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@irisxanthe
IRIS XANTHE
she/her; March 20, 1994. born in Amherst, Massachusetts, made the move to Merrock, Maine. lives in the 'burbs with Ryder and Jayla. librarian and odd jobs doer. single, no kids, Maurice's mom. (penned by lindsey.) -- BIO, STATS, TIMELINE, CONNECTIONS.
"Because," And he stopped to think about what it was he was actually going to say to her, five minutes before and Iris was accepting no form of help there in the swimming hole, a wall was very much evident around her, "You're scared as hell but don't want to inconvenience anyone? Especially not mom?"
"Yeah, that sounds right. And I don't want the other kids to think I'm a loser." She nodded slowly. "You know when it's okay for other people to be vulnerable but not you? That's about how it was for me pretty much forever."
... if I do, that's none of your business and you will never, ever convince me to admit what happened! Just saying. Also because you know I never open the freezer unless it's to get ice cream or ice cubes. Everything else has to be taken out and cooked, and I don't like doing that.
Course not. Nothing about you is my business, except when it comes to tormenting you within an inch of my life. Oh, right. I forgot you were allergic to preparing some tasty food, right? How would you ever handle living alone? Just nonstop UberEats?
You take that back right now! The bald part, not the old and lonely, we already know that's going to happen. But the bald part... I can afford a transplant. It'll never happen. You're a godsend, because I absolutely have eaten my way through my apple cider donuts, not going to lie. It's why we're so grateful for you!
Aw, Ryder. Maybe we're focusing on the wrong words. You'll be old and bald, but not lonely. Are you gonna suddenly go on a trip to Turkey and come back looking different? Nah, I knew you'd do this and that's why I hid some in the back of the freezer. You owe me.
"Well, you always have me!" Jayla playfully bumped hips with Iris. "Don't lie to me, I'm very close to taking these off," Jayla laughed, momentarily pulling up her dress to show off the uncomfortably skinny heels the she opted to wear.
"Of course, roomies for life." Iris bumped her back. "Except for Ryder, we can do without him." She tilted her head back in a laugh. "Oh, toss those aside. Actually, if they didn't look so nice, I'd tell you to throw them overboard."
↳ WHO: jj bennett & open ↳ WHERE: bookends ↳ WHEN: october, 2025
it was delivery day at the bookstore. the back office was filled with stacks of unopened boxes, a few discarded by the checkout so he could start stocking shelves between fleeting customers throughout the day. he'd just opened a new box as he heard the bell above the door ring, settling a few of the fresh paperbacks on the shelf. "hey! welcome, let me know if you need help finding anything specific, or if you'd like a few suggestions!"
"Hey, thanks." Iris waved over at JJ as he spoke. She knew her way around bookends and just about any place where books could be found, perks of working in the library. "Get in something fresh today?" she asked curiously. "Any sneak peeks for the new releases?"
But... do I want to do that? When I could do so many other things, like be a menace to society and ruin lives and everything like that? Just saying. Okay, that's fair. And the donuts that we did get are pretty good. I'm going to make sure I grab some more before I come home tonight.
Sure, Ryder. You can do that, but you will regret it when you're older and lonelier and probably a little bit balder. I got a few bags to shove in the freezer to save for later down the line, if you've eaten your goodie bag of them already. Because I believe in squirreling away some goodness.
"I know, I could tell. Life altering moment I'm sure." He said, matching her sarcasm with a laugh too, her very own Oz. "She did, yeah. Might've been the point. I guess." He thought on it for another moment longer, came to the conclusion she also didn't really care either way, "—or she knew we'd entertain him." And his thoughts switched there and then on the situation, raising brows when Iris kept on, "Yeah? Maybe...I don't hate it. So are you hanging with the proverbial neighbors, or waiting on mom to open up?"
"Damn, free child care." Iris nodded solemnly, remembering what it was like to be a responsible young lady in her neighborhood, always volunteered to keep an eye on the kids. "I think I'm a kid crying on the fire escape, which feels like a third, equally sad option. But quiet crying, I can't draw attention to myself."
Better late than never, there are plenty of people who never reach good guy status, I guess I should just be glad if I make it there at all. Does... that means we have to make the donuts, or can we pick the apples, and then still go get donuts? I kind of want to do both. And yes, I'll pick the tall ones.
Yeah, but you could try to get it more quickly. That way you can give more to the world when you're young and able to do so. I think we can...pick the apples and then get donuts. I don't want to be stuck making the donuts, that's not the fun part of donuts.
Making steps in the right direction, then! I guess I have something to work towards, if nothing else... that counts. Well, yeah, I do really like apples... are you trying to say that we can let the world burn, but you want to go pick apples? Because I can go pick apples, if that's what you want. We can do that.
