2013.07.20 - Hot dogs and a smiting?

It's mid-day, and the sun is high over the Brooklyn sky and bathing all in its warmth and radiance. There's the usual Brooklyn traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, and in the Fifth Avenue shopping district it tends to get particularly congested. That's why, if one is looking to get anywhere, walking the various paved pathways or riding the designated bike paths is the safest bet for most.

It's the weekend, so it's not at all uncommon to see children (often accompanied) and young adults wandering about. One young adult in particular, a girl of roughly fourteen with long, curly, brown hair covered by a rather cartoonish beanie, seems to be engaging a local food stall worker at this very moment in fact. Dressed in white khakis and a green and white striped button up shirt, she's engaging the middle-aged hot dog stand owner with all of the visible energy of a girl her age. The two of them are standing right outside the entrance to a shopping center, off to the side, and near completely ignoring passerbys...

... and it's kinda hard to ignore a noisy little girl wearing an annoying beaniee who's waving five dollars around in your face like she might soon smack you with it! "...'scuse me Mister! I want a hot dog, okay?? I want relish, and mustard, and, and..." and the list goes on... with the middle-aged glasses-wearing man frantically moving all over the place in an attempt to keep track of her condiments and toppings. By the end of it, he's managed to pile pretty much everything including chili on it... and it's visibly a mess...

"3.25, miss..", he says with somewhat exasperated tone that seems to say 'I hate my job'.

"Okay!", she replies before thrusting the five dollar bill so close to his face he could practically taste it. "Change??"

-Sigh-

Dressed in a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans, Zack doesn't exactly stand out in the crowd as he sort of meanders through the area. Alright so hot dogs aren't the most healthy of foods but how often do teenage boys honestly care about how healthy the food they are eating is? The teenage gets in line behind Molly, and adjusts his glasses up carefully making sure they're firmly in place.

"..Thanks!", the energetic girl replies before spinning on her heels and beginning to barrel away toward the shopping center. It's in her momentary disregard for the possibility that others might be behind her that she nearly runs right into the Zack! She manages to stop herself a hair short however, frantically grasping at that horrible mess of a hotdog to prevent it from flying.

"...WOAH!" Her emerald green eyes go wide with surprise, jaw dropping open momentarily, before she visibly collects herself and tightens it again. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't see you appear! ... Are you telporter??" She says this right in the middle of a public area, drawing some curious stares from nearby persons. Well?? Teleporters were for reals right? She saw once yesterday! "...A-anyway, uh... sorry!", she says politely... before finally stepping out of his way.

From the background, the hotdog stand owner asks the other kid, "...You want a hotdog, kid?"

"It's quite alright." Zack says smiling at Molly, his british accent quite clear. The teenager does look to the vendor,"Yes sir. I'd like one with brown mustard if you have it, ketchup and relish please." He says smiling at the vendor politely. It's only after he places his order that he says,"I didn't teleport. Just was being quiet." He pays the vendor politely, giving him a five dollar bill and does not ask for change.

"Sorry. I really didn't mean to startle you." Zack says flashing Molly a smile,"Is your food ok?" He asks curiously, his vibrant blue eyes keep track of every little movement around them honestly.

"It won't be when I'm done with it!", she replies enthusiastically and with good humor to his question about whether her food was 'ok'. "Sorry for almost bumping into you! I really need to pay more attention, I guess..." Her cheeks flush slightly in momentary embarassmant. "...Are you here to go shopping? ... Are you going to the arcade? ... Or are you going to the movies?" A barrage of questions suddenly from the impulsive girl. But then, probably before he even has a chance to answer, she adds, "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot the manners I was taught! My name is Molly, what's your name??" She seems perfectly okay with chatting up a random stranger she nearly bumped into so suddenly doesn't she...?

"Here's your hot dog, kid. Thanks for your business." A paper container with the hot dog in it is placed nearest the vendor stall's edge, and then the older man seems to disappear beneath the stall momentarily...

