P O L T E R G E I S T

A twelve o'clock fella in a ten o'clock town.

[salingerisaghost]

great english qualifier | selena & edison

Somehow passing through the door shed Edison’s of the small throng of people that had been following him. They hadn’t continued after him & were left stranded in the marble entryway like pixies just beginning to remember they had other things to do. That is to say, the small group of assistants, journalists, & Cannons personnel hovered for a moment, quills in hand before dispersing in seven different directions. Instilling said rule was one of the smartest decisions Edison had ever implemented & arriving early enough before the match start time meant he got the owner’s box to himself for a good quarter hour before others trickled in for the game between Chudley & Puddlemere. Normally it might’ve been forty-five minutes, but seeing as it was a rivalry game, folks tended to arrive earlier, driven by their own internal buzz of excitement. At one point in his life, Edison had suffered the same affliction, now however he moved out of routine but was regrettably anticipating something other than the start of the match. A bout against P.U. meant Selena Newf would be in attendance. Since the season had begun, the Cannons had yet to have a match with Selena’s team. This was something that Edison both looked forward to & worried over. That was probably why his first order of business was to see about getting a glass in his hand. Beating Selena even once meant constantly having to perform at a higher & higher level to best the standard that was right behind you. Even after two successful years, Edison had yet to shake the feeling that he & his Cannons didn’t belong at the top & was merely there to entice Newf & her P.U. squad like a steak left at the top of a pole for a lion. Eventually the steak would get got. In the meantime, Edison would have to go on pretending he was cocksure. Behind them, the door was beginning to open & Edison indulged himself in sip of liquid courage. “Was beginning to think I’d be the only sap to show up to this low-stakes scrimmage.”

[salingerisaghost]

[salingerisaghost]

12 / 7  G. Salinger ϟ birthday edits 1/∞ 

My cold little heart Oh I, I can't stand myself

[dailyshameless]

[salingerisaghost]

“The world isn’t sorted into good or bad. Dead or alive. There are only the people that take what they’re given & the people that go after the things they want.”

[salingerisaghost]

B R I D G E  C L U B  A L U M N I    is about exclusive as it gets

“I’m surprised she didn’t have a heart attack. I can’t lose another partner!”                                                                                       — @gail-interrupted

[salingerisaghost]

Quietly, through gritted teeth & half-closed eyes, she finally admitted the truth, “You’re scaring me.”

I used to believe we were burning on the edge of something

Smoke & mirrors keep us waiting on a miracle Go through the darkest of days Oh, it's been a hell of a ride           Driving the edge of a knife

[drogonqueen-archive]

favorite lit quotes ➤ vicious, v.e. schwab

[labors]

am i bitter? yes. but do i try to move on and let go of past anger? well, actually, no

[salingerisaghost]

gail-interrupted:

❝Of course I’m bored. I miss havin’ an excuse to meet people.❞ And she needed the money, but she wasn’t about to sprinkle that into their conversation as if she expected Salinger to somehow pay for whatever she wanted. Then again, her rent problems could’ve been solved by moving out of her home and into his. Glasses were pulled down as she ruminated on the thought, giving her very little time to do more than wrinkle her nose at the prospect of liquor.  ❝It’s too early for that, Salinger. Not all of us drink our breakfast.❞ Granted, it seemed lately as if more ad more of her meals were replaced with liquor and whatever she managed to find in Salinger’s cabinets.  ❝And we can share a dresser as well. Plenty of people do it – - normal people who don’t like walkin’ home just to get new clothes or to brush their teeth.❞

References and resume hadn’t been considered as she was cooking up a grand scheme to gain employment.  A shadow of doubt was all Gail needed to be given pause, albeit briefly. ❝I thought I’d use bridge club, and then I’ll just stick your name on it as well. What would you say sounds more appropriate for my work during the past thirty years – - ‘adult babysitter’ or ‘caretaker’?❞

“Pity.” Salinger said flatly, as he righted the bottle & exchanged it for one of the half-empty glasses. If more people were slightly inebriated before eleven o’clock, he could imagine the world would function far smoother. This was however, their own loss. The hands of the clock dictated his vice almost as little as they did his sleep schedule.

Leaning the small of his back against the kitchen countertop, the repetition of their undying argument faced him full-on. “I could always give you a ride.” Salinger said, being inflammatory as usual as soon as the subject was broached. His own sense of humor could no doubt be quite irritating to the person on the receiving end, especially when it was delivered so dryly. Plenty of people waited until five for a drink & plenty of people surrendered spaces in their homes, but he was a member of neither camp & held no desire to be included.  “Mine wouldn’t account for much, may as well leave it off.” He suggested gently, leaning forward to push Gail’s breakfast towards her. Another gentle reminder. Drink, drink. But then his good favor dried up as she continued to speak. Dragging the other glass back towards his side of the counter by his pinky, he stared at Gail. “Why not perpetual-pain-in-the-ass?” Salinger suggested.  “Yarn fiddling, effervescent spinster seeks employment. You could start there.”

