Oh come on! This is the fourth fucking time this year!"
>Pulling the card away, the woman starts to head towards the gas station's store, making sure to lock her bike up before she leaves it alone. . . No.5132
>>5131>Location: Meta-Gas & Convenience>"Using our powers to serve you!"
>The picture of a cartoonish looking man giving a thumbs up graced the sign of the gas station, looking just as corporate as you would expect.
>The gas station was of average size for being right in the middle of a major city. It was fairly well maintained, with several gas pumps and parking spaces.
>Inside was the convenience store. Not the largest, nor the most beautiful, but fairly clean and with almost all your convenience essentials.
>Standing at the counter is a nice looking but mostly average man in his mid 20s. He's of average height and physique with relatively long dark hair. He looks tired as he stands behind the counter being talked at by a middle aged customer."I'm telling you man. It's good."
"If you say so… your total will be-"
"No for real man. Watch that shit!"
>The employee stares at the customer, unsure of what to do."Um.. okay. I will."
"Cool! Cool! Anyway man, gotta get back to my girl. You know how it is he he he. See ya!"
>The main turns and begins to leave. "Hey! You didn't pa-"
>Before he could finish the man walks out the door, going off with his bag of snacks and beer. The employee behind the counter lets out a mix of a groan and sigh, slouching down."Not again…"
No.5133
>>5132>The middle-aged man bumps into Constance as he walks through the door."Hey man, watch where you're-"
>Still keeping his attitude of ignoring everyone as he leaves, the middle-aged man just walks past the woman."Asshole."
>With more things to annoy her, Constance begins walking over to the counter, her accent slipping into something more like something from New York."Fuckin'
stronzo thinks he owns the fuckin' place, probably goin' home to fuck his hand. . ."
>Constance stops grumbling as she reaches the counter.". . .I need to pay for pump 3, do you accept cash?"
>As she stands, her features still covered up, Constance looks at the man behind the counter, his features looking familiar to her. No.5135
>>5134"Uh. . ."
>The woman seems genuinely stumped for a second.". . .no."
>Squinting beneath her helmet, Constance still struggles to piece together the man's features."Weird question. . . is your name, like, Devin or Daryl or something? I think I recognize you from somewh- crap. . ."
>Constance hits the side of her helmet as she realises something."Do you sell milk?"
No.5137
>>5136"Oh. . . Derek. . . one sec. . ."
>The woman leaves for a moment, heading to the back of the store, then returns with a carton of milk which she puts on the counter."You, like, local? I mean local local, not just from the city in general, like this general area. . . probably easier if you can see my face."
>Constance lifts the visor of her helmet up to reveal her face."Any better? No probs if you don't, might be getting you confused with someone else or something."
No.5138
>>5137>Derek stares at Constance with a blank expression. Finally, for the first time probably all night it changes. "Hey! I do recognize you! You're uh…"
>He begins snapping his fingers as he tries to remember."We went to school together right? You were… uh… Cammy? Bethany? Something like that?"
>Derek rubs his chin. "You were that party girl, right? I think we shared a class once."
No.5139
>>5138"Connie."
>Constance doesn't put up much of an argument, having gotten Derek's name wrong earlier."It was from High School. . . right. . . yeah. . . makes sense. . ."
>The final pieces seem to be clicking into place for Constance."So, how are. . ."
>Constance looks at the gas station interior, realising that the answer to her question is probably "bad"". . .well. . . uh. . . you wanted to be, like, a cop, right? Studying hard at the academy or something?"
No.5140
>>5139"Yeah, Connie. That was it."
>He looks a bit sad at Constance's final question. He shuffles his feet and awkwardly rubs the back of his neck."I wanted to join the MRD, yeah… I tried but I kind of… flunked out."
>He averts his gaze, embarrassed."I know they have a reputation but I had this… silly goal of trying to help make things better. Too bad I couldn't even make it through the academy."
>He clears his throat and turns his eyes back towards Connie. "Anyway, what about you? I bet you spend your days having fun, right?"
No.5141
>>5140"Oh, right, a super cop, eh. . ."
