The Perk, Sunday Late Morning

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy had meant to show up yesterday; that had been her plan, and that had been behind the timing of the portal she'd booked. So naturally, the portal had gotten rerouted three times (the six hour layover in what looked like a temple to Aphrodite had been amusing, at least) and delayed her arrival until today. Just as naturally, she'd immediately

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[chic_harper]

Harper, who had been having her own issues with Portalocity, decided she really needed a cup of coffee before trying to deal with them again. Just so she'd be ready when the time came, she had customer service on speakerphone while waiting for her latte. After all, the recording said that her call was important and a representative would be with her shortly.

[brat_inslayage]

Oh, she so recognized that stupid recording. Kennedy glanced over and raised an eyebrow, then made a face, mouthing You too?

[chic_harper]

Harper nodded. Then the recording ended and she eagerly turned her attention back to the phone. But a few seconds later, a new recording started to play: "We are experiencing a higher call volume than usual. Please stay on the line. Your call is important to us..."

[brat_inslayage]

"God, of course," Kennedy snorted, and couldn't resist raising her voice to yell "Important, my ass," at the phone.

[chic_harper]

"I don't even know how they stay in business," said Harper, shaking her head. "They keep giving me all these points and miles and whatever as compensation, but they still can't get me where I want to go."

[brat_inslayage]

"At least you could get places. That whole technical mess that took down the network a while ago didn't get fixed in my dimension until February," Kennedy offered, not particularly determined to be bitchy about it. "Though they've mostly been better about it since I threatened to sic Dad's lawyers on them. Lemme guess, missed out on the thing last night too?"

[chic_harper]

"No, I managed to get here in time for that. I've been able to get in and out of Fandom without a problem. It's just that I can't seem to get home," said Harper. "Every time I try to get a portal to New York City, something goes wrong. I've been living out of a suitcase for months now."

[brat_inslayage]

"Ew. Okay, I think that might blow even more, in a way." Kennedy grimaced again. "Want me to try yelling at them for you?"

[chic_harper]

"Be my guest if they ever answer the phone," said Harper. "It's been nice to be able to travel, and I've enjoyed all of it except for the Fire Swamp. But I'd really like a chance to sleep in my own bed in the basement again."

[brat_inslayage]

"Right? Nothing wrong with seeing new places and all, except I could pass on the Fire Swamp too, but after a while you just want to be home again," Kennedy agreed. Miraculously, she did not make a snarky comment on the basement thing. (It actually kind of made her miss Spike.) "You can get in touch with your world, can't you?"

[chic_harper]

"Sort of. I've been getting text messages and a few phone calls," said Harper. Her parents weren't the best at keeping in touch.

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy nodded, looking relieved. "Well, at least you know it's still there. That's something. So weird, though. Not that I'm an expert on dimensional travel or anything. Just an expert on the occasional suckage thereof."

[chic_harper]

"I think they're just confused because my dimension has magic people and non-magic people," said Harper. "They've offered me portals to Wiz Tech, but that's useless to me since I'm not magical. I'd never be able to find my way back to my home from there. I'm not even supposed to know about magic in my world."

[brat_inslayage]

"Then hey, good on you for breaking that rule," Kennedy decided. "No hookups on the magical side who could help you get home from there, though?"

[chic_harper]

"My friend Alex or her brother Justin could probably help. They have some sort of gateway in their wizard lair," said Harper. And there was Max, of course, but he wasn't particularly good with magic. Who knows where Harper could end up if she relied on him?

"Justin is the best at fixing things magically. It's just too bad he keeps screening my phone calls. He thinks I'm stalking him."