"...don't hold it against me but i do prefer the lack of...people involved when i shop through my phone...?" he scrunches up his nose as he speaks up, as if apologizing for having his own opinions, softly tilting his head a bit as he looks back at the blonde. "m only here today because i needed a tripod change fast and am currently too poor for amazon prime, so...ya know...what can ya do?"
Clancy smiles at the sound of a familiar voice, one she usually hears during her shifts at the Pantheon. “Totally!” She agrees. “Online shopping has saved my ass plenty of times, I’m just feeling nostalgic, I guess.” Clancy and Sage had both grown up in Riverport, but she didn’t know him very well when they were in high school. As much as she dreads running into people she knows from her childhood and teenage years here, Sage is one of the few exceptions. He’s become one of her favorite regulars at the diner, one because he doesn’t really ask her about her embarrassing attempt and failure at being an actress, if he even knows, but mostly it’s because she loves how passionate he is about animals and wildlife. She loves it when someone is so passionate about something they can't help but share it with others; those are her kind of people. “It’s great to see you outside of the Pantheon! Have you photographed anything cool since the last time I saw you?”
"He gets away with a lot more than that, believe me," was Ben's response, letting her take the Havaiana, a soft laugh escaping him. That was definitely true, despite him being a good dog in general, Simba was extremely mischievous and had been since he was a pup. It didn't matter that he was getting on a little now, chaos was undoubtedly his middle name. "No one ever could. He only ever steals the best," he added with a grin. As she continued, however, questioning whether they'd met or not, he found his eyes narrowing as he considered what she'd said. "Possibly..." he answered thoughtfully. "Been to any auditions the last couple of years?" Despite giving up on his movie and TV acting career, he did attempt to break back in there every now and again, with very little success —- he met a lot of people that way, even if it was just a quick hello.
“Well, if he ever needs a shopping buddy, I’m a lifelong advocate of retail therapy.” She laughs and scratches the French bulldog behind its ear. Her chest tightens, and her smile falters at his mention of auditions. “Um, a few. Out in L.A., though. I’ve lived here pretty much my entire life.” She wants to change the topic away from the industry that broke her heart, but her curiosity wins out. “So, you’re an actor?” She could really use her sneaky bottle of wine right about now.
"Ha, absolutely!" Ellie said with a relieved smile. Her mom was watching Eowyn for the evening, so she could just relax and stop worrying. Obviously, it was hard for her to do. "Really? Yeah, I love the boba pearls, but I'm not really fond of the jelly or stuff that they put on top. I like taro best, but sometimes I get the matcha flavor. What about you?" She asked. There was something familiar about this girl, but she couldn't place it just yet.
Something about the woman was familiar to Clancy, but she wasn’t sure why. “Ah, that’s where we differ! I love the jelly, anything sweet really!” The line moves forward, and she moves with it. “I’m a strawberry boba kind of girl! Not to seem all stalker-ish, but I swear I’ve seen you around before! Did you grow up here?”
Clancy never worked a graveyard shift at the Pantheon Diner when she waited tables there in high school, but now she prefers them. The midnight to 7:00 A.M. crowd usually consists of drunk college students and underage teenagers, road trippers stopping for a late-night or early-morning snack on their way into the city, or long-haul truck drivers just passing through. There's less of a chance she'll run into someone she went to high school with, less of a chance she'll be asked how L.A. was, or why she's not a famous actress like she always boasted she would be, or what she's doing with her life now. Less of a chance she'll have to smile and pretend that returning to her hometown is what she wanted, and that she's not actually drowning in embarrassment and shame and a bottle of cheap wine. She's leaning against the counter, doom-scrolling on Instagram. The clock on her phone reads 1:07 A.M. Clancy stops when she sees a post from one of her so-called friends announcing (bragging) that she's been cast in a new Netflix show. Her face scrunches in the way it does whenever she sees a guy wearing open-toed shoes. She hasn't heard from any of her L.A. friends since she left. Somebody approaches the counter, but Clancy's face stays glued to the screen. "Be with you in just a sec," she says, without looking up.
When Simba came running back toward him across the beach, something clutched in his mouth, a frown quickly formed on Ben's features. Leaning forward, he caught hold of the frenchie's collar a moment, doing his best to hold him still as he murmured, "What have you got there?" It became clear very soon exactly what he had and he snatched the lone flip-flop from the dog's mouth, glancing back up and across the beach. Someone was already approaching ( at least, he assumed they were approaching the pair ). "Yours, I presume?" he questioned, holding the sandle aloft. "Sorry, he's a pain in everyone's ass... There doesn't seem to be any teethmarks anywhere."
Clancy had come to the beach for what she hoped would be a relaxing afternoon of her version of self-care (salt air, a playlist that matched her mood, a spicy romance novel, and a water bottle of Vino). That morning, her parents sat her down and told her she needed to start thinking about what she was going to do with her life now that the "acting thing" (their words) hadn't worked out. She loved them, and she knew they just wanted the best for her, but they are very practical people, and practicality is just not a part of her journey right now. Clancy found a spot near the water and set down her bag and towel. She had just kicked off her flip-flops when a bundle of fur ran up and snatched one of them. "Hey! Those are vintage Havaianas!" She took off after the dog, laughing as she chased it up the beach. The dog stopped in front of a man older than her and noticeably handsome. "Thanks," she said, slightly out of breath. Clancy knelt down and ruffled the dog's fur, smiling. "It's okay, he's cute enough to get away with it, and I can't blame him for having good taste in footwear." Clancy has always been a big animal lover, but her dad is allergic, or so he says, so she never had any pets growing up, and she could barely afford to take care of herself while living in L.A. "You look kind of familiar," she says to the flip-flop thief's owner. "Have we met before?"
