Cara grinned from ear to ear, happy that she was being taken up on her offer. The realization of just how cute the other was had hit Cara in the wait time they had to do after paying. It wasn’t that she had regretted her decision, she just realized how unlike her she was acting. Plus if she was being honest with herself, she was always nervous and felt like she was stumbling over her words when a cute girl was around her.
“Honestly? There wasn’t a particular band I wanted to see. I just figured it was time to take a day just for myself. I feel like I haven’t had a me day since well before high school. So yeah fuck my employers!”
Jude gives the girl a look of approval. “Good. You deserve it! And I’m sure they deserve it too.”
They receive their ice cream, and Jude holds hers up towards Cara in acknowledgement. “Thanks again. You gotta let me buy you something though - in honor of your first act of rebellion.”
“We do,” Charlotte put the pile of books in her hands down on the counter. “Follow me–they’re over here, by the window,” she floated through the small store. “As for biographies, they’re along the wall over by the world history section. As for recommendations,” Charlotte furrowed her brow for a moment, “I can’t say I know of how well written the local history books are–but there’s several biographies I can recommend–perhaps one of them might work? There’s a brilliant book written by Hallie Rubenhold called The Five about the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper–but that’s a bit dark, to be honest.”
Jude follows the other woman towards the proper section and scans the titles, unsure of where to begin. “Yeah, biographies should be up his alley.” She crouches to pull a volume off the shelf and skim the summary printed on the jacket.
“That does sound interesting, but I’m in the market for something alone the lines of light summer reading for elderly grandfathers, you see.”
“Hey you want some ice cream?” Cara asked the first person behind her, clearly excited. “My treat. This is the first time I’m playing hooky ever but especially from work.”
“Seriously? Yes!” Jude is initially in disbelief, but she’s not one to question a gift horse; or ice cream, or an introduction from a cute girl for that matter.
She steps up to the counter to indicate what kind of ice cream she’d like to the vendor. Then while she and her new benefactor wait for their treats, she gives her another smile and questioning look. “Okay so what’s the band that inspired this act of rebellion? Or was it time to give a big ‘fuck you’ to your employer.”
Her phone buzzes in her pocket. Jude doesn’t need to check it to know it’s either her father or step-mum trying to contact her, their egos surely still smarting after Jude didn’t show up to dinner at Triton with them. Good.
It buzzes again. She turns it off this time, finishes her pint, and contemplates the Knight and Grail’s dessert menu before her. She can’t decide what she wants, but perhaps she doesn’t have to? Impulsively (and perhaps somewhat petulantly), she addresses the two people closest to her.
“I’m going to order every dessert on the menu and I want you both to try them with me.” Jude informs. “It’s my birthday so you can’t say no, or that the sugar will rot my teeth.”
Length of Time in the Cove: Recently returned after attending school in York
THE L O N G AND S H O R T OF I T:
“I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free… “ - Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
1. Jude is the black sheep of the Morgan family, prominent hoteliers and a bunch of pretentious snobs if there were ever any. Her family always made it clear that Jude and her mother didn’t fully belong because of her mother’s economic status prior to becoming Mrs. Morgan. Their disdain only intensified when Jude’s mother divorced her father and left.
2. Having always been hyperactive and strong-willed, Jude acted out even more after her mother’s departure and her father remarrying a woman whose opinion of Jude matched everyone else’s. Her family wasn’t the only ones talking about Jude. She liked pranks and sarcasm, mayhem and chaos, and she was the closest thing this town ever had to a Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan, someone to mock and envy in equal measure and to write off as a troublemaker.
3. Jude’s only ally was her grandfather, who enjoyed her spirited character and saw that the girl had rarely received patience and understanding since her mother had left. He was also the first to instill in Jude an appreciation for the natural word. The two would take long walks together, he’d teach her about the flora and fauna in the Cove, and soon enough Jude was collecting feathers and rocks and pausing every day on her walk to school to observe sunlight-dappled water and seabirds. Very few people knew this side of the Cove’s resident ‘bad girl’, and that’s the way Jude preferred to keep things.
