Open For Business, Tag: Jesse

[Claire Donovan]

( PEOPLE MOVING ALL THE TIME )
i n s i d e a p e r f e c t l y s t r a i g h t l i n e

Sunshine blared through the window that was perched right above Claire's bed. Shining in its relentless enthusiasm to make the world a brighter place. Grumbling under her breath, Claire managed to pull herself up and out of bed only to glance at the clock. It would be difficult now, to adjust her hours to a more normal schedule. After all she had spent the last four years sleeping when she pleased and going to work when the mood struck.

While it was true that she and Jesse owned and operated Fire and Ice the newest tattoo parlor in Ipswich, she knew that she had to act like the grown up she was. At twenty-one, Claire would have never expected to have made it this far in life, to be a part of a unique situation like she was currently in. Then again she never thought she would permanently leave Soho either. Yet here she was in a small town, a place that made it painfully obvious that she stuck out. It was going to take some adjusting but Claire knew that the could adapt.

Adaptation was a part of surviving the world and Claire was not about to break any habit that would allow her to survive. Closing her eyes as she tried to push away the waking moments, she took a moment to think about herself and what her goals were. She could embrace this day like any other, begrudging it for simply existing or she could get up, put a smile on and face the world. Choosing the harder path, Claire stumbled towards the shower. After a quick refreshing shower she sought about making some herbal tea. Coffee was ok but not on a day like this.

The smell of warm cinnamon apple filled the small flat making her wonder absently if she was smelling freshly baked apple pie. Sipping her tea, Claire thought about what the days tasks were to be. Today they would open Fire and Ice officially and she was nervous yet excited at the same time. After all both her and Jesse seemed to be following the meticulous plan that had been set forth and she was not about to let the opportunity slip by.

When her tea was finished, Claire rinsed the mug out in the sink and headed downstairs. Slowly she turned on the lights in the back of the shop and made her way down towards the front. Each set of lights made her realize that her current reality was simply that real, not some fantasy or dream that sprung in their head but something tangible and true. Flipping the lock on the door and pushing it open to make sure that it was work, Claire flipped the sign from Closed to Open and took a seat behind the counter.

Grabbing some of the sketch paper that was there and a rather worn graphite pencil, she started to draw a rather intricate knot-work design, one that she had seen many years ago but had not been able to find again. She sat drawing, waiting for customers or anyone to come in and talk to her.

template by wreckoftheday ! of caution.

[Jesse Churchill]

Throb. Throb. Throb throb. THROB.

'Fuck off,' Jesse tried to mutter angrily, but succeeded only in uttering a garbled ball of nonsense that came out sounding suspiciously like 'gabba ball oaf'. A minute hand flopped its way across her eyes and she growled low in her throat, her nose wrinkling slightly as she attempted to cleanse her senses of the scent apple and cinnamon.

Jess fucking hated tea.

She hated sunlight.

She really hated mornings.

She despised responsibility.

And guess what four of those things were facing her this lovely morning?

She could hear Claire downstairs, stinking up the loft with her stupid herbal teas. No motivation to move. Jesse resembled a broken corpse, limbs askew and lengthy hair matted with a permanent look of deep irritation on her face.

It was Fire and Ice's opening day, and she knew the night before that she had to open up shop early. That didn't seem like such a big deal seeing that the second she'd had her fun with her baby sis', she'd crashed on the bed and not woken up even when Clairebear had clambered over her around midnight and gotten into bed. She quickly did the math in her head. Twenty-one hours of sleep. Ugh, still not enough. With a sigh, she thought back to the night before wistfully. Seeing Gin again had been god-send. 'And,' she thought suddenly, one of her fingers twitching slightly. 'there's a Starbucks now...' The corpse was suddenly animated, a look of intense purpose and anticipation on its face.

Jesse flipped herself out of bed and padded her way to the bathroom. Dragging a brush swiftly through her hair and throwing on the nearest bits of make up and jewellery she could find, Jess made it out the door in record time.

She all but flew down the steps, made her way over to a disgruntled-looking Claire, gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, and all but danced her way out the door in the same clothes she'd had on the day before.

As the door swung shut behind her, she managed a quick "Back soon, sexy!" over her shoulder before she disappeared.

----------

:Jesse's Outfit: :Number of Words: 367