"My name is Zachary Evingston the third, but you can call me Zack, actually please call me Zack." Zack says with a smile as he takes his hotdog and manages to devour a piece quickly, before he adds,"I really don't get to this part of town too often and though I'd see what it was like there. Where I normally am, there are not a lot of people around my age. Least not that don't make me want to smite them."

Molly visibly blinks, staring somewhat blankly at Zachary for a good few seconds, as she processes some of the things he said. Then, suddenly, it all falls out out of her mouth... accompanied with a pointed index finger thrust directly at him! "...the third? Are you a clone?! How many of you are there?? ... You know, I saw my clone the other...!" Aaaaand people are staring at Molly again, and she's forced once again to contain her enthusiasm with a mild flush.

She quietly closes her mouth, dropping her finger, before picking up again in more polite tone this time, "...Smite? What's smiting people like?" She's never heard such a complicated sounding word before apparently...

"No. I am named after my father, who is named after his father." Zack says explaining how he got to be the third."It's really not that important." He says casually as he finishes his hotdog rather quickly. "As for smiting, it's not pleasant for the person I am smiting. Usually it involves striking them in some fashion." Least as long as they humans and don't make him call lightning on their heads. "Smiting's a bother."

"Oh, okay.", the girl replies... nodding slowly... and listening as he offers explanations. It's while he's talking that she finally gets enough mind about her to begin eating her own hot dog, plucking the horribly messy thing right up out of the paper container with a free hand and lifting it toward her mouth. In the process... chili, mustard, olives, onions, and a bunch of other mixed toppings begin to fall from it which sees her desperately flailing about to catch the dropping with her paper container and clenching her meal in her teeth.

Once she's managed all of that, she finishes taking her first bite from the chili dog and jams a couple of fingers in her mouth to suck the grease off. And it's there that she pauses, staring at him a good moment or so before pulling her fingers from her mouth and saying, "...striking people?? You're not abad guy are you?" Her tone communicates it might not be a very good idea to answer that question in the affirmative...

...But, then it dawns on her that if he were he'd not be bothering to talk to her now probably. ...And she resumes trying to eat her hot dog, "...No, I guess not. ... You wanna wander around in the mall a bit?"

"I am not a bad guy." Zack says shaking his head a bit,"I try and do good. I do what I can to help." He says smiling a little bit at her,"And I would be happy to wander the mall with you a bit." His blue eyes glance around,"I strike only when they're idiots or being evil little sods." He says as he stretches a little bit, tossing his wrapper into a nearby trashbin.

"Oh, that's okay. I punch those people too.", she replies, before taking another bite of her hot dog and turning to face the sliding glass doors of the shopping center. From there she ambles wordlessly along for a little bit eating, and sucking the grease from her fingers afterward, right through the sliding glass doors and into the noticebly cooler mall. And noticeably more noisy too. It would appear that from where they came in they are presently neatly sandwhiched between the food court and a nearby candy store. There's a small grouping of benches and pay phones nearby them, with a young male chattering idly away on one of them.

Molly's eyes wander the area, taking all of it in... pausing especially to stare at the backlit glass windows of an arcade nearest the food court... before continuing, "...Wow, I don't get to come to places like this very often by myself. ... Have you been here before?" It's only then that a thought occurs to her as well, visibly imprinting her soft features with confusion, "...Are you alone here? ... I mean, besides me?" T'would seem they were both off the leash this afternoon...

"Yes. I don't have very many friends here in the states." Zack says as he looks around,"This is the first time I've been here. I've been to similar places. Normally don't go to malls. Normally I spend my times in parks and the like. Well when I have a free moment. I have to do a lot of things from running one of my family's charities to my lessons in fencing and violin." He says casually as he walks along. "My mother thinks I can manage to do the right thing."

