Allison Shaddix
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...pressure...pushing down on me...
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jun 25, 2007 22:13:33 GMT -5
Allison tugged at the hem of her plain black t-shirt so that it would reach the top of her black Dickie's pants. She didn't like dressing so blandly, but the monochromatic outfit was required of all the employees at Envy. Her manager had even told her that, while she was working at the store, she would have to keep her hair one color. Allison worked around that by experimenting with different ways of tying it back to hide any streaks she might have put in. The only personal flair allowed was decorations on one's name tag. Most of the other workers were satisfied with putting one or two stickers next to their typewritten names. Allison's, on the other hand, was plastered with silver foil star stickers and glazed with transluscent opal nail polish. She had printed her name neatly with a black Sharpie marker on the lower right corner in all capital letters: ALLISON
Today, Allison hummed to herself as she hefted satin dresses from boxes in the back to the racks in the 'datewear' department. She hung them up individually and brushed out any wrinkles that appeared. Allison was adjusting a very short blue dress when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She gave her shirt another tug and turned, expecting to see her manager about to give her another talking-to about her short top, but instead saw a RPA student looking back at her with an unusual expression. RPA people came in and out of the store, but they usually paid Allison no mind. It wasn't that they were purposley ignoring her; there just weren't that many people who recognized Allison. Today, however, was different...
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Gamma Hall
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Post by Gamma Hall on Jun 26, 2007 15:12:25 GMT -5
One after another Gamma threw the clothes on the dressing room floor. The pants were too short, the shirts hung awkwardly around her thin frame. Every shoe she tried on was too snug. She was feeling too large and too small at the same time. She had picked out one dress, and it was the last item she tried on.
She was in horrible mood and as she saw the odd ways the dress bunched up in the back she got angry. With one simple motion she kicked the locked wooden door of the stall as hard as she could. If she had been thinking she would've avoided this as the thin wooden panes of the door split under the force.
Gamma took deep breathes to calm herself down. She had to find an attendent, she was regretting this. She picked up the things in the stall and walked out of the dressing room. The store was pretty empty, and she took in a breath of relief being the only one in the dressing rooms.
Finally she found an employee. It was a girl from her school and she was carefully folding clothes. Gamma was very embarrased but still tapped the girls shoulder. When Allison turned around Gamma quietly said, "I broke a door." then quickly. "But I can pay for it, I promise." She needed a cigarette to relax her.
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Allison Shaddix
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Scholar && Loner
...pressure...pushing down on me...
Posts: 153
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jun 26, 2007 18:21:57 GMT -5
"I broke a door. But I can pay for it, I promise." Allison was unprepared for this and wasn't quite sure how to react to it. She froze with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. A quiet sighing sort of noise came out of her: "Ooh." Allison stood statue-still, holding the blue dress in both of her hands. She registered that this girl was a senior at RPA, that she was speaking to her at her job, and that there was probably some typical social response that the girl was expecting. Allison pulled at one of her snakebite studs with her teeth, thinking hard. "Uhmm" After a silence was just a touch too long to pass for a natural conversational pause, Allison snapped back into herself. Her hand spastically opened, and she dropped the dress and it's hanger. As she knelt to pick it up, she looked up at the girl's bangs -she was too embarrassed to look her in the eye, not that she usually looked people in the eye, anyway- and spoke, stuttering at first "That- That's okay. It's okay, you don't have to pay for it."
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Gamma Hall
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Post by Gamma Hall on Jun 26, 2007 20:20:25 GMT -5
Gamma saw that they were both panicked. She was afraid she might've just cost this girl her job or something. "I just feel really bad," she changed the tone in her voice, made it sound more calming. "I was really upset over the clothes not looking right." Gamma again felt embarrassment for her outburst.
The girl was still frozen in her shoes. It was unclear if this was fear, anger or some other bottled up emotion. Gamma tried to break the tension, "Gamma," she said with an semi outreached hand, "We both go to Roanoke Prep." and she smiled cautiously.
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Allison Shaddix
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Scholar && Loner
...pressure...pushing down on me...
