murderous rhythm

ismail zaidi. twenty-three. generation Y. student-grocery store clerk. not sure what he's doing with his life and never will.

[hayley-meyers]

“Sounds like you’d ace it,” Hayley retorted with a laugh. She reached behind her chair and grabbed her prosthetic leg, attaching it to herself and standing up with ease, “I’m getting a juice, do you want anything?” she asked heading towards her own little kitchenette.

[ismailzaidi-blog]

“No, I’m fine.” He skimmed over his essay. “I think I’m just finishing up now; I don’t want to over stay my welcome.”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

Text: Ismail

Callie: you just asked me where the bathroom was. ha. hopefully google translate doesn't butcher what i'm bout to say.

Callie: sie haben ein wunderschönes lächeln.

Callie: shut up he does not! ok ok getting on skype now. patience issy.

Ismail: my internet is broken tell me what it means over skype

Ismail: i'm on. i have 1 minute before class begins hurry up

[ismailzaidi-blog]

Text: Ismail

Callie: i'm going to kill her. no idea what you just said btw, i don't know French. i know german though!

Callie: wow someone's eager to hear me explain. let me stop this ep of house of cards and i will.

Ismail: thats why google translate exists, callie! german? the only things i know are ja & guten tag. teach me some german.

Ismail: i'm waiting. frank underwood dies, btw.

[ismailzaidi-blog]

Text: Ismail

Callie: She would NEVER do this to me.

Callie: I figured. Wait you speak French? That's an added bonus.

Callie: I will wait until I see you to tell you how, it's something that should be done to a person's face. Not via text.

Ismail: a sister's just trying to hook you up. i'd understand.

Ismail: oui. où est la salle de bain.

Ismail: skype me.

[ismailzaidi-blog]

Text: Ismail

Callie: Oh. My. God.

Callie: Sam told me to send it. I thought it was just to say i like you?

Callie: You are joking right? about the meaning and that you..excuse me we aren't even dating yet.

Callie: Can we forget this text ever happened?

Ismail: SAM?? she set you up good.

Ismail: of course not not, i'm a gentleman! just because we got yogurt or streamed jessica jones doesnt mean my pants are ready to be unbuckled. we have to go eat french first. or italian? je suis sophistiquée.

Ismail: like me how? (;

[ismailzaidi-blog]

Text: Ismail

Callie: i have no idea what it means? it's a cute little flower that my friend told me to send?

Callie: should i have googled before i sent that..omg what did i just say?

Ismail: you're dtf. thats what it means for me

Ismail: who told you to send it haha

Ismail: if it applies tho... (((;;;

[ismailzaidi-blog]

Text: Ismail

Callie: ❀

Callie: Don't ask. Sam said to send you that? I have no idea if it means anything or not but heyyyy.

Ismail: cal, do you know what that means? or are you just playing with me

Ismail: because i'll be there stat (;

[ismailzaidi-blog]

what’s my age again? / i&c

[alysonxmikaelson]

She kept a mindful eye on where she was walking, trying to ignore the fact his hand was on her back until he pulled away. She knew the subway, it wasn’t that hard to work. Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she pulled out two all day tickets and handed him one before she grinned. “My ideas are the best, besides I bet you haven’t done this before.” Walk all the way back? Ismail was many things and crazy was one of them, but again, Callie liked it. Handing him a ticket, she managed to kiss his cheek before grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the train with her. “You’re just going to have to buy us water or juice. Something for the trek back.”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

"Me? This? Callie, I’m Baltimore born and raised. I’ve done everything at least twice.” He’s not sure how to react yet. If he should be touchy or if he should keep his distance. Maybe it’s because the space of time between his last girlfriend and now was a wide gap, as big as the Mississippi River; he was left back in his high-school mentality, all talk but no bite. “Yeah, a whole 24-pack of water. You really want to trek back to the apartments? I was kidding, but we could still do it.” The subway itself was crowded. He walked over to the nearest seats available, pulling Callie with him. “I’ll pay you back for the ticket with lunch. You hungry? Charleston?” The name of the restaurant rolled off of his tongue with the slightest amusement. He knew attending such expensive place would be something he would never do alone, but he did need to pull up a good impression. “If not,” Ismail leaned back against the seat, “we’ll stop at the richest places and go tag them,” he said, his voice a little louder, as if he wanted to get the attention of others. He grinned, his voice revealing that he was joking. “How does ‘Marlborough rules’ sound? Too high school-y?”

[hayley-meyers]

She smiled as he spoke to her in French, “Ah tres bien,” she answered, her accent not quite as good as his, “no, this happens to be a History of France essay luckily, I am not fluent,” she replied. She was surprised to hear that he was doing a GED paper too but decided not to dig into it much, “I’d much rather do a philosophy.”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

He lifted his hands. “By all means, we’ll switch papers. History of France? I got that under my belt. King Louis the Great, the Seven Years War, the French Revolution. I watched Les Miserables once, so I’m good to go.”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

what’s my age again? / i&c

[alysonxmikaelson]

“So cryptic,” as usual, she’d noticed he was that way but she oddly liked it? Turning her head, she waved to the girl that relieved her before following him out the doors. It was so nice to be out of that diner and she took a deep breath. The air sucked but it was better than smelling grill food all the time. She did mourn her sprite though that she had to leave behind. Ah well.

