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Plans made the girls have met at the EL to go into town and shop for their dresses for Homecoming.

OOC: Fate roll is a budget (arbitrary) figure that your parents have set for this item and accessories.

For some of you, like Sylvia, this comes as a suprise altogether.  For some, like Sammy, the figure is a suprise.

Sammy's dad offers to take her to the station.  The two of them stop at a bakery on the way to pick up a box of pastries for home.  Dad buys extra pastries and hot chocolate for himself and for Sammy.  After they've finished eating, he drops her off at the station with a reminder to call home if she needs anything.   Sammy waits for the other girls in a sheltered standing area.

Megan had gotten up when her alarm clock hard rung, the third time.  When she realized she was running a bit late, she quickly got up, adrenaline helping break through her tiredness for a bit as she rushed to shower and get dressed.  Her mom was still asleep, so she moved a full speed, getting dressed, fixing her hair a bit and putting on some makeup.  She was still very tired, but looking forward to going shopping with the other girls, and getting coffee. 

Today she was wearing a pair of dark AG Jeans and green Bejeweled Diamond hoodie.  It was a little short, so showed a bit of her midsection, thankfully it was not to cold outside just yet.  Once she was ready, she set off to get to the train station, not wanting to deal with her mom today.  She arrived about on time, spotting Sammy waiting at the platform.  “Hey Sammy.”  She says with a yawn as she went over towards the other girl.

(ooc here is Megan’s hoodie http://www.fashionchateau.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=511&BrandId=&CategoryId=8)

"Now you have a good time," Mitzi says, stopping the car near the shelter where Sammy and Megan stand.  "Don't flash your money around, and if the other girls want to buy alcohol or cigarettes, what do you say?"

"No, thanks, I'm cool," Sylvia recites, weary with the safety litany.  "We'll be okay, Mom."

"Just have fun," Mitzi says, "and call me if you need anything."  She tucks a wisp of hair behind Sylvia's ear and then leans across the car to deliver a kiss to her daughter's cheek before Sylvia escapes.  It's like Sylvia's leaving for college, instead of for the afternoon.

Sylvia has tried to dress like a normal teenage girl.  The jeans she bought for skulking around at night figure prominently in this new look, but the Icelandic cardigan her mother knit her is like a fiber-arts depiction of the Pacific ocean, complete with sea foam and kelp.  "Hi, guys," Sylvia says.

Sammy feels a blast of pure, unadulterated envy when she gets a look at Megan's clothes.  She thinks "She's pretty.  She's popular.  Boys worship even the towels she sweats on.  She's wealthy.  She's smart.  She has everything.  Please, God, let there be some justice, and let her be really miserable inside."

She forces herself to be nice.  She even smiles in response to the greeting.

"Hey.  What's up?  Oh, look!  There's Sylvia!" 

Turning towards Sylvia as Sammy said hello and then mentioned she had arrived, Megan turns towards the other girl with a smile that only is a hint tired.  “Hey Sylvia.  Now looks like we just need Sarah and we’re set.  Hopefully she isn’t running late, or her brother hasn’t done something to end up in the emergency room again, we don’t want to miss the train.” 

Sammy leans agains a wall and stares out towards the car passenger drop off zone.  "So what's the plan for today?  Dresses first, then costumes?  I'm going to need shoes too.  Do you have any stores in mind?"

Megan yawned again as she waited for Sarah, looking over at Sammy as she asked about the plan for the day.  “First thing is to get coffee.  Otherwise I will be useless.”  Megan says with a grin.  “But then, well, whatever you all want to do first, costumes or dresses.  The dresses will need to be before shoes and any other accessories though.  As for stores, well, that depends on what styles each of you might be interested in and how much your parents said you could spend.  I have a few in mind, but there will be plenty to choose from either way.”

Sarah's Dad pulls up in the Blue Forrester and Sarah hops out of the passenger door after a kiss and a wave.  She nods to something her dad is saying and waves her cellphone at him.  She runs off to join the others with a grin.

