Post-Election Party

[broken_brushes]

The latest round of Island Council elections were finished, and I once again had the job of posting the results to the Compound bulletin board:
Tabula Rasa Island Council - Term 12

General RepresentativesShari Cooper

Comments

[highf]

I don't know how he manages it, but Craig often looks like he's the most uncomfortable person in the room. At the party. At the beach. Not that I've been specifically keeping an eye out for him- I haven't, and let's be honest, I don't really have the attention span to be following any single person here on the island- but whenever he does happen to come out of the woodwork, I just want to find someone to give him a neckrub. Shaking my head, I let out a soft huff of a laugh, before waving towards the seat welcomingly.

"If I were to deny a seat to the artist who spent a good amount of time capturing my likeness, I'm pretty sure that'd make me an awful person," I remark, raising a brow.

[makemaps]

It's always really comforting to see a familiar face. Even if I've only met him once, its really good to see Kurt. I drop down on the step next to him, digging my heels into the grass as I look around.

"Pretty good, right?" I say, rubbing the back of my neck. He mentions drawing and I find myself thinking about it; I stare at his profile for a moment and wish I had a sketchbook.

[highf]

"You mean the party? It's nice," I agree, although a bit hesitantly so. Needless to say, I could be taking far more advantage of the party right now than I am, seated off to the side, but between all of the familiar faces that leave me starstruck, I'm not sure that I'd even be able to find the voice to talk, let alone about Council affairs. I managed to hold myself together while listening to the actual speeches, but seeing Chris Evans and Emma Watson completely decked out here (never mind that I know that they're their fictional counterparts), among so many others, leaves me incapable of coherent thought once I'm within three feet of any of them. "All parties here are kind of glamorous, honestly."

I turn and glance at him briefly again, before cutting into the piece of cake that I'm currently coping with. "Unless you mean the likeness, in which case yes, more than pretty good. But I already knew that you were talented," I shake my head, taking another bite.

[makemaps]

"I know, right?" I say, laughing, because...honestly, it's kind of a relief to hear him say it. "Back home, my idea of a party was weed and pizza." And ogling my best friend's girlfriend. And then probably puking.

Seriously. Life and soul of the party.
I huff a laugh and shake my head.

"I'm getting better. I need more practise."

[highf]

"Everyone needs more practice. It's an ongoing thing for an artist. The very moment that you decide that you're above it all, practicing and whatnot, is the point when your progress just tanks. Believe me, you pause and point to any number of has-been celebrities, you'll see it's that they stopped pushing themselves after a while. Of course we'd lose interest," I point out with a shrug, running through various examples in my mind. Somehow, there's one that stands out especially much. "Think about Shirley Temple, even. Dated example, but it's not even like there was anyone even remotely competitive with her cute little act. She still became tired and practically vanished from the limelight."

Gazing lightly around at the other partygoers, I tap my chin, suppressing the real smile that threatens to take over at the mere sight of them all. "As for my idea of a party... well, honestly, this isn't too far from the idea. I'm rather a fan of the glamor."

[makemaps]

That's all a little bit overwhelming, and I find myself just nodding and taking a sip of my drink. Sometimes, I just feel so out of my depth. I sit with people and I feel like I'm shrinking, and there's something inside me that's building and bubbling and it's got no way to come out.

I heave out a sigh.

"Yeah. Me and glamour don't exactly...go hand in hand or anything."

[highf]

"You'd think that," I say with a skeptical raise of my brow, a light shrug so as not to overwhelm him or make him believe that I'm about to descend in a mass of feathers and sequins. "But I find that everyone's got a bit of glamor in them. It's not always Broadway or Old Hollywood glamor. Sometimes it's a bit of Elvis, rock'n'roll... but there's something in everyone waiting to shine. Or at least, that's what I like to think."

I allow myself a small laugh, staring down at my lap.

"After the people I've gotten to know recently, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to argue. It just takes a bit of courage."

[makemaps]

"Maybe that's where I'm going wrong," I say because courage is kind of where I've always been lacking. I'm not brave. If I was brave, maybe I'd have had the balls to step off that bridge. 3 North would never have happened.

"Bravery isn't exactly my...strong point."

[highf]

"It was never really my strong point either. I'm still not really convinced that it is, even now," I confess, and it feels easy doing so, somehow, owning up to the fact that courage is something I've been working to build up to. Little texts during school hours, letters torn from magazines and pasted to my locker door- it's things like this that have kept me going recently, and only in the past few months had I really started feeling like I could rise above it all. It's never been easy.

"Actually, for me it was... this friend of mine that kept me going, as silly as it sounds. I used to be bullied rather frequently. And he just encouraged me to keep my chin held high in spite of all of it. After a while, you start believing in yourself, I guess, after someone else believes in you like that."

I smile. "For what it's worth, I believe you're capable of it. Courage."

[makemaps]

"I'm not convinced I've got any friends anymore," I say, clearing my throat and looking down at my hands. I wish I had a pencil, suddenly, and a notebook. I prefer it when my hands are busy and Kurt's got a nice profile to draw. The lines worked.

"They kind of look at me like I'm from another planet. And they're still in Brooklyn, anyway."

[highf]

"I don't know about Brooklyn," I shrug, pursing my lips. Honestly, the dreams I have of New York are all perfect, sparkling, this dream that is probably neither realistic or attainable. But as fun as it is to just dream for the sake of keeping one's goals high, I know that the real thing may not be as glamorous. Certainly not when it comes to school. (Ever since I turned seventeen, I started reading about things like this; didn't want to waste my vote when it actually came to me.) "I've been in Ohio practically my whole life, and my dad's job has kept us from really venturing any further than Tennessee on road trips."

I pause. "But hey, we're friends, aren't we? Not especially close, but that can always change."