She was following him, easily catching up and staying by his side. “Me? Explore. I mean I’ve lived here my entire life, but I never really got to explore a lot of the ‘must see’ places. "You ever just ride on the subways and get off at a random stop?” She looked over at him, a smile spreading on her face. “Unless you have somewhere specific, I think we should do that, unless you want to hit up one of the landmarks. I’m pretty much down for whatever.” That was Callie, she just basically went with whatever master scheme someone else came up with. "I’m sure whatever it is, you’ll fine someway yo make it fun,” she nudged him gently.

[ismailzaidi-blog]

He knew what to do now. “Okay,” he responded, a wild grin on his face. He gently placed a hand on her back and pushed her further into the crowd. “The subway’s leaving in, like, two minutes so we have to blast out of here.” Baltimore was crowded during this hour. Keeping a steady pace and a watchful hand over Callie, he steered them towards the nearest subway. “Just a disclaimer, though,” Ismail began once they neared the stairs of the subway, letting go of his hold on her. “This was all your idea, so if we get lost,” he trailed off with a shrug of his shoulders. Ismail nodded towards the gathering crowd near them, grinning. “We’ll stop off at the other side of Baltimore, yeah? And we’ll walk all the way back. It’ll be a nice exercise.” He neared the edge of the crowd, still unsure if she would follow. 

[the-princessgeneral]

“Good lord… what about multi-colored or crazy colored hair? You didn’t say anything about them, you thirsty ho, you. And just so you know, that’s what I’m putting you in my phone as… ‘my favorite thirsty ho’, yup, that’s what I’m calling you now.” She laughed too, shaking her head at him before rolling her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, please do though, because seriously, I have actually been looking for something new to binge watch lately.”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

“I’m telling you -- anything goes. I like a little blue in my life. Or a little green, I’m down for anything.” He grinned. “What type of shows are you looking for? Movies? I’m a Netflix-and-More connoisseur.”

[hayley-meyers]

Hayley did have a tendency to stick her nose in where it didn’t belong but in this situation she didn’t seem much to be nosy about so she kept quiet. “French paper, just a GED thing, nothing major,” she explained, at first Hayley had been embarrassed about her lack of education but now she just didn’t care what other people thought. “You?” she countered.

[ismailzaidi-blog]

"Oh, uh, same. Except it’s not French, just philosophy. Wish it was French, though. Je suis très couramment,” he said these words carefully, not wanting to stutter over them. “Are you typing it out in pure French or what?”

[moriahxlane]

“Well if your wallet is dry I also accept home cooked meals as an alternative.” She said smiling before letting out a soft chuckle. She knew that everyone here wasn’t in the best situation financially and tried to at least make light of it. “What’s your paper?” She asked sitting back on the couch.

[ismailzaidi-blog]

“Great, I’m an excellent cook. It’s either I cook biryani or mac-and-cheese, though. I’ll stock up soon. I’m doing my paper for my philosophy class. Orwellian vs Huxleyan. It’s interesting, I guess.”

[piperprescott]

“Well, hopefully you do well in the class! I’m sure you will since you were able to explain it to me,” Noelle encouraged him. “Oh, you know what you should do? When someone borrows something of yours, you take a picture of them with it! That way you know who has it and when they took it because the date will be saved with the picture on your phone. That’s what I’ve started doing and it works great!” she told him, remembering the hack she had seen online. “My friend Jordan is having a party in a couple days, I’m sure you could make some friends there!”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

“Oh, yeah, I heard! Hopefully everyone won’t end up drunk, so it won’t cause that many problems during the night. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be at least three people who are going to be so noisy, no one’s going to end up sleeping.” Ismail dug out his phone, opening up his Notes app and writing down what Noelle had told him. “I hadn’t though of that before! Maybe that’ll help, if I remember to delete the pictures afterward to not fill up my storage,” he joked. “Also, thanks. I hope I pass, too.” He crosses his fingers. “Hopefully this essay will give me my A.”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

what’s my age again? / i&c

[ismailzaidi-blog]

MHecallie--montgomery:

Callie put the order in, talking to the cook that was eyeing up Ismail before Callie had to roll her eyes and snap her fingers to get their attention. “It’s not like that, calm the heck down,” shaking her head, she gave a glance behind her shoulder quickly before turning her attention back to the cook and saying bye, explaining what tables she’d waited on and what the orders were to the girl that was taking over for her as her shift ended.