She's dressed in a black tank and pants, matching brand x shoes and an orange zip-up sweatshirt with a couple dozen decals sewn all over it. 

"Heya!  Sorry I'm late.  I spilled juice all down the first set of clothing.  Let's hit the trail!"

Megan turns to see Sarah arrive just as the train was coming into view.  She smiles at the other girl, “just in time to.”  Once aboard, the quartette grabs some seats as Megan sits down by Sarah and they are off.  After paying the conductor for their fares, the girls have a bit of time before they will be in the city.

Megan yawns as she pulls her legs up and leans against Sarah.  “Be sure to wake me up if I fall asleep, last night was a long, long night.  So after coffee, strong coffee, what does everyone want to start with?  Dresses or costumes?”

Sarah shrugs, "I don't care as long as we have plenty of time left over to buy alcohol and hang out with strange men.  Do you think I can get a tattoo?"  

Sylvia has learned that Sarah's joking most of the time so she doesn't have to spit out her "No, thanks, I'm cool," line.  Instead, she asks, "Hey, Megan?  Why so tired?  Were you out?"  She says "out" with the weighty tone of implication.

Megan chuckled slightly at Sarah’s joke as her eyes started to drift closed, only to open a bit again as Sylvia asked her why she was so tired.  It took a moment, but she caught the meaning of the way she said “out” somehow through the haze of sleepiness.  “No, not like that at least.  But I didn’t get home and to bed till after four this morning.”

Sammy had been staring out the scratched glass window of the Metra car, watching the Chicago suburbs roll by.  She turns back towards the other girls.   "I vote for dresses first.   I'd rather spend money on that and shoes and then see how much I have left over for a costume."  She casually studies her nails.  "Who will be taking you all to Homecoming?  Megan, did Kel ask you?  He said he was going to ask, but I never found out what happened."

Megan nodded slightly at Sammy’s comment about looking for dresses first.  “Yeah, that is probably the best order.  Really want to get the best dress you can, who cares that much about a Halloween costume?  You can always do things to fix those up without much trouble.” 

When she asked if Kel had her to Homecoming, Megan remembered the disappointment that he had when she had to turn him down as she replied.  “Yeah, Kel asked me, but he was about ten minutes too late.  Seth had already asked me.”  She paused a moment and then added, “but, he was quicker Thursday, asking me to the Janush Halloween party after Elrod started telling people about it.”

Sammy keeps going, trying to work out this week's relationship puzzle.  "Ah.  I guess Sarah is going with Colin then?  I am not sure who you wanted to go with, Sylvia, it seemed like you were making up your mind about some things a couple of nights ago.  I'm going with Elrod Janush.  He asked if I wanted him to take me, and I said I'd go with him.  He seems nice enough."

Sarah nods to Sammy, "That's cool Sammy.  So you don't know Elrod very well?  It's as good a chance as any to get to know him.  Colin asked me and I was all goofy when he had set up this romantic thing.  I am such a loser sometimes." 
She looks over to the drowsy Megan, "I was joking with Colin about dressing up as Velocity for Halloween.  Might be a little too cool by then.  Hey what are we going to do in the winter?  From December until April I'm going to look like Kenny from Southpark.  Is there like a fund for underprivileged do-gooders?  Maybe like a couple pairs of those hot-chilis..."  She shrugs.

"More urgently what kind of dress should I get?  I mean... what sort of dress do you wear to a homecoming?"

Megan looked over at Sammy as she mentioned she was going with Elrod.  Sarah thought that was pretty cool, but Megan wondered if Sarah remembered he was a Senior.  While she found it a bit odd for a Senior to be wanting to go with a Freshman girl, the blond girl decided not to bring up that subject.  She instead replied.  “Well, I don’t know Elrod very well, whenever I was over at the Janush house, Lisa tended to stay well away from him and his friends.  The only good thing I have heard her say about him was his ability to get a party going in almost no time.  But, I will admit that she is very likely a rather biased source of information.”