"That sounds like a lot!", she replies, after swallowing another bite of that mess of a hot dog. "It sounds like you stay pretty busy." She nods softly, staring at the half-eaten mess she's holding in momentary contemplation. There's a look of genuine confusion in her features, momentarily, however at some point afterward... and she eventually manages to form the confusion into a question, "...But, uh, fencing...? ... You... do you make fences?" This question is followed shortly by a quirking of her right eye brow and a mild look of concern. Was he a child laborer...?

"No. Fencing is a form of swordplay. Most swashbuckling movies use fencing as the style of fighting for the hero." Yeah. Zack figures he's part swashbuckler. "It is a lot. Right now since summer is out I have more time to get all things done." He says with a bit of a smile on his face. Blue eyes fill a bit with amusement,"But yes. I do not get a lot of free time."

"Yeah, those movies are really cool!", she replies with renewed enthusiasm before making pretendy pokes at the air infront of her with an invisible sword. "I love action scenes, especially those cool sword fighting scenes! The heroes are always so quick and tricky!" She smiles, brightly, at him... her emerald green eyes alight eyes with childish vigor. "So you get to practice that cool sword fighting stuff?! That's amazeballs!" Yes, that's totally not a word but she's using it!

By now, she's just about finished that messy hot dog and nearly cleaned up all of it. And the two of them have managed to wander well past the food court and into a cross-section. She stops talking, momentarily, before looking both ways. "Well, that sucks.. everybody's gotta have free time! I mean, that's what childhood is for right??" Clearly, she is quite sheltered. "Well, do you like your life that way...?"

"It's absolute smashing." Zack says grinning a bit,"Favorite thing to do. Great work out as well." He says with a big smile now,"I love watching movies about people fighting with swords, much better than guns!" He says firmly, because he does believe whole heartedly in that. "And I do wish sometimes I had a bit more but I get to do a lot of fun things. I still play football... I mean soccer for my school when it is in session. Unfortunately it does not seem you Americans share an enthusiasm for the sport."

"Guns aren't any fun. They don't require much skill, and they don't put you in any danger either! Guns are for weaklings!" She tosses her empty hot dog paper away, finally, into a nearby recepticle and curls a fist tightly before shaking it at the air. "I prefer to use my fists, but... well... not everybody can do that well." She then drops her hand, eyeing him again.

"Soccer...?" She seems to think for a moment. "Oh yeah! I've played that a few times! It's a lot of fun, but I think that sport is more popular with girls than guys, least 'round here." She smiles, sheepishly, before starting to rub the back of her neck briefly. Then she stops herself, looking at her hand, and frowning. She probably needed to clean that soon.

And whilst she's staring at her hand, she also takes the time to... well, look at the time on her watch. "...Well, it's getting kinda late already and I gotta find a bathroom! Hrm... well, it was nice meeting you Zachary! Uh... do you want my phone number? Maybe we can talk again sometime!"

"Please call me Zack." Zack says smiling,"Sure. If you want mine..." He pretends to reach into his pocket and pulls out a business card that has his name on it and a cell and home number written on it. "Here. I should probably go call for a ride." he says nodding his head,"I'd like to talk to you again. You're much more pleasant than many of the American girls I've met who only want to talk about their hair or what celebrity is doing what."

She beams at the suggestion she's much more pleasant than other girls. That was a real change for her, guys... usually thought she was too boorish and rough to be a girl. It'd certainly got her lots of the wrong kinds of attention more often than she liked. "Okay, thank you! I'd enjoy talking to you again too!" And she accepts the card graciously, stuffing it in the front pocket of her shirt, before quickly pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. She then fishes out a pink ink pen from somewhere in there, scribbling her house phone number down, and then passing the paper to him. "Here! I- ... Oh! Uh, if my foster parents ask... you're a friend from school or something okay! They're wary of boys, and I don't wanna get in trouble!"

She laughs that last bit off, semi-nervously, before offering a friendly departing and beginning to dart off into the distance, "Take care okay! See you later!"