[salingerisaghost]

gail-interrupted:

❝You didn’t notice? Not at all?❞ She hadn’t expected him to, but shock was feigned nevertheless. ❝I was thinkin’ I might start looking for a job or something. The last time I had one was… hmm… a decade ago? Two? Well, either way, it wasn’t a long-term thing and I thought I’d go work. It’d be fun!❞ Reaping the benefits of modern-day feminism and women’s rights seemed like a good idea, especially considering that those things didn’t exist during her day. And speaking of rights, Gail stopped picking at her flowers long enough to zero in on Salinger,  ❝Why do you get to keep liquor at my place when I can’t keep a toothbrush at yours?❞

“Bored?” Salinger inquired, pulling a bottle out of the cabinet before turning around for her answer. He himself had never stepped back into the workplace forthright. He’d done what he needed to do to amass enough to get by for several years when he’d first returned & thus far, his expenses hadn’t exceeded his initial earnings. “Because this, we can share.” Salinger said brandishing the bottle without skipping a beat as he pulled two glasses down & began to pour. “Will you be putting down your references from ten years ago? Or mocking up something new?”

[salingerisaghost]

gail-interrupted:

❝Yes, sir! You absolutely did send ‘em to me.❞ At least he would be willing to play along, though Gail had the sneaking suspicion that his generosity only stemmed from the fact that her geriatric group of friends might leave him alone because of it. Scooping the flowers out of Salinger’s reach, Gail ferried them to the kitchen table where she began to look at the drooping blooms,   ❝You’ve not gotta worry about next year, because I’m not gonna have the club over on Valentine’s Day. Did you know the florist is hiring? I saw a sign on their door – - that’s something I could probably do. Hey, do y’think I should scrapbook these?❞ She indicated the flowers, fingertips still working over browning leaves. 

Salinger listened with a faint look of interest on his face as Gail dispelled any notion that she’d be meeting up with her geriatric best friends next year. That may not have been her choice to make anyway. Their clocks, after all, were ticking. “I hadn’t noticed,” Salinger said, shoulders shrugging slightly. “Why?” He asked, moving around the counter towards the cabinet where he’d sometimes find a bottle of or two. Upon the second question, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “No.“ He said, though it could’ve been as much of a question as it was a definitive answer. Why the hell would you would’ve been more fitting, but he was feeling exceptionally generous with his good will today.

[salingerisaghost]

eleanorxdubois:

“—And what the hell are you going to do about it? Please. Enthrall me.”

“Enthrall you? Well I can’t say I was going to do jack-shit about it, so I’ve got no threat to regale you with.”

[salingerisaghost]

gail-interrupted:

❝No, they’re mine! See– - it’s to Gail, from Salinger. With love.❞ The last bit might have been pushing it, but Gail had succumbed to the desire to go above and beyond.  His continued goading only served to irritate, which she found he could do quite well; though usually unwavering in her patience, Gail could bristle at the slightest provocation from the right person. ❝There are six because I’m not made of money, fancy pants! And why’re you criticizing them, anyway? You didn’t buy ‘em. You could’ve sent me flowers, but you didn’t. I had to take matters into my own hands.❞

“Because I sent them.” He said matter-of-factly, disregarding the flowers with one last disapproving look. “I’ll remember that for future reference.” Salinger said, evidently unfazed by the fact that she’d have preferred her flowers delivered by mail rather than in person. “Next year I’ll make sure they fit into your agenda to publicly shame the bridge club.”

[salingerisaghost]

gail-interrupted:

❝Why’re you snoopin’ around in my flowers?❞ Any other person may have felt shame or apprehension as Salinger’s fingers reached for the card that bore his name without consent, but not Gail. Dimples pressed into her cheeks as her smile widened, completely unabashed.  ❝You got those for me. Aren’t they nice? Someone delivered ‘em right when bridge club was kicking off – - isn’t that convenient? Let’s ‘em know who’s boss, y’know?❞

“Well, evidently they’re mine anyway.” Salinger breezily defended himself as he flipped the card closed. “Did you piss me off that day in this scenario? Is that why there’s only six?” He asked with an impish grin. “Served their purpose none-the-less I’m sure.”

[salingerisaghost]

“Who got you flowers?” Salinger asked, reaching for the card poking out between wilting pedals. Curiously enough, his own name was printed neatly along the bottom. This of course, earned a quirked brow from the man who had certainly not sent over half a dozen roses “Well that’s thoughtful.”

[salingerisaghost]

“You really don’t have anything romantic to say do you?”     “No. I know a poem about azure eyes but - doesn’t really fit.”  “There’s got to be one for brown eyes. C’mmon, just swap the words.”           “When they write one about me, I’ll relay it on to you.”