4. At 18, Jude found out that she was not her father’s biological child and that she had a half-sister somewhere. Eager to meet who she hoped would be her new best friend, Jude booked a trip to find and introduce herself to her sister. It was a disappointment, however. Her sister clearly didn’t know what to make of Jude nor did she seem to want to have anything to do with her. Rejected and resentful, Jude returned home to lick her wounds.
5. At the University of York, Jude studied both Global Marketing and Natural Sciences. It was in her second year of her studies that Jude began a secret vlog under a pseudonym (birdershewrote), wanting to document all of her travels and explorations. The videos are a blend of ASMR and nature documentaries, wherein she’s never seen onscreen but she quotes poetry and prose (sometimes her own) over footage of silent snowfalls and strolls at dusk. In other videos, Jude shows off her fossil and feather collections and her excitement over nature delivered with Bob Ross-level peacefulness has made her channel mildly successful among insomniac millennials.
6. Now the prodigal daughter has been summoned back home as her grandfather’s health begins to fail him and rumor has it that the old man plans to leave control of his hotel to Jude, something she doesn’t want to think about.
JUDE MORGAN is played by YURI and her FC is VICTORIA PEDRETTI
Claudia rubs at her temples, a frown on her face as she stares down a row of baked goods. “Ugh, I can’t believe you’d set me up on a blind date with someone that booor-ing,” she says with dramatics, picking up her head in order to make eye-contact. “It was so bad that I had to sneak out of the bathroom window just to get away from them. What in the bloody hell were you thinking?”
“Hey, he’s nice! He used to let his younger brother borrow his ID to buy us liquor when we were sixteen.” Jude pauses. “Okay, so maybe that’s not a shining example of his moral fiber, but he’s very ... nice. Besides, he asked me to introduce you.”
She sighs, and swipes one of Claudia’s cherry pastries. “I’ve only been back a week and a half, Cloud. And I’m very new at this. You’ve got to give me more time before I find your other half.” She takes a bite of the pastry, then gestures with it. “What about that record shop girl? I saw you making eyes at her."
Walking into Wide Awake, completely incapable of human interaction at such an hour without his first cup of coffee, Freddie bumped shoulders with a young woman on her way in. He mumbled an apology, then shook his head and mentally slapping himself; straightening, he turned to hold the door and pushed his sunglasses up. “I’m so sorry! I’m usually much better at mornings, I do apologize.” When she turned slightly to see him, a spark of familiarity flashed between them, and Freddie stood still, trying to bring her face into focus.
Then, finally: “Jude! Jude? Rude Jude, my girl, it is you! Where have you been?” He couldn’t help but reach out, wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up, hugging her close so he could spin her around. “What are you doing now, are you busy? Where are you headed–doesn’t matter, I’ll walk with you. Tell me everything!”
Jude startles at being bumped into and is preparing her best scowl (admittedly, she should have been more careful but it’s far easier to lay all the blame on the stranger, particularly when Jude herself is barely half-awake) when she realizes the face before her isn’t unfamiliar at all. The features are a little more defined maybe, but that’s to be expected of anyone past boyhood and Freddie Wentworth is no exception.
“Freddie!” Jude exclaims the name with undignified excitement and giddy shrieks as she’s picked up off the floor and spun around, her arms wrapped tight around her old friend. She’s certain half the patrons at Wide Awake must be watching them, but who cares? Jude has never objected to making a scene, and this unexpected reunion is well worth one. “First of all, I’d never be too busy for you. Second of all, I’m just never busy. Third ... that’s still a terrible nickname.” She breaks away from his embrace and waves away his question. “I just got home last week. Family stuff. You? When did you get back?”
“Let me buy you a coffee, yeah?” An impish grin crosses her face. “I have notes on your novel, Wentworth.”
“If you’re gonna sit here and read that book all day without paying for it, the least you can do is keep your feet off the furniture,” Charlotte turned her attention away from one customer to stare down another sitting in the seating area beside the used book section of the bookshop. “Sorry, pet–you had a question?”
“Yeah, do you guys carry anything on local history? Or do you have any biographies you’d recommend? I’m shopping for someone but it’s hard to figure out what he might already own so I’d like to get a variety.”