>Constance shrugs."It's not, like, everything it's cracked up to be and all that, I guess. . . you've probably heard it all before, right?"
>As Derek directs the question back, the woman snorts."
Ha ha. . . haaaaa. . ."
>The laugh turns into a sigh."Yeah, great, I'm in a gas station scraping together some bills because my dead-end job forgot to pay me again. . . at least your thing they'd give you another chance, anything I'd want to do they'd look at my name and tell me to fuck off."
No.5142
>>5141"Aw man. That sucks. Your job forgot to pay you? That's crazy."
>Derek leans against the counter a bit."You need a new job? I can ask for you. We're understaffed and the manager's been hounding me constantly about asking people I know to apply."
No.5143
>>5142"Nah."
>Constance unzips her leather gear a little, reaching into an inner pocket to take out a purse."It still probably pays more than here, no offense, and ma and pa wouldn't be able to afford it if I were on less."
"Plus it, like, let's me pretend I got some of my dream in life at least."
No.5144
>>5143"Well maybe you'll get promoted or something and then get to achieve your dream some day."
>Derek now stands ready at the register, having turned towards it almost on instinct at this point."What is your dream life anyway?"
No.5145
>>5144"Not unless I sleep with the regional manager - and he looks like a walking pimple. It's gross enough being in the same room as him."
>As Derek scans up the milk and works the register, Constance's phone buzzes, and she takes it out, reading it."Ah crap, gotta rush. . . uh, keep the change, I guess."
>Constance puts a couple of bills down on the counter and takes the milk, rushing out of the gas station store.
>Among the bills is a slip of paper with a cell number on it. No.5146
>>5145"Okay."
>Derek goes to put the cash in the register, stopping as he realizes she had given him slightly too much money."Hey you gave me too mu-"
>Before he could finish, she was already out the door. He looks back down at the money, noticing the paper.{"Huh?"}{"Is this her number? Why would she give me this?"}
>Derek stares at the paper, genuinely confused. He scratches his head.{"Maybe she wants to talk again? I guess I wouldn't mind. I can give her her dollar back as well."}
>He finishes putting the cash in the register, and then pockets the piece of paper. Afterwards he slouches back down and leans against the counter, waiting for the inevitable next customer to eventually arrive. No.5147
>>5146>Another customer enters not long afterwards."Hey. . . uh, I was drinking the gas and now I feel weird. . ."
————————————————
>Location: Ratti Apartment>Time: 7:01pm
>Constance walks into the apartment, having to quickly dodge as a book flies past her head, hitting the door, having been thrown by a rat-eared girl and dodged by a different (regular-eared) boy than earlier."I NEVER WANNA TALK TO YOU AGAIN!"
"WELL I DON'T EITHER!"
>Gritting her teeth, Constance goes to clench her fist before remembering the carton of milk is in it. Stopping herself, she walks over to the kitchen and silently puts it down, drawing thew attention of both of them."Both of you. . . SHUT THE FUCK UP."
>The further shouting somewhat deflates both of the others."But he. . ."
"I. Don't. Care."
"But she."
>Constance turns and glares at the boy."I said, I. Don't. Care. There are
five of you little shits in this house, I don't have the
time or the
energy for any of. . ."
>Constance sighs."Fine, sure, just say sorry to each other and ma and pa don't need to know, otherwise I'll make sure they bring the fucking wrath of-"
"S-sorry!"
"Sorry."
>The two rat-eared teenagers separate, going to different rooms of the apartment, and Constance sighs, leaning back on the counter."Every fucking day with them at the moment. . . god. . ."
>Constance sighs again, picking up the milk and putting it in the fridge."Hope he got the hint, at least then I've got an excuse to spend some time outside, away from
them. . .">>5146
No.5149
>>5148>Constance picks up the phone, looking at it confused for a second, then replies.
>[wth is that lol]>[also aw tht's sweet]>[don't need to tho]>[said you culd keep it]>[wuld be happy to meet tho]>[maybe somwhere with food?]>[sorry for trxt spam]>[*taxt]>[*text]>[just how I text]
>Another rat-eared girl enters the room, noticing Constance on the phone."Ew, you texting your boyfriend or something?"