Disappearing into the back, Callie changed out of her work clothes back into a pair of faded jeans and her comfortable well worn green shirt that read Kiss Me I’m Irish - despite it not being Saint Patrick’s Day. She still loved the shirt. because it was something loose fitting and the material was actually breathable after a shift where she felt like she was melting by the end of it. Taking her hair down, she ran a brush through it a few times before closing her locker and clicking the lock closed. Singing under her breath, she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when it came to this little kidnapping but it was bound to be fun right?

She had grabbed two cups and filled them with sprite, sticking a straw in each before she was standing in front of Ismail, setting one down in front of him. “Actually, you seemed to have come at a good time - I’m off for the rest of the day. I’ve been working since six this morning and I am more than ready to get the hell out of here before the boss comes in.” Patting her back pocket to make sure her money was in there, she took a sip of her drink. “Do I get a hint now what we’re doing? And is what I’m wearing okay? Because I wasn’t planning on you randomly popping up on me.”

"Great,” Ismail responded, his fingers pinching the straw. He eyed her. “You’re fine -- I don’t even know where we’re going, but it’s somewhere.” He tried to play this off as a joke, but -- honesty was the best policy, right? He stood up, motioning towards the door. “Okay, let’s get out of here. Someone can use our Sprites as a free drinks.” He started heading out the door, hoping Callie was behind his heels. 

As he exited outside, the noise of the city began pouring into his ears, reminding him that Baltimore was a place of history -- culture. Surely he could find something to do within a few seconds. He had within three options: Fort McHenry (he loved history, it was even more so appropriate and romantic to have the Star-Spangled Banner ringing in their ears as they visited), and the two other, which were unimpressive. “What do you like to do, Callie?” Ismail could have been more subtle, but his pace was nearing the subways and he wasn’t sure what destination they were heading to. 

[concentratedbitterness-arch-blog]

Overkill :: Ismail & Mal

[concentratedbitterness-arch-blog]

He is marginally perturbed with himself for not taking the time to put on an actual coat before venturing outdoors on a mid-Atlantic April night.  To be fair, it hadn’t been the most prominent thing on his mind at the time–unfortunately his fingers will soon be as numb as his heart is right now.  “What kinda’ vibe is that?” Mal asks, “Maybe air isn’t a cure-all for everything.”   

Ismail is fixed with an odd look, brow quirking ever so slightly when he ventures to ask what is, undeniably in this instance, a deeply personal question.   Because 3 a.m. is totally the ideal time to wade hip deep into a stranger’s proverbial dirty laundry, right?  His explanation is well timed, and Malcolm nods, forcing what probably passes for a polite smile.  “It’s alright, I appreciate the sentiment.  Just not sure I wanna’ talk about it.”  He’s cordial, but for someone who is usually a natural conversationalist his tone is decidedly clipped.  There’s a faint ‘ding’ and Mal instinctively reaches for the phone tucked into the pocket of his robe, but ice-cold fingers and shivering hands fail him, and the phone clatters to the concrete at his feet.  “Shit…”  As he bends in his seat to retrieve it his cane slips and falls to the ground as well, rolling out of reach.  

[ismailzaidi-blog]

Malcolm’s words dig into Ismail’s spine, reminding him that not everything in life ends in a Kumbaya. He nodded before retuning to what he had been doing before: staring out into the abyss of nothing -- absolutely nothing; he watches the leaves ruffle due to the gusts of wind, allowing the tangible silence to permeate the space between the two men -- until the muffled ‘ding’ of Malcolm’s phone snaps him out of his trance. He watches as the other reaching for his phone, painfully aware of the weight against his own thigh, and hears two clangs as both objects fall. 

His reaction is instant. He’s been raised to be polite to others, and his limbs moved faster than his mind. Ismail crouches down to reach the fallen phone and cane, his eyes grazing over the notification. He doesn’t pause long enough for it to look like he’s snooping, or long enough to actually catch a glimpse of what the message said. He just saw the name messaging him. The student rises and hands the objects over to Malcolm, fixating a smile on his lips. “Here -- I don’t think it cracked,” Ismail comments, his thumb grazing the screen. “Maybe scratched.” It wasn’t a hard fall, and he didn’t have enough time to observe the damage. His hands curl around the cane, offering it to the other. 

[alysonxmikaelson]

Callie didn’t even know if she was being weird or if she was flirting. It’d been a while since she even really conversed with someone this openly. “Wow, Issy, you can’t let me have at least one little win against you? Come on!” She pouted up at him. “Trust me, if you overstep your boundaries at any time, you will know it. I have a pretty mean right hook and knee from what I’ve been told. Though, you should probably get back to your apartment, wherever that is so you’re very well rested for tomorrow.”

[ismailzaidi-blog]

He neared the door. “Well, good. I like people who stand up for themselves; makes them interesting. His hand ghosted above the doorknob. “Mmm...okay. For our date tomorrow, right?” He flashed another grin, this time mischievous and teasing. “I’ll see you later, then, Callie. Don’t forget to text me your movie-slash-TV list.” He opened the door and left.