‘She will be loved’ played over the speakers and Abbey couldn’t help but sing along as she restocked some candy bars. She had to keep herself composed though because for whatever reason the song made her cry if she got too into it. She stuck the last pack of Reeses in place and did a quick walk around the store making sure there was nothing needing her attention.
Someone had left a mess of some film cases, a couple strewn across the floor. Abbey knelt down and restacked them with a sigh, figuring some teens had been careless. She stood up and glanced at the person browsing further down the aisle. “That’s a great one.” She pointed out a film they seemed to be focused on.
“well, excuse me is a thing.” amelie huffed to herself after nearly being knocked down by a gawky looking teenager, he had a smug smirk on his face that she would’ve smacked off if very hypothetically given the chance. she wanted to have a movie night and was searching for the nearest copy of ‘panic room’ because renting it would not suffice. in fact, she was so caught up in searching for it that she didn’t notice the very big mess that was pretty close-by.
her finger slid gently against the movies, observing each title until she finally found it. “here it is.” she smiled to herself as she pulled it off the shelf, sighing happily to herself. a voice snapped her right out of it and her head turned to pay attention to the source of it. “oh shit, do you need some help?” the blonde was going to respond but noticing the mess had completely distracted her, “i bet it was the asshole kid that ran out and nearly tackled me. it felt like i was in the nfl for a second.” a soft chuckle left her mouth, cradling the movie in her arm.
haphazardly organizing products behind the counter, lincoln lightly bopped his head to the hip-hop music that flowed through the headphones that were tightly placed on, flattening his dyed, blonde curls. while lincoln’s father wasn’t all too fond of his son openly being distracted while working, lincoln didn’t see the problem. there was no active customers and he was still getting the job done by stocking. still, if his father popped into the shop right now? lincoln would most definitely slip off his headphones to avoid the oncoming argument.
❝ y’know what you’re looking for ? ❞ lincoln asked as he saw a rather confused customer, sliding his headphones down from his ears as the loud tunes could be heard through the speakers. ❝ don’t be afraid to ask, i don’t bite. ❞
“just three hours left.” amelie muttered under her breath, wandering down the sidewalk. there weren’t many times you catch actively outside of manhattan, but when her car’s engine began flashing, she decided to take it to a family friend whose business resided in the bronx. long story short, he had to go out and get a part which was just going to add a lot more time, but she was hungry so it was no surprise she found herself inside the nearest store.
the first thing actively caught her eye was was the worker behind the counter, she let out a small chuckle before hearing the most atrocious grumble come from her stomach. her eyes began to graze her environment before being snapped out of her own thoughts with his voice. “i’d be worried if you did.” she retorted, with a hint of playfulness before taking one look around again. “just looking for something to eat. not sure, haven’t been here before and i’m embarrassingly indecisive about my food. got any suggestions?”
Where: On the subway to some kind of physically demanding class
“Remind me again why this is a good idea?” Josefina asked, shifting her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. The pair were one stop away from their destination, and the woman was starting to regret her decision to attend the class with the other. She had a perfectly good gym in her building, one that was often empty, leaving her to worry less about somebody seeing her working out. “Can’t we just work out back at my apartment?”
“it’s fun, jos--- it’s jazzercize. why would you want to go to a boring old gym?” call it cabin fever, but after locking herself in her apartment for about three days straight, maybe amelie was just looking for something to distract her. moments of desperation don’t always lead to the most desirable decisions, but the blonde did want to work with her. “how about a walk around the park? we’d be getting some steps in and fresh air? how are you feeling about that?” the corners of her lips were pulled upward into a proud grin, like she’d fine the ultimate solution.
( madelyn cline, she/her, ciswoman ) i’m pretty sure i just ran into amelie petit! you know them, they’re the 25 year old ballet dancer that’s been here for 25 years. they can be pretty witty, but on the d.l., they’re also indecisive. i have their ringtone set as rake by sufjan stevens in my cell. next time you’re around manhattan, tell them to give me a call! ( jennifer, 26, she/they, est )
born and raised in manhattan, it has always been amelie and her mother, camille. she never knew or met her father, and if she ever found the courage to ask about him, it would usually be met with hostility. he left-- that's all she could gather, maybe he was there for the first year or two,
back in the day, camille had aspirations to be a ballet dancer but due to lack of resources (money) and the fact that her pregnancy was unplanned, nothing really panned ou the way she wanted it to.
it was interesting growing up with her because if you'd ask amelie, she felt as if her own mother didn't like her. on her worst days, one could use the word 'hate', but that was for another conversation. while that was a growing suspicion, camille did see potential in her daughter to do what she couldn't. maybe that was the reason why.
amelie loved dancing, it was an escape for her. it came very naturally and when her mother had stated she was going to train her to be a ballet dancer, she was excited. it was easy to see it as camille finally trying to engage or spend time with her daughter, but it wasn't like that at all.
camille wanted amelie to be great, no matter what it took. she would take her to multiple studios and berate her daughter in front of man, many people and it wasn't any better at home. there was a lot of yelling, a lot of cussing, manipulation and if she was angry enough, throw something at her. intimidation was key and tenderness was just something amelie did not experience.
she booked her first gig after auditioning at 15, the same year her mother had taken her out of school without consulting her and she also couldn't tell you the last time she'd seen her friends from school. amelie had to guess it was for the best since her career had skyrocketed after her first show, but the more successful she was, the grueling her mother became. she could never be good enough, it was always do better.
then camille was diagnosed with als, a lot was a blur during that time. amelie helped as much as she could, there was a nurse to assist whenever she had a show to do but things didn't get any easier. they got worse, quick, it was 2003 and she was at her mother's wake and has been on a hiatus for about a year since then
she feels frozen, almost paralyzed. she doesn't know who she is or what to do, everything has taken a toll on her. there was no way to exist without her mother's voice ringing in her ear --- but she's going to try.
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