Clancy wasn't a religious person, but if she were, the Continental Mall would be her church, and the product guide at the Mac counter would be her Bible. The Continental was her favorite hangout spot as a teen; she practically lived here back then, and she had been craving the nostalgia of a simpler time in her life. Damn. Maybe she really had peaked in high school. Whatever, there was nothing quite like retail therapy to fill the cracks of the heart, and it was healthier than some of the other coping mechanisms she had picked up, well, maybe not on her bank account. Clancy tried a sample of their newest shade of lipstick, looking in the mirror attached to the kiosk. "We really need to bring back mall culture, it's a dying art. Amazon truly ruined everything," she doesn't mean to say it out loud, but her mouth has always had a mind of its own.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't step on your toes, did I?" Eleanor asked, after stepping back when the couple in front of them swung a large stroller around. There wasn't a huge line in the boba shop, but since it was on the smaller side, it was easier to get pretty close to people. "I need this after the day I've had. The milk tea and tapioca are calling out to me."
"No, you're good," Clancy flashed a friendly, lip-glossed smile to the woman in front of her. "It was a close call, though. Thank god for small feet, right?" While there were plenty of good boba places in L.A., none of them held a candle to Bluebird's. Life may be kicking her ass at the moment, but at least she had good boba. "No way! That's my order too! I understand, girl, the tapioca speaks to me too."
Oh look who stopped by! It’s [CLANCY PARKER]! You know, I always thought they looked just like [MADELYN CLINE]. Haven’t you ever met [HER]? They’ve been in town for [HER WHOLE LIFE], get with the program! I wonder if they have a day off from their job as a [WAITRESS] at [PANTHEON DINER]? Either way, you should say hi! But be warned, while they are [MAGNETIC], they can also be [Oversensitive]. They’re [27] last time I checked. I think you two would be friends, they always make me think of [BUBBLEGUM PINK LIPGLOSS, MASCARA TEAR STAINS, & EMPTY BOTTLES OF CHEAP WINE ]. Anyway, gotta run! I’ll talk to you later, give my best to the kids!
Full Name: Clancy Amelia Parker
Age: 27
Pronouns: She / Her
DOB: July 13th, 1998
Star Sign: Cancer
Occupation: Waitress / Aspiring Failing Actress
Relationship Status: Single
Sexuality: Pansexual
Background:
TW: Alcoholism
Clancy Parker was born to be a star, or at least, that’s what she thought. Pretty, popular, and the darling of Riverport High School’s drama department, everyone believed she was destined for greatness. The daughter of two school teachers, Clancy knew she was meant for more than the small, quiet life her parents had built for her. She wanted glamour, excitement, fame, and a life on the big screen. So, after graduation, she took the savings she earned waiting tables at the Pantheon Diner and her lucky tube of Cotton Candy Liplicious Gloss, and set her sights on Hollywood, leaving Riverport in her rearview mirror.
Clancy has spent the last nine years in L.A., trying and failing to make it as an actress. She gave that town her blood, sweat, and tears, and in return, it chewed her up and spit her out. After years of settling for cheesy commercials and one-dimensional guest star roles on network sitcoms (the kind that usually got canceled after one season), Clancy landed an audition for the highly anticipated movie adaptation of a popular book series. She could hardly believe it when her agent called to tell her she got a callback. Suddenly, her dream—crumpled up and stomped on by the dirty shoes of industry executives—began to bloom and shine again. Clancy was so close she could taste it. This role was going to be the Bella Swan to her Kristen Stewart, the Katniss Everdeen to her Jennifer Lawrence, the Carrie-fucking-White to her Sissy Spacek. She made it farther in the audition process than she ever had before, and then, on an unusually rainy Tuesday afternoon, Clancy’s agent called. She didn’t get the part. And just like that, her dream was dead.
Finally crumbling under the pressure of an industry she once thought was hers for the taking, Clancy packed her bags and returned to Riverport with nothing but a bruised ego, a secret alcohol dependency, and a few hundred dollars to her name. For the past three months, she has been living back home with her parents, working the same job she had throughout high school, and wrestling with the realization that she has peaked in high school. With no idea who she is or where her life is going, returning to Riverport might just help her figure out who she’s really supposed to be.
Other Facts:
Both of Clancy's parents are longtime teachers at Riverport High School. Her dad teaches history, and her mom teaches math. She's close with her parents, though she's always felt like they don't really understand her or her dreams.
Her favorite color is pink, and, in the wise words of Summer Roberts, she loves "tanning, shopping, and celebrity gossip. Always have, always will."
Her favorite movie is Uptown Girls. Watching Brittany Murphy as Molly Gunn is what inspired her to become an actress in the first place.
She falls in love easily and believes every heartbreak is worth it, though she's only ever been really, truly, deeply in love once, with her high school boyfriend.
She loves all kinds of music. If it can make her dance, laugh, cry, elated, or depressed, then it's going on her playlist.