Posts: 153
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jun 26, 2007 20:47:12 GMT -5
Allison picked the shiny dress up from the floor. She fumbled with it, putting it on the hanger again and placing it on the rack with the others. She patted it into place, flipping out a ruffle on neckline and tucking in the tags that displayed the exorbitant price of the tiny garment. She did this subconsciously as she listened to the older girl speak:
"I just feel really bad; I was really upset over the clothes not looking right." Boy, could Allison ever relate. Hadn't she just been chastised earlier that hour about having a shirt that didn't fit her properly? Her mouth turned up at one corner, creating an empathetic dimple. It was times like these when it was most apparant that Allison was lacking in normal highschool social skills: Where one of her peers might have thrown out a sarcastic comment about how much it sucked to have a gawky adolescent shape, discussing the fact that she had shirt troubles didn't even cross Allison's mind. Nevermind that it was probably unwise to badmouth the clothes at the store at which she was currently employed...
"Gamma. We both go to Roanoke Prep." Allison smiled shyly and put her hand into Gamma's. "I'm Allison" She blushed slightly as she remembered that she was wearing a nametag, and that introducing herself was somewhat unneccesary. She took her hand back. "So...Is there anything I can help you get here?"
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Gamma Hall
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Post by Gamma Hall on Jun 26, 2007 21:02:06 GMT -5
Gamma thought about whether or not she actually still wanted clothes. She didn't want to try another anything that would lower her self confidence any more. Every ill fitting blouse made her feel like she was being cast aside by an inanimate object. "I really don't know. None of these clothes were made for real people. It's dicky." Gamma spotted the name tag illuminated on Allison's shirt,"Ohhh..I don't notice anything." She chuckled softly to hide any stupidity. "Yeh, I really just need a cigarette more than anything."
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Allison Shaddix
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Scholar && Loner
...pressure...pushing down on me...
Posts: 153
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jun 28, 2007 1:11:25 GMT -5
"I really don't know. None of these clothes were made for real people. It's dicky." Allison let out a half-laugh and muttered "Tell me about it". She rolled her eyes and tugged on her t-shirt absentmindedly. It was a very teenager-y gesture, quite unlike Allison. It was amazing what effect the simple act of having a conversation -an awkward, stuttering conversation, but a conversation nonetheless- with a peer had on her. Maybe Allison really stood a chance to make some friends this year. This thought dawned on her and actually brightened her day.
"Yeh, I really just need a cigarette more than anything." Allison didn't smoke, but she didn't want to end this interaction. She shrugged her shoulders, bit at her snakebites again, and made an offer. "Well, I was about to take a break, so, if you want, I could take you through the back to outside. Lots of people smoke back there. So you don't have to go all the way out the front of the mall or anything."
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Gamma Hall
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Post by Gamma Hall on Jun 28, 2007 7:55:08 GMT -5
(i just noted the 'under pressure' title thing. hahaha, i love that song. I had a huge crush on david bowie as a kid because of the labrynth)
Gamma raised her eyebrows and nodded her head. She always felt indiscreet smoking in the front, kids would pass by with their mothers, both shaking their heads. "Yeh, that would be sweet."
She decided to loiter around the area while waiting for Allison. She didn't want to be too much of a pest. She fumbled around with some of the dressy clothing. She didn't like the fashions that ruled this section. Ruffles, bows, tulle and ribbons. No girl should wear anything that made them look more like a doily than a person.
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Allison Shaddix
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...pressure...pushing down on me...
Posts: 153
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jun 29, 2007 16:35:28 GMT -5
(haha, nice! you ever hear the cover by the used and my chem?)
"Yeh, that would be sweet." Allison smiled and set out finishing the dresses. There weren't too many of them, and it was pretty easy work putting them on hangers and sorting them by color. She kept an eye on Gamma as she looked through the department. Gamma didn't seem to see anything that she liked, and Allison completely understood. The skirts, dresses, and tops found in the datewear department of Envy were disgustingly frilly and girly, but at the same time they were in-your-face sexy to the point of skankiness. In other words, they were perfect date apparel for 90% of the girls at RPA- including Allison's own sister, McKenna. Allison would use her employee discount to buy a dress in a color she liked -usually pink or green- every now and again, but she wouldn't wear it out without taking some scissors to it and wrapping one or two studded belts around it. And, of course, she would find opaque eyeshadow and a Hello Kitty pendant to match. She smoothed the last dress, a short red strapless number with a mess of rhinestones flung across the chest, in place with the others. She picked up the box that she had been unloading and turned to Gamma. "Just follow me, ok?"
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Gamma Hall
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Post by Gamma Hall on Jun 30, 2007 18:07:15 GMT -5
(No. Is it any good? I really don't listen to them. Most of my music is really laidback )
"Yeh, sure" Gamma nodded passively. She wasn't about to get herself lost in a department store. It would become a twisted version of Home Alone. Well, not quite like that she thought. But close enough to make the reference. They walked through the different aisles of clothing. Within a half minute they had made it through the perfect summer apparell, holiday sweaters and spring coats.