She then turned to Sarah to grin at her friend as she mentioned being goofy when Colin had asked her out.  The blond girl was glad things were working out for Sarah after she had followed her advice and decided to see what happened with Colin.  When Sarah mentioned dressing up as Velocity for Halloween, Megan raised an eyebrow.  She had not even considered that people might dress up like her this coming Halloween, she wondered if there might be others considering it.

“Dressing up like..Velocity?”  But she then focused on Sarah’s comments about what to do in the winter.  “Well, as I tend to run around a lot, not sure how cold I will be, but I guess I will have to stop from time to time.  When it starts getting colder I have a microfleece undershell I wear skiing in Aspen or Vail during the second half of my family’s typical Holiday vacation.  I’ll probably try that under my costume and see how it is or if it gets too hot running around with it.”

“As for the dress, you want an evening grown, but whether it is short or long in length is up too you.  But Homecoming will be in November, so short would seem a bit odd, but it will be indoors.  Personally, I have always liked the longer gowns, more classic and elegant, so has my mom and sister.  For cocktail dresses I go with the shorter.”

Arriving in the city Megan gets a jolt of caffine and the girls prowl the avenue of high end dress shops.  Megan helps them navigate the styles and color choices until they've all found a dress in their budget that they like and looks good on them.  Once the selection process is finished the dresses get set for alterations and the girls move on to the next objective, some lunch, before doing the Halloween costume thing.

( :P your interrupting the chance for the girls to chat!  Colin and Donnie get to chat all the time, why can’t the girls!!  I wasn’t planning on detailing out the dress shopping, lol  :))

After getting her jolt of caffeine and then onto Michigan Avenue, Megan was her normal energetic self as she guided the other girls through the numerous high end stores that spread along the “Magnificent Mile”.  Hugo Boss, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent and many others.  Once they had found their dresses, and shoes for those that needed them, they were back outside and ready to go somewhere for lunch.

Looking at the others, Megan asked.  “So, where too for lunch?  There is a Bubba Gumps Shrimp Factory nearby, or the ESPN Zone, or, we can grab a cab and head down there, for a really great lunch experience.”  She pointed down the street towards the end of the “Mile” and to the John Hancock building, her finger then going up to point at the top of the one hundred story building.  “The restaurant up there has the most amazing views.”

As the girls walk along the sidewalk doing their shopping, Sammy spots a shop window filled with winter wear and it gives her an idea.  "Hey, Sarah, do you think silk long underwear would work under a costume?  I've worn them under my band uniform and stayed pretty warm, but the uniforms are sort of warm anyhow.  What kind of look are you going for -- what do you want your image to be?  With that staff, you could totally own the whole fantasy hero look, and they can wear wool and furs.  Me, I'm thinking hard about the White Witch look from the Narnia movies."


Sammy looks to where Megan is pointing.  "Yeah, it would be neat to see that one from the inside.  I've only been on the roof when I stopped to take a rest there."

“Really?”  Megan asked as she glanced around, making sure no one was near the girls.  “I can run up the side of buildings, but haven’t tried anything that tall yet.  Only six or so stories so far.  Maybe I will one night, but might want to have you nearby to catch me if for some reason I can’t get all the way to the top.”

She looks at the other two girls.  “What you two think?  Shall I flag us a cab?  Or would you all rather walk?”

Three girls, really.  Sylvia's been contributing to the conversation, albeit in an indifferent way.  She's happy enough to be along on the excursion, but she has something on her mind.  It shows.

(OOC: Cass, I said two girls as Megan was looking at Sylvia and Sarah to see if they wanted to eat there, as Sammy said she did :))

(ooc well, this next bit will seem a bit out of place, but I was expecting it to come up on the train ride, but that got suddenly cut short!  So I am throwing it in as Megan wanted to talk about it)

As she waited for Sylvia and Sarah’s answer to where they might want to eat, Megan continued along the sidewalk with the other three girls.  “So, anyway, last night was so busy.  First, I went to on a movie date with Zach Bergman, one of the Freshmen on the wrestling team.  Got home from that at just before eleven.  Then my mom and I went to this old theater in the city to meet up with Greg and some of the drama club to see a couple of old Hitchcock films, that lasted till well after three in the morning.”

