Moving In! (open)

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Ezperanza balanced the box in her arms against her hip as she pursed her lips. Others stood scattered around S5 along with her furniture. The door to her new apartment hung wide open. Although she usually wore clothes to show her devotion to NM and promote her store, those simply wouldn't do for moving, and- thusly- she was in a dusty t-shirt and a pair of stained shorts. Cleaning clothes, she had dubbed them, and they did just fine for moving.

Speaking of cleaning, she had actually done so- unpacked her cleaning supplies first and scrubbed the whole place top to bottom. Ezperanza marveled at the fact that she was actually in New York City! The scariest thing of it all was the fact that it had all happened so quickly. She had decided what she was going to do and done it. Simple as that.. but it just felt that it shouldn't have been so EASY. Ezperanza grimly reminded herself that the hardest was yet to come. So what did this box hold again? And that simple thought jolted her back into her current task.

Holding onto thoughts of boxes and stuff to be put away wasn't easy, though, and soon Ezperanza found herself wondering about her new neighbors. What were they like? Were they potential customers? Potential friends, maybe even? Anything was possible, thought Ezperanza excitedly. Perhaps she should hold a hou- er... apartment warming party to get to meet and socialize with them. Oh! Here she was; she placed the box down in her apartment and continued down the hall to retrieve another one. This one was so large- especially compared to her tiny (or at least short) frame- that Ezperanza couldn't see over the top of it at all. Goodness but her boxes spread far down the hall. Suddenly, she bumped into somebody, jolting the box from her hand. Wincing, she hoped nothing had broken.

"Oh, I should have been more careful!" Ezperanza grimaced. She hoped she hadn't just made an enemy as she walked toward the person she had just knocked over. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

[dany]

FINALLY. School was finally out and she could finally head home for some peace and quiet. It’d been a particularly annoying day. Why were teenagers so obnoxious? Why couldn’t they just grow up? A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she drove into the parking lot of Jacobs Apartment Complex. Vanessa parked the car and pulled a hand through her dark hair. Checking in the rear view mirror, she realized how tired she looked. Great. Grabbing all of her things, she got out of the car and headed up to her apartment. All she wanted right now was a long nap. Normally, Vanessa would find something to do. Today, though, was different and she wasn’t in the mood for anything but rest.

Taking the stairs sucked but she hadn’t taken the elevator since the day it’d stopped working on her. She was stuck in there for a couple of hours and it had not been fun. There was no way she was going to risk that again. Vanessa turned the corner and nearly tripped over a box. What the hell? Regaining her balance, she looked down the rest of the hall and realized it was crowded with boxes. Seriously, what the hell? Was there some new resident she didn’t know about? Or were one of her neighbors just trying to piss her off? Vanessa groaned and fought the oncoming headache.

Watching her feet, Vanessa made her way through the maze of packages. Maybe she could just avoid meeting this new person for, well, ever. It wasn’t her best quality, greeting and welcoming others. Then, suddenly, she was on the floor. Ugh! She was going to kill whoever had just run into her. Looking up to said idiot, Vanessa realized she had no idea who the woman was. She had dark-hair and was wearing shorts and an old shirt. Vanessa stood, slowly and carefully, her head now aching. The female apologized and Vanessa was moderately happy about this. At least she knew it had been her fault. “Yeah, well, it’s fine,” Vanessa rolled her eyes and glanced around, once more, the crowded hall. “Moving in?”

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Ezperanza couldn't believe herself. She had just knocked somebody over. Lovely. She watched the woman as she rose to her feet, rolling her eyes and glancing- irritado- at Ezperanza's possessions scattered down the hall.

“Yeah, well, it’s fine,” “Moving in?”
The señorita seemed as though she was acting incredibly rude and immature, but Ezperanza wouldn't- couldn't- afford to offend her. Not only would it be bad for business, it would also be horrible to live next to someone who hated her.

"Yes," she admitted, half smiling, half frowning at the boxes; a silent apology for knocking the young lady over. "I'm starting a store in New York City. My name is Ezperanza. Ezperanza Montoya. Y tu?" She extended her hand in greeting, a friendly smile on her face as she waited for a response.

[dany]

Vanessa wasn’t quite sure why she’d asked such an obvious question. It was pretty clear that this woman was moving in. Some of the boxes weren’t shut all the way, packed full. Vanessa wondered why she couldn’t have requested help from somebody. It would’ve been nice if the hall had been empty when she got here. It was too late for that, though, and now she had to deal with this. She had to greet this new neighbor. Awesome. A new store? Well, maybe she’d be selling something interesting. “Oh? What sort?” she asked, unable to keep her curiosity at bay. Normally, Vanessa wouldn’t give a damn. On most days, she would’ve have ended this conversation by now. It wasn’t most days, apparently, because she was still standing here, talking. Ezperanza Montoya. Well, that was fun to say. And what had she just said? Oh. Great. Vanessa didn’t know any Spanish. She knew only English and that’s all she planned on speaking. Assuming it was a question about her name, she answered, “Vanessa Shaw. I’m in apartment three,” she pointed to the closed door down the hall. Why was she even telling her that? It’s not like she wanted anybody stepping by to say hello.

Vanessa wasn’t the best conversationalist, per say, and so she wasn’t quite sure what to say next. She didn’t really like getting to know people. “So...” she started and paused. “How do you like New York so far?” There, that was a legitimate question.

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“Oh? What sort?”

Ezperanza felt an inward glow as the young woman asked about her store. "I sell stuff from New Mexico- it's all authentic, most hand-made- such as pottery, jewelry... a lot of it is hand-worked silver. So, all in all, I sell items of adornment and aesthetics. I'm also thinking about including a costume jewelry portion, but I don't know how that would fit into the theme of my shop..." Ezperanza ended her rambling by simply trailing off. The lady had seemed muy interested when Ezperanza told her she was starting up a store.

“Vanessa Shaw. I’m in apartment three,”

Ezperanza tucked that away in her mind for later references. Dropping her extended hand as it was not shook, she ignored the slight awkwardness of it. She bent