Ari reaches out towards the table and feels a thick booklet beneath her fingers which she immediately assumes is a menu of some sort. She picks it up to make use of her idle hands, although she knows full well she can’t read from it.
There is a rush of footsteps and a familiar voice – a voice of a friend from a very long time ago.
She can’t help but giggle at the mention of their prank as children. “He’s definitely still a big ol’ crank. Claudia always says the ugly frown wrinkles on his forehead are deeper from the stress we caused him,” she laughs.
She places the menu down and leans on her elbows which are now perched on top of the table. “Gosh, it is so good to hear a familiar voice right now,” Ari sighs. “Won’t you eat some cupcakes with me?”
“Fuck him.” Jude says gleefully and plops down on the chair next to Ari’s. “He was such an arse. I swear, he was always more bothered when I’d get sloshed than my own dad was: something about me disgracing our beautiful Cove with my swearing and ruckus.” She scoffs. “How terribly ambitious of me, right?”
“Oh, I’d love that. How long will you be here? You should have told me you were visiting.”
Niko was amused when the woman told him she would be back. And when she returned she had two books in her hand. She had obviously thought about the answer to his question. “I’ve never heard of either,” he said, taking the one when she handed it over. “But I’m certainly not opposed to reading them. I did ask for suggestions. So I hope I am still open minded,” he grinned. “You know, I don’t think I have ever read a horror book, but this could be the first,” he said and held out his hand to take House of Leaves from her. “You didn’t take that long grabbing these. What makes them good? And is there anything I should really pay attention to while reading them?”
The corners of Jude’s mouth turned up at his answer as she let him take the books. If she was being honest, she was somewhat proud of being the one to make the introductions between two beloved titles and someone new.
“Glad I could provide you with something novel. Pun intended.” Jude quipped, and shifted her weight to one side as she considered the man’s question. Gesturing towards Tess of the Road, she said, “Hartman’s good at world-building, but the novel would be great even without her fantasy creatures. I don’t know when ‘ strong woman ‘ became code for ‘ uncomplicated and preferably wielding a sword ‘ but that’s not really Tess. She fucks up and embarrasses people and doesn’t live up to anyone’s expectations but the novel is ... compassionate. She gets to forgive herself.” Jude trailed off and shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with her accidental rant. “I don’t know, I guess I like an assertive woman.”
“And that one: take notes, read the footnotes. You’ll probably think it’s pretentious, gimmicky postmodern bullshit and it kind of is, maybe. But I guess the gimmicky, labyrinthine text is supposed to be like ... like you’re exploring a house instead of reading a book. You’re scrutinizing every nook and cranny, walking its halls. It’s immersive. And haunting, definitely haunting. And hopeful. And about what it means to you, regardless of narrative or author’s intent.”
Jude stopped before she overwhelmed the guy, and tilted her head towards the other book he’d been holding before he spoke to her. “I guess I should have started by asking what you’ve got there.”
Niko stepped into The First Page in search of a book for one of the classes he was going to teach from this year. It wasn’t something he needed all of his students to have, but it was something for him to reference during the year. And if he needed them to know a certain passage, he would just scan a few of the pages to offer on the online landing page for his students. The problem wasn’t finding the book. He could make his own way around a book store with very few problems. What was the problem is that he could never just walk out with what he needed. The scent of old books just kept him stuck in the store much longer than he anticipated.
Eventually, he was holding the book he needed in one hand. And the other hand was scanning the spines along yet another book shelf. He looked over at the person near him. “Do you have any suggestions? Because I’m stumped. And if I stay here much longer, I’m going to buy at least a dozen books because I can’t make up my mind. Any genre. Hit me with a favourite of yours.”
Her initial reaction when asked for a book recommendation is to name a title that’s universally derided, like Fifty Shades of Grey or The Secret because Jude is prone to snark even on a good day and something about this town truly brings out the juvenile in her — but she bites back the response before it can escape her. Books are disarming, she supposes. Besides, she’d hate to somehow be taken seriously by this stranger if she did make the dumb joke.