Sylvia suggests ESPN.  Carolyn's taught her a mannish enthusiasm for televised sports.  "What movies?" she asks.

“Okay, one vote for ESPN Zone and two for the Hancock building”  Megan says as she focuses on Sylvia as the other girl asks her what movies she had seen.  “Well, the first one was (insert current action movie in 2007), but I didn’t really get to see much of that one.  For the late night movies, they were ‘To Catch a Thief’ and ‘Frenzy.”

Sylvia searches her memory, abstract gaze settling on the limp Sunday traffic.  "I haven't seen those.  I hear Frenzy was scary when it first came out--a different kind of movie with a different kind of villain."  She considers further.  Apparently Megan's hit upon a topic Sylvia can latch onto.  "I liked Rear Window.  That came out at about the same time as To Catch A Thief, didn't it?  Grace Kelly was a princess even before she was a princess."

Megan looked at Sylvia for a second, wondering why the hell she wanted to talk about the two Hitchcock movies before she replied.  “Well, I didn’t care that much for ‘Frenzy’, it was a bit disturbing.”  Perhaps because I was feeling really pissed at the guy sitting next to me during it.  Megan thought before she continued.  “But the ‘villain’ was a serial killer, not in a slasher movie type of way, but more the real type.  But it was about this guy, who was something of a jerk you didn’t feel to sorry for, who was being blamed for his crimes.  But the most disturbing part was the scene where one of the female characters is raped and murdered.  It was a bit graphic, even for such an old film.  But ‘To Catch a Thief’ was much more interesting, after all, it had Cary Grant and, as you said, Grace Kelly.  And your right, she totally had style that was unmistakable.”

"You could do Grace Kelly," Sylvia says.  "Chanel, pearls, and the hair."  She gestures, trying to depict the star's perfect coiffure.  "It'd probably get Greg's attention."

Megan was quite a moment, thinking about Sylvia’s suggestion and feeling a bit flattered by it.  “Well, I do like Chanel, and also have some pearls at home.  But you know, I put enough time, effort and money into my appearance already, why should I have to do something like that for anybody?  Zach sure seemed plenty satisfied with me as I am.” 

She shrugged as she continued along, in her mind thinking about how the only thing she wanted from Greg right now was to cause him anguish over missing out on any chance with her.  But she had a feeling he likely would not let things bother him too much, focused as he seemed with his projects and goals, but it was still nice to dream.

Sarah asks, "What kind of food does the Hitchcock place have?"

Megan laughs at Sarah’s comment.  “That’s Hancock.  Hitchcock was a director.  And it has a mix of things, mainly American style, but more gourmet than the ESPN Zone.”

Sarah grimaces, "My wallet doesn't do gourmet very well.  It starts making these sad little sobbing noises when it gets all empty and then I'd have to just cut a couple holes in an old bed sheet at home for my costume."

Megan looks over at her friend and grins.  “Who said any of you would be paying for lunch?  Sides, it isn’t really gourmet, but the ESPN Zone isn’t exactly cheap either.”

"I'll go anywhere," Sylvia says.  "Who's Zach?"

Megan turns back to look at Sylvia, wondering why everyone else seemed so out of it today when she was the one operating on only about four hours of sleep, propped up only by caffeine and the excitement of shopping.  “My date earlier last night.  Wrestler.  Freshman boy.  Rather cute.  When you called me Wednesday about that creep shooting up the school I had been flirting with him as he is in my class that period.  When I excused myself after your call I asked him if he wanted to see a movie on Saturday and he said yes.  Not a bad finish for the day, a hot date and punching out a ray gun wielding creep.”

"So Zach took you to a movie, and then Greg took you to two more?"  Sylvia's eyebrows rise for a moment.  "Wow."

"That's nothing.  Greg made us watch five movies in a row once.  Said it was to keep our brains from drying up from lack of use.  I feel like I've failed him in that this year."  Sarah shrugs, "But hey I've got a cool glow stick I can take to all the raves now so who cares right?"