I guess maybe by the time you're old and grey you'll be kind of a good person and that has to count for something. Well, I'm saying we could have apple cider donuts, but if you want to pick the apples, we can do that too. If you'll get the high up ones.
"Tell teenage Iris I don't make the rules." He shrugged, snorting when the third person came out. "I guess that makes sense, yeah. Can you imagine walking up on a baby... in the snow. And it's chill?" Not literally of course, the customs and cultures vastly different. "I had a neighbor once in New York who'd put her kid out on the fire escape. Older. Always coming back with sacks from the bodega and would riff out there with us all until she came home— don't know why I just thought about that." Don't know why we didn't say something.
"You don't? Damn, here I thought I finally met the guy who makes the rules." She put on a rather dramatic sigh. "Well, I can't really imagine...being a baby. Like objectively I know I was one once." Iris nodded as she listened. "So she put her kid outside? Because...that fire escape wasn't containing the kid." She sighed more in earnest this time, leaning back slightly. "Maybe we're all proverbial kids on fire escapes?"
"Even if just getting away from the crowd every now and then help, it's all about finding what you're vibing with and making the most of the night." At least that was what Jayla's method to make it through these types of events was. "I know, I've had a couple and am not going to lie.. I'm feeling it," she nodded with a grin.
"Yeah, but sometimes i don't really know what I vibe with," Iris admitted. Her general strategy in these events, and sometimes life, was to fake it til she made it. Put on the bubbly persona and power through. "Oh, I didn't notice, you look as poised and dignified as always."
"Well by educational standards, technically, a D was passing." He said with a higher octave on the contemplation of the statement, after all that he knew all too well. Always crunch time where math and sciences were concerned, "No kidding? Wait, yeah I think I've heard of that before. Seems kinda crazy but," and he shrugged that one off in mid-thought. "What do I know?"
"A D was not passing by teenager Iris standards, I'll tell you that much," she answered, mock sternly. In adulthood she'd gotten...better, but not great. "It makes sense, I guess. Like some people are better used to the cold and it helps your immune system in a cold climate. Or people just hate kids." Irs shrugged.
Hmm... sure, if that's what you say. Oh, I absolutely have. But I like to think that I at least feel a little bit bad for those sins, so maybe that makes me a little different than the rest of the people that I know, in the same position. Maybe. Nah, I've looked all around the world, and you know what? I don't really think that it can be fixed, Iris. I think we need to just let it burn.
The feeling bad does almost make you a better person. Almost. I think it takes a lot to make you a good person by any stretch, but you know that already. Okay, just let it burn but have you considered...apples? Apple cider? Apple cider donuts? You see where I'm going here?
Jayla eased into place across from Iris, comfortable, swaying to the music as the pair spoke. "I like the dressing up part the most," she shimmied so the large sequins on her dress shifted around, reflecting the light around them. "But the boat is cool! The food is good. The exhibit is pretty. So, I am having fun!" And of course, a few drinks were easing Jayla's social abilities, helping her to feel more comfortable. She said as much, adding, "there are some really fun cocktails at the bar too."
"The dressing up is fun," Iris agreed. "It's all kinda fun, it just can be a lot, you know? Lots of pressure to look good and not spill your drink down the front of your fancy dress and all that." She shrugged, swaying her hips to the music, feeling the rhythm as best as she could. "I saw! Very thematically interesting and pretty strong, too."
Oh, but you would spare a thought for someone else and hope that they would make your life very hard? Is that the way that this is going to go? It can, I'm not going to deny that. I've seen a lot of those sins up close and personal and may have committed a few of them myself. I actually think that was what my parents had in mind and it... kind of worked, I guess? You're strict, but fair -- you don't want to give the wrong person the go ahead.
No, that's not what I mean, I just mean I already think about you and consider you the maximum amount that I'm willing so I'm not going to go a single step further there. I'm sure you've committed more than your share of sins, rich boy. Damn, well as long as it worked out. Now you just need to be rich enough to fix the world as well, or something like that.
"Yeah, you're right." He started, "But not about the negativity. A C minus is passing. I gave a jump no better than a C minus - maybe a C myself." He teased, and the mention of a late summer dip mixed with the cool breezy air had him rubbing his forearms and reaching for the beach towel set up. "It's kind of unfair like that isn't it? This place was crawling two weeks back. Guess you gotta take it when you can get it." Merrock in the summer, it's hidden gems always taken by the locals. Today felt like a rare find. "You need a towel?" He asked, holding his own out. Not sure she expected to jump in at all.
"A C- doesn't feel like passing to me," Iris admitted. She was an A student, which surprised absolutley no people upon meeting her. "Nah, I'll just air dry," she commented, hauling herself up onto the rocks. "A little cold isn't so bad now and then, builds strength, right? There's countries where you let your baby nap outside in the cold."