“Wait here.” She vanishes for a second behind the stacks and returns with two books. Jude holds each up in turn as she describes them. “Tess of the Road - a little bit of a Tess of the D’Urbervilles vibe, but really different too. It’s really good though, kind of a character-driven fantasy.”
Cathartic, she thinks and hands the book over.
“House of Leaves.” Jude pauses. “Are you a horror fan?”
It’s been years since she’s seen her but Ari’s isn’t a face that Jude would forget or overlook, not even in the hustle and bustle of a busy morning at Sweet William’s. Once she receives her order, Jude approaches Ari’s table (grateful that the clacking of her shoes has probably alerted Ari to her presence, she’d hate to alarm her) and says, “Hey. Last I heard, they never caught who decided to outfit the former mayor’s ice statue in La Perla. Think he’s still pissed about it?”
“An emotion was swelling in my throat. It took me a moment to recognize what it was. I had been old and stern for so long, carved with regrets and years like a monolith. But that was only a shape I had been poured into. I did not have to keep it.”
i’m a thousand years late w this but pls like if you want to plot!
jude is the black sheep of the morgan family !! when she was a kid she thought it was her fault for being a hyperactive kid, not realizing they were just elitist and prudish snobs who deeply disapproved of Jude’s mother ( who was pregnant and decidedly not rich before she married into the Morgan clan). eventually Jude decided that if she was always going to be seen as a bad influence and a scapegoat for her cousins, she might as well start acting out for real.
Jude developed a little bit of a reputation as a vandal, prankster, and local party girl during her teenage years she was the closest thing this town ever had to a Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan, someone to mock and envy in equal measure
Jude’s only ally was her grandfather, who appreciated her moxie and would take her on long walks around the Cove, teaching her about local flora and fauna. After that Jude started collecting interesting feathers and rocks, but took care not to share this hobby with anyone.
knows a lot about birds
when she was eighteen she discovered who her biological father was and that she had a half-sister, cassia. eager to meet her, jude immediately tracked her down to introduce herself. unfortunately for jude, the meeting didn’t go as planned. the woman jude had hoped would her new best friend didn’t receive the news with the same level of enthusiasm. rejected and resentful, jude packed her bags and flew back home, vowing never to contact cassia again
At York University, Jude studied both Global Marketing and Natural Sciences. It was in her second year of her studies that Jude began a secret vlog under a pseudonym (birdershewrote), wanting to document all of her travels and explorations. The videos are a blend of ASMR and nature documentaries, wherein she’s never seen onscreen but she quotes poetry and prose (sometimes her own) over footage of silent snowfalls and strolls at dusk. In other videos, Jude shows off her fossil and feather collections. Somehow her channel is now mildly successful (primarily among insomniac millennials).
Now the prodigal daughter has been summoned back home as her grandfather’s health begins to fail him and rumor has it that the old man plans to leave control of his hotel to Jude, something she doesn’t want to think about too much.
Basically a former party girl and secret bird enthusiast who is 90% motivated by spite but is also maybe realizing she has to set all that anger aside at some point.
possible connections
people who watch her videos and maybe recognize her despite them being anonymous. she’d absolutely deny being behind them. or maybe just people who recommend them to her so she can scoff and roll her eyes at this Walden-wannabe YouTube channel (the lady doth protest)
friends from her youth! people who were always roped into her pranks or breaking into the park of Monmouth House to have keg parties
former flames
former enemies or people who just didn’t know her v well and vice versa, and now there’s a second chance to get to know each other (and maybe for her to make amends if they were ever on the receiving end of her pranks)
A step-sibling or cousin (maybe adopted?), someone who worked really hard to fit into the Morgan family and fill the role of golden child but not matter how hard they tried to please everyone, Jude was always everyone’s favorite topic of discussion at family gatherings. I feel like this person felt the love they received was conditional, and Jude was the yardstick by which to measure that. “Don’t do ____, you sound/look/are almost as bad as Jude” was a common phrase in their life. Maybe they’d even felt bad for Jude originally, but she had such a strong grudge against the world that they stopped trying too hard to be friends and now view Jude more like competition, or an immature nuisance.