Megan glances over at Sarah and her apparent misunderstanding of what Sylvia was likely meaning.  Focusing back on Sylvia, Megan shrugged.  “Like I said, a long night, but one that sadly just seemed to go downhill the longer it went.  Things with Zach started out really good.  The first late night movie was pretty good, but the last movie, like I mentioned, was sort of a real downer.”

"Greg's a complicated guy.  I get the feeling he's always looking for something specific.  In his work and in other people.  High-maintenance."

Megan shrugs, not really wanting to talk about Greg anymore.  “Well, I am to.  No biggy, plenty more boys on the horizon.”

'Well if Megan's buying we might as well have a view."  Sarah nods, "So lets head to the tower."

“Well lets get going then.”  Megan replied to Sarah’s agreement with the restaurant at the top of the John Hancock building, picking up the pace a bit as she started towards the mammoth building, actually somehow managing to avoid letting herself be slowed down as they passed storefront windows with all sorts of high fashion on display.

Sammy isn't as quick to move along.  She can't afford to buy most of the things she sees in these windows, but looking is free.  She is particularly entranced by the wares in the jewelry displays.  Oooh!  *Sparkly!* Pretty!  She starts to lag behind the other girls, but figures she can catch up quickly enough.  She knows where they are going.

Megan lead the girls along, stopping every once and awhile as Sammy fell behind for her to catch up, eventually the four reaching the base of the towering John Hancock building.  The elevator ride up to the Signature Room was quicker than one would expect, being an express elevator that dropped them off on the 95th floor.  As they got out, they could hear the sounds of people in the restaurant, two stories of windows surrounding them everywhere, looking out over the rest of the city and the lake beyond with a breathtaking view.

The blond teen glanced over at the lines of people moving through the restaurant as she shook her fist.  “Right, Sunday, they are having brunch.  No matter, it is still great.  They have great selections of breakfast or lunch dishes, including various seafood, gourmet salads, a caviar bar and some great desserts.”  She said to the others as she lead them inside.  They were taken to a seat by the hostess right after entering, getting lucky to have one near some of the windows.  After they sit down and drop off what shopping bags they have, Megan says, “well, ready to get some food?”

"Sounds good to me.  I'm starving!"  Sammy makes a beeline for the omelet station and asks the friendly looking blond haired chef for a ham, cheese, and vegetable omelet.  On the way back to the table she picks up a small serving of fried potatos and a dish of mixed fruit.  She asks the table server to bring her a virgin mimosa (orange juice and sparkling cider with grenadine and a cherry).

"At last!  Oh wow, this smells so good!  Breakfast is always my favorite."  Sarah follows Sammy to the omelet station and orders a ham, mushroom and scallion.  While they're working on it she hits the breakfast pastries and salmon but saving a littl room on the side for some long strips of bacon.  Circling back around she retrieves the omelet and asks the server for a coffee with lots of whole milk. 

Finally settled in with a stack of food she sighs with delight. 

For her lunch, Megan grabbed a large plate of salad with romaine hearts, crispy pancetta and tomato.  She also got a small plate with some chilled shrimp, crab claws, caviar and smoked Norwegian salmon.  Once sitting back down with the others, she ordered some more coffee as well, and drank plenty of water.

As they started eating, she looked over at the other girls as she said, “well my dad left early this morning to go to meet with some campaign financing people about his plans to run for the US Senate.  He said that on the way back, he was going to be meeting with the NSA, possibly to get some ideas about what could be done about all the crazy things going on around here.”

Sammy works on her omelet and eyeballs the other offerings being served around the room.  Her appetite has increased dramatically since her powers kicked in.  "I guess he's always busy running around doing political stuff, isn't he,  and he's only a mayor of a not so big place, not like Chicago or LA or some real city.  I bet it'll be even worse and he'll be gone even more if he gets to be in the Senate.  Do you get to see him very much at all now? I'd hate it if my Dad was away all the time.  He's goofy and really embarrassing sometimes, but he's my dad, you know?  But maybe you'll get to move to Washington!"  She thinks of the vacation the family took to the nation's capital several years ago at the beginning of July so they could see the Independence Day fireworks on the Mall, and remembers how horribly sticky and hot it was, and how the sky was almost yellow with haze and the air crunchy with exhaust and grit.  She looks at Megan's diamond hoodie, smiles happily, and says "You''ll love it there!  So much to see and do!  And all those diplomat's sons to date!"