"Shut up."
"Jeez, I was just joking. When's dinner?"
"When ma and pa get back."
"That could be ages though."
"Make something yourself then, I'm not your mom."
>Picking her phone back up, Constance sends another flurry of texts.
>[soory]>[sister came in]>[bein' annoying]>[if ur free later tonight I can skip dinner]>[culd get maxdonalds or smthn] No.5151
>>5150>Constance looks confused at the second rat image
>[srsly wth are these]>[see u at the maxdonalds on alascia street]>[just aroun corner frm where we went 2 school lol]
>Putting her front camera on, Constance quickly checks herself in it."Gross."
"Told you to shut up."
"Just don't bring him back here to fuck."
"It's not like that, dipshit, we just went to school together."
>The girl rolls her eyes."Yeah ok. Tell mom to bring home nuggies."
>Left alone again, Constance adjusts her fringe slightly."Should I go blue? Or I could do two. . . nah, would probably freak him out."
————————————————
>Location: MaxDonalds, Alascia Street, Sanctuary City>Time: 10:23pm
>Constance stands outside the MaxDonalds on Alascia Street, waiting for Derek to arrive, wearing a thick jacket to help stave off the November cold. No.5152
>>5151>A few more minutes pass, only for Derek to turn the corner. He heads down the street wearing a comfortable hoodie and an exhausted expression."Oh, hey. You didn't need to wait outside."
>Derek steps closer to Constance. He ruffles through his pocket, and produces an old dollar bill. He holds it out to her."Here you go. Sorry for the dirt, I couldn't find a newer bill."
No.5153
>>5152"Isph. . ."
>Constance adjusts her coat slightly to talk easier."It's fine, also I meant it when I said you could keep it man."
>The woman still takes the bill despite saying it."Let's get in though, it's cold as balls."
No.5154
>>5153"Yeah. Let's go."
>Derek holds open the door for Constance, then follows her inside. Immediately feeling the heat of the building he looks more relaxed."Phew. It's almost too warm in here. Hey, they got the Maxrib back. Do you like the Maxrib?"
No.5155
>>5154"Not really, I mostly eat veggie stuff, won't be offended if you eat meat or anything though - just, like, my personal thing."
>Constance adjusts her coat again as the heat of the building hits her too."You like it?"
No.5156
>>5155"Oh. Yeah I do."
>He blinks."I don't remember you being a vegetarian. Were you always one?"
>The pair are waiting in line behind a handful of people. The line is moving slow as in the background chatter of the room the person at the counter can be heard asking "Can I get uuuuhhhhhhhhhh?" No.5157
>>5156"Oh nah, just had to save money after graduating and going veggie was cheaper."
>Constance looks slightly annoyed at the person taking their time with their order."Gotta make sacrifices when there's five little ones in the house. . . gotta make a lot of sacrifices."
No.5158
>>5157>Derek looks taken aback."Woah! You got five kids!?"
>The guy at the front has finally finished ordering, however he remains in place blocking the rest of the line as he waits for his order."I didn't know you were a mom."
No.5159
>>5158>Constance snorts at Derek's shock."Nah nah nah, they're not mine."
>Constance shakes her head."They're my little brothers and sisters, I'm kinda like a second mom to them though."
No.5160
>>5159"Ohh. Sorry, I misunderstood. Still that sucks though."
>The line has finally begun moving again."I don't have any siblings. I have some cousins but I've only seen them a few times."
No.5161
>>5160"It's no worries, more funny than anything man."
>Constance shuffles forward as the line moves."I think it was meant to only be one sibling, but mom's body had other ideas."
>Constance shrugs."So she had three girls and two boys - would've made the news but some lady over in Portside had seven a couple of days before she gave birth. They were kinda cute though, most of them take after mom, y'know."
>Constance mocks having a pair of animal ears on top of her head. No.5162
>>5161"Oh man I forgot! I think I remember seeing your mom once. She has mouse ears!"