They had to go through the stock room. It's coldness didn't differ greatly from the sterile clean of the department store. Boxes upon boxes were stacked with clothes that Gamma had never seen, never thought about. Finally, they made it to a metal door that Allison pushed upon. Gamma saw her putting most of her weight on the door, like it was stuck.
Gamma reached into her own bag, filtering out the pointless from her cigarettes. She pulled them out, along with a lighter, "Care for one?"
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Allison Shaddix
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Scholar && Loner
...pressure...pushing down on me...
Posts: 153
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jun 30, 2007 19:02:02 GMT -5
(well...it's laidback for The Used and My Chem, which isnt saying a whole lot lol...have you ever heard of the band Some By Sea? Theyre pretty chill)
Allison led Gamma through the store. She wondered if she was really allowed to let people out through the back, but pushed the thought to the back of her mind. It wasn't everyday that Allison was about to help out a RPA Senior like Gamma. When Allison opened the door to the back room, she took a quick look around to make sure none of her superiors were in the room before letting Gamma through. Next came the door to the outside. It was a huge metal door, and it always made Allison feel frail when she tried to open it. She finally got it open and the two girls stepped out into the sunlight. Allison made sure to kick the doorstop in place before the door swung shut. She watched as Gamma dug through her purse for the cigarettes.
"Care for one?" Allison blinked carefully, considered her position and then held out her hand. "Sure, I'll have one."
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Gamma Hall
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Post by Gamma Hall on Jul 1, 2007 10:03:48 GMT -5
(No I haven't. I'll look them up. )
It was beautiful outside, the weather. Other than that concrete surrounded them. She could see the promise of plants far out in the distance. Nearby were dumpsters, and she could faintly smell the trash being cooked in the sun.
Gamma handed her the slender cigarette. She put her own in her mouth and lit it, inhaling the first drag. She remembered her first cigarette. It was with her landlords son, a few years older. She had smoked it not to impress him but more out of boredom.
She went to light the cigarette in Allison's mouth. "Do you smoke?" She didn't want to corrupt anyone.
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Allison Shaddix
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Scholar && Loner
...pressure...pushing down on me...
Posts: 153
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jul 1, 2007 10:39:16 GMT -5
Allison watched carefully as Gamma lit her cigarette. She wanted to make sure that she did it properly. Allison was somewhat straightedge by default- it wasn't that she was morally opposed to drinking, smoking, and carrying on, it was just that she had never been presented with an opportunity to do so. She rolled the cigarette between her thumb and fingers as Gamma took a drag of her own. When Gamma held out the lighter, Allison put the cigarette in her mouth. As she was about to inhale to light it, Gamma asked, "Do you smoke?" Allison lit her cigarette and blew out her first mouthful of bitter-tasting smoke. She shrugged and nodded. "Yeah" It wasn't entirely a lie. She was smoking at the moment, wasn't she?
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Gamma Hall
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Post by Gamma Hall on Jul 1, 2007 13:05:14 GMT -5
(Uhh. I was just put on tv and joss stone was singing up the stage. She switched songs and all of the sudden she was covering Under Pressure. It was insane.)
Gamma didn't pay attention as Allison was smoking. She didn't often smoke with other people and she wasn't sure to make conversation. She watched workers unload large boxes from a truck that had just driven up.
A bit of ash fell on her hand and she brushed it away quickly. "It's a terrible habit," she said. "Why'd you start? Stress, pressure?" she asked nonchalantly.
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Allison Shaddix
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Scholar && Loner
...pressure...pushing down on me...
Posts: 153
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Post by Allison Shaddix on Jul 1, 2007 18:24:06 GMT -5
(lol, was her version good?)
As Allison puffed her way through her first cigarette, a truck pulled up. It was probably full of skanky dresses and cheap plastic jewelry that Allison would have to stock in the upcoming weeks. She wrinkled her nose at the boxes as they were stacked near the door.
"It's a terrible habit. Why'd you start? Stress, pressure?" Uh-oh, more small talk. Allison exhaled and came up with an excuse. Of course, since this was her first smoke, it was a lie. "My ex smoked, and I picked it up from him" This seemed plausible enough to Allison. Nevermind that she had never, in fact, had a boyfriend. Hopefully Gamma wouldn't pry. Unless that's how small talk worked, by asking questions of one another..
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