OOC:  meow. :laugh:

Megan nods as she replies.  “Yeah, he’s always busy, but then, has always been as long as I can remember.  Before he ran for mayor, he was a partner at the Chicago office of the largest law firm in the country, and sitting on the board of directors for a few companies, including Boeing for a couple of years.  I am sure it would be a lot worse if he becomes a Senator.  As it is now, I never know when I come home if there might be a note from my mom telling us to we have to be dressed and ready for some function or another in a couple of hours.  That will likely become more common as well when he’s a Senator.  But hopefully with a bit more warning.”

When Sammy mentioned moving to Washington, Megan thought a moment and shrugged.  “Maybe, maybe not.  DC’s okay, been there a few times, but its not like he will be there all the time, mainly when the Senate’s in session.  Also, he might not want to uproot Donnie and me from things here.  Sides, they would likely have to put us in some private school there, I hear the public schools there are pretty bad.  Guess we will have to see.  But I might get to go to DC in the Spring, if the Constitutional Debate Team wins the State finals, we would go to DC for a National competition.”

Megan takes a drink of water and then adds with a smile, “sides, if my dad does become a Senator, that would likely make getting into the college of my choice all the easier.” 

As the girls continued to talk and eat, Megan took out her bank register and the receipts for what she had spent already for the day.  She had picked out a great Vera Wang dress at Nieman Marcus, and already had shoes that would fit just perfectly with it, so she had not needed to buy new ones this trip.  Not that she had not tried on many of the shoes they had looked at.  Once she had entered the receipt amounts and balanced her account, she took the black leather book that held the bill for the brunch and took a look at it briefly before putting her debit card in and handing it back to the waitress. 

When the final check came back, she quickly totaled the appropriate tip and added it all up, signing the copy for the restaurant and keeping one for herself.  Looking back up, she smiled at the other girls.  “So, all recharged and ready to find Halloween costumes?”

(OOC if anyone wants to try to peak at the bill, the total was $240.  According to the website menu, the Sunday Brunch is $42 a person, so just adding drinks, tax and tip)

Sammy excuses herself to go to the washroom before the girls take their leave.  On the way back she unobtrusively makes her way up to the cashier and explains "There was a mistake; I was supposed to pay my part of the bill, but my friend paid it all.  I feel really bad about making my friend pay the whole bill, and  I think she'll argue about it if I try to pay her now.  I dont' want a scene in the middle of your restaurant.  Is there any way you could you take this card, and credit her card for $50?"

If the cashier says no, then at least Sammy knows she tried not to take advantage of Megan's largesse.  She'll just have to treat later at the coffee shop or something.

(ooc once they have run a card, to recredit it, they would need the card again, which means they would have to ask Megan for it to rerun it :))

OOC: or they could just pocket your fifty.... but they probably wouldn't do that here... probably.

OOC:  Sammy's 14, and is using her parent's card.  She doesn't know.  If they say that they'll have to get Megan's card back in order to do this, Sammy will try to resort to Plan B, treating for snacks at a coffee shop or something along those lines.

Of course, they could always sell her a gift certificate for a brunch, and that would solve the problem nicely.

OOC: They would explain the card thing, so Sammy will have to try to make it up some other way.

After paying the bill and noting the amount in her register, Megan and the others headed out, meeting up with Sammy at the entrance and were soon in the express elevator back down to the street level.  Once outside, Megan started off towards a side street where she had looked up a costume shop online yesterday morning when she had been doing homework.  “So, anyone have any ideas on what they might want to dress up as?”  She asks, and then quickly adds as she glances at Sarah, “other than Velocity.”

Sammy shrugs.  "I have some ideas, but I want to see what the costume place has to offer."