>Derek moves forward as the pair get ever closer to the counter."You don't? So are you not a Meta-Human then?"
No.5163
>>5162"I mean, can you see any up here?"
>Constance waves her hand over the top of her head."It'd be hard to hide something like that."
>The matter of the ears seemingly resolved, Constance moves to the next question."I am a Meta though, watch."
>Constance indicates for Derek to look into her eyes, which change from amber, to blue, to red, before the sclera changes colours as well, eventually all returning to the regular amber ones from before."Can do this too."
>Constance opens her mouth and her teeth change shapes a few times."Can do more than that but don't wanna freak out the line."
No.5164
>>5163"Woah. That's cool. Way better than eating stuff."
>The pair are finally nearly at the counter. "I don't know if you remember but I can touch things and uh… absorb them I guess is a more accurate word. Maybe you remember when one of the school dampeners broke and I accidentally took a chunk out of my desk."
No.5165
>>5164"Oh yeah, you're a mutt too. . ."
>Constance thinks for a moment."I can show you a cool trick when we get our food, it'll be a little weird though - I'm gonna need some of your hair."
No.5166
>>5165>Derek's face scrunches slightly, unsure of what the "trick" will be."Okay, sure."
>Finally at the counter, Derek makes his order."Yeah can I get a Maxrib?"
"Will that be a combo or just the sandwich?"
>The tired food worker stares at Derek with almost dead eyes."Combo."
"What size?"
"Medium."
"Would you like any sauces for your side?"
"Uh… do you have honey mustard?"
"We're out."
"Oh. Well ketchup is fine then."
"Okay."
"What would you like to drink?"
"A Bepsi I guess."
>With his order finished, Derek waits for Connie to make her own, and then for the food to arrive. No.5167
>>5166>Constance steps up after Derek."Just a veggie wrap with no cucumber and a 3 Diag please."
>With her much simpler order handled, Constance joins Derek to the side."So, how does your power work? I remember you eating the table but what happens to it? Is it just, like, food or something?"
No.5168
>>5167"It stays in my body forever until I get rid of it."
>He looks at her, noticing her expression subtly change."Not like using the bathroom. I mean I can just make it exit my body from anywhere. Like uh, as an example.."
>Derek thinks for a moment."If I absorbed a pencil, I could make myself part pencil. Or I could just keep it until I decided to get rid of it."
>He shrugs"I'm not actually… sure what happens to the stuff, or if it's even actually in my body. Like I don't feel like I have a pencil stuck in my stomach or my skin or something."
No.5169
>>5168"Gotcha. Gotcha. Don't need to know the science stuff, was just interested if you were just, like eats things guy."
>Constance looks around from side to side."Looks quiet enough, I could show you now, before we get to the table, also technically doesn't have to use some of your hair, could be, like, spit or something too - it's just hair is, like, the least gross."
No.5170
>>5169"Uh… the hair is fine."
>Derek looks around too and then yanks a strand of hair off his head."Ow."
>He hands it to Constance. No.5171
>>5170"Thanks. . ."
>Constance takes the strand of hair and puts it in her mouth, swallowing it."Always feels weird the first time. . ."
>The woman shivers, then starts patting her pockets, looking for something."Ah, this'll work."
>Constance takes out an old lip balm, then awkwardly takes off a glove so that the plastic container is touching her palm directly."And. . ."
>Constance focuses hard on the lip balm, until it starts sinking into her palm."Woah. . . That is a
weird feeling. How did you do a whole-ass quarter of a desk?"
>Coughing as if her throat is dry from eating, she focuses on her palm again, trying to make it reappear."Ok, that's not as easy then."
No.5172
>>5171>Derek looks intensely focused on her palm, almost like a kid who just walked into a candy store for the first time."No way. That's insane. You can copy people's abilities?"
"You could be like one of those vigilante guys with a million powers if you wanted."
No.5173
>>5172"Well, like, only if I get some of their, you know. . . the D stuff, the doctors said once I should be able to just do it on command but I'm not smart enough for that, so I gotta get some of the person in me so my body can do it naturally."
