milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Cliff's at a table near the Observation Window. He's trying not to stare, or not too often. Mostly he's people-watching, in between studying a checkerboard. No one's there, yet he has the pieces laid out as if for a game in progress.

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If he's people-watching, he'll probably see Seymour pass by, a bouquet of yellow roses in one hand and an old-fashioned bottle of Coke in the other. Both hands are covered in Band-Aids.

"Hey, Seymour!" Cliff waves. "How's it going?"
The Band-Aids get a look, all right.

Seymour blinks a few times. "Oh, Mr. Huxtable! Hello, sir!"

The young man approaches, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, I can't quite remember - d'ya hear about Twoie yet?"

"I don't think I have, no. Come sit down," pulling out a chair for him.

"Thanks!"

Seymour looks over at the table worriedly. "I, uh, I don't wanna interrupt your game, though...."

"It's okay. I have the positions copied down--This is a copy of a game a friend of mine and I back home are playing. I'm just trying to figure out what his next move's gonna be." Cliff slides the checkers back to starting positions. "Do you play?"

"You copied it down?" Seymour replies, mystified. That seems a lot of planning for just a game.

"Oh, uh, used to when I was a kid. Haven't had much time lately. Business has really picked up." He smiles proudly at that, as if he's responsible for it - and he is.

Cliff winces. "What can I say, except that the friend in question *really* likes the game in general. He doesn't like to
lose."

"Oh, that's good to hear! What happened?"

"Who's your friend?" Seymour asks.

He pauses, adjusting his glasses, setting his yellow roses down across his lap. "Well, first of all, d'you know what numbers are? ...Like, not math numbers, but 'number' numbers?"

Cliff looks puzzled, then, "Musical numbers? I can't think of any other kind."

Seymour looks nervous, then takes a breath.

"So, um, I can do those. Because I'm from a world where people do those all the time." His smile a small, appeasing, please don't mock me kinda smile.

"Like singing and dancing? Is that what 'Twoie' is?"

"Singing, dancing - but only sometimes, thank God - music from outta nowhere, that sorta stuff," Seymour confirms.

Then he shakes his head. "Naw, Twoie's a plant I found. Uh, I can do a number about how I found 'im, though!"

He's shyly proud, like a child showing off his art project.

"Hey, go for it," Cliff says, interested, and sits back to play audience.

Seymour says, "You remember that total eclipse of the sun about a month ago?"

The music the sound system was playing abruptly cuts out, replaced by: Da doo! sung by invisible back up. '60s do-wop plays and the back up sings as Seymour speaks, the sound seeming to come from all around rather than the speakers.

"I was walkin by the side of the lake that day."
Shoop da-doo
"And I passed by this place where there's this big old tree,"
Pine da-doo
"Where I stopped to rest and, y'know, have a look around."
Look da-doo!
"'Cause it's winter, you see, and a very nice day outside."
Da da da da da da-doo!

"There wasn't anything unusual there that day."
Nope, da-doo!
"So I was just about to, ya know, walk on by,"
Good for you!
When suddenly,"
Da doo
"And without warning, there was this to-tal e-clipse of the sun!

It got very dark and there was this strange
Sound like something from another world."
Da-doo!
"And when the light came back this weird plant was just sitting there,"
Whoop-see-doo
"Just, you know, sitting near this tree."
Audrey Two!
"I coulda sworn it hadn't been there before,
But it looked so lonely and sad,
That I had to take it out of the cold."
Sha la la, la la la, la la la loo.

Cliff listens, amazed, and then grinning, both at Seymour and at the background music. "Not bad atall. So what happened then, with you and the plant?"

That song always makes Seymour smile.

"Well, I figured out how to take care of it, and now it's been growing real big. Up to four feet tall, now! I still don't know what breed it is," he shifts a bit in his seat, "but...that doesn't matter so much. Everyone wants to come take a look at it. And buy flowers, since they're in a flower shop."

The thought of money coming in makes Seymour's smile grow wider.

"Hey, all right!" Cliff grins, then looks curious. "Do you have a photo of it? Sounds like you really lucked out,and about time."

"No - I haven't bought a camera yet. But it's on my list of things to buy. I," Seymour says happily, "have a list.

"Twoie's around four feet tall, now. He's dark green, has a fleshy pod - looks a bit like a large Venus flytrap, really - four vines, and three huge dark green leaves. He's a beaut."

"WOW.
You must've been working your...self hard, looking after him. Wish I could see." Cliff grins. "Congratulations."

((and I'm really sorry, but I have to go to work soon. Pick this up tomorrow sometime?))

[ooc: Sure thing! See you then!]

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