>As she talks, the pair's orders are called, and she starts walking over to the collection point."It's, like, the same as my eyes and stuff, except in my body, the doctors also said that I can completely change how I look but that would be scary - what if I ended up getting stuck as someone else?"
>Constance shivers."Also I don't wanna be one of those guys, they're weirdos."
No.5174
>>5173>Derek collects his own food and walks with Connie to a table."Yeah I wouldn't want to be stuck looking like someone else either. Also I think the doctor was talking about DNA."
>Once they're at a table Derek sits. "So, why'd you want me to come eat with you? Just that bored?"
No.5175
>>5174"Oh yeah, DNA was what it's called, probs won't remember that."
>Connie is working on opening her food as Derek asks her the question, pausing for a moment and thinking to herself:"
{He can't be that dense, right?}"
>Slowly moving back to opening her food, Connie takes the top half of the packaging off."
{Better take it slow, don't wanna scare him off.}"
"We were having a good convo earlier, right? Thought it'd be nice to continue it without having to rush off to deal with some shithead teenagers."
No.5176
>>5175"Yeah, that makes sense."
>Before Derek starts to eat his food, he notices a salt shaker on the side of the table."Oh, since you showed me a trick I guess I should show you one too."
>He grabs the salt shaker, only for it to quickly be pulled into his hand and vanish. He then holds out his other hand and the salt shaker exits back onto the table quickly."Tada. It gets easier the more you use it. Also if you wanted some salt don't worry. For some reason it comes out the same as it was before it went in."
No.5177
>>5176"Probably won't get that much practice - my body only remembers it for about a day."
>Connie takes a sip of her drink."And I'm not smart enough to write it down or anything, I
barely passed bio in high school."
>Taking a bite out of her wrap, Connie remembers something."Oh yeah, do you know that some animals are metas too? Sometimes my body can pick up on what they had as well, can be super weird - another reason to not eat meat I guess."
>Conne shrugs, taking another bite. No.5178
>>5177"Really? I've never heard that before."
>Derek begins to eat his Maxrib."So you've seen them? What were they?"
No.5179
>>5178"Never actually seen one, ate one before though, ma and pa had to call in sick for me because I couldn't stop shooting laser beams outta my eyes."
>Connie takes another sip."Weirdest burger ever. Got to have ice cream instead of going to school though, that was cool."
>Connie thinks for a moment."Unless that was people meat? Internet still says animals can have them though, so probably just some weird laser cow."
No.5180
>>5179>Derek stops eating to stare."That uh… would be something."
>He puts his sandwich down on the table, then takes a sip of his drink."Well until you mentioned them just now I've never heard that animals could do those things too."
>Derek thinks for a moment. "Do you think people hate them as much as they do Meta-Humans?"
No.5181
>>5180"I dunno. . . maybe? I don't really look up what people think about meta animals. . ."
>Connie takes another bite, then thinks."Can we talk about something else? This is weird."
No.5183
>>5182"I dunno. . . ummm. . ."
>Connie looks around."How're your folks, I guess?"
No.5184
>>5183"Same as always."
>Derek looks tired at the mention of them."Running the store but always complaining. It's either always about me or always about whatever the big political topic of the week is."
>He finishes eating his sandwich. "It's really tiring to be around, and is part of why I don't just work at the family store. One of these days I want to get my own place so I don't have to be constantly nagged at every time I come home."
No.5185
>>5184"Lemme guess, they voted Underwood? You're one of the good ones so it's fine?"
>Connie shrugs."Sounds real annoying, don't blame you for not working that, especially if you still want to help people as a supercop."
>Connie takes a bit, then thinks for a moment."MRD officer, sorry."
No.5186
>>5185"It's fine. I've given up on the MRD thing."
>Derek still has several fries and most of his drink left untouched on the table."Instead I guess I'll just stick with the whole gas station job."
>He leans forward, resting his head against his hand."Or whatever else if that somehow doesn't work out."
No.5187
>>5186"I think you could do it though, you're actually, like. . . smart."
>Connie finishes off her veggie wrap."Not like me, you could totally do it."
No.5188
>>5187"Nah I flunked at the academic stuff."
>He looks at Connie."And I'm sure you're plenty smarter than me. You look like you are."
No.5189
>>5188"Derek, my highest grade outside of art class was a D+, and I was only good at art because I liked it and it helps with designing clothes. . . you could actually get into a school."
>Connie shrugs and takes a sip of her drink."You're definitely way smarter, sometimes you gotta do things a second time, who cares if you flunked?"
No.5190
>>5189"I dunno…"
>Derek swirls a fry around in some ketchup. "I struggled a lot the first time. And I don't want to go through it just to mess up again."
No.5191
>>5190"You just gotta pace yourself and stuff, there's probably guides online to help you with the course."
>Connie takes another little sip."Plus they probably have special expectation. . . exaction. . . whatever it is stuff if you do good deeds and all that. Can probably find that online too, you can find basically anything online."
No.5192
>>5191"Well, I guess I could at least think about it…"
>Derek finally eats the fry, and looks at Connie. "What about you? You like designing clothes? Have you gotten to do that any?"
No.5193
>>5192"You don't, like,
have to do it, but you can probably do it, you're smart enough."
>Connie finishes her drink and puts it down."I can't do that though, don't matter if I'm smart enough or not, you need to know the right people and not be related to the wrong people, and I don't know anyone right and I got the wrong name if you know your local history."
>Connie shrugs."Can't do anything about that."
No.5194
>>5193"What? No way. That's stupid. You can definitely do it! You just have to go independent, or something."
>Derek looks genuinely annoyed."You should just put your work out there. Once people see how good it is, they'll be changing their minds. Like you said, you can find basically anything online."
No.5195
>>5194"I mean, like, that works for online, but fashion businesses still don't want to hire people like me."
>Despite the drink being empty, Connie puts her hands around."I mean, Nannu was the main mob boss in town before those Tide guys came in and took over all that, kinda hard to escape from that."
No.5196
>>5195"Forget them then. You can start your own."
>Derek is no longer eating what remains of his food."It's not your fault you happen to be related to a mobster. If they don't understand that, they're not worth it. So forget about them, start your own business."
No.5197
>>5196"Derek, work forgot to pay me this week, they've done that a few times this year - and they pay me shit when they do. I can't, like, start a business."
>Connie is less heated about the matter, clearly having resigned herself long before."Plus, y'know, 5 teenagers in the apartment, no energy at home because I gotta look after them."
"It's cute how heated you're getting though."
No.5198
>>5197>Derek stops for a minute to think about it. "You know what? Fine."
>Derek stands up."I'll help you. It's not like I got anything else going on anyway."
No.5199
>>5198"Derek. . . it's cute. But it's fine, really. I'm not dying from not doing it and I've got hobbies for if I feel too stressed."
>Connie indicates awkwardly for Derek to sit back down."If you wanna help me, I wouldn't mind doing something like this again though."
No.5200
>>5199>Derek stares at Connie for a moment before sitting back down with a somewhat grumpy look on his face."Of course I'll keep talking with you. But I was serious about helping you."
>He eyes at his unfinished meal, no longer hungry. "Seriously, if you change your mind I'll help."
No.5201
>>5200"Yeah I could tell."
>Connie laughs."But it's alright, you should focus on studying for exams and stuff if you decide you wanna get into the MRD again, I'll try to help you with that instead, ok?"
"Because, like, seriously, that gas station's sad, and I had to tell old rich ladies they look cute while the same fancy sounding christmas song played on repeat for 8 hours today."
No.5202
>>5201>Derek scratches his head while he thinks."…I guess. Maybe having you around would help."
>He looks at Connie. "But you should still at least think about what I said too. I don't want you just helping me and getting nothing in return."
No.5203
>>5202"You could pay me if it hurts that much."
>Connie chuckles."It's fine though, don't worry about it man."
No.5204
>>5203"If you say so."
>Not wanting to push the issue anymore, Derek instead takes the remains of his meal and puts it together ready to toss it in the garbage."Well, I'm done eating. Guess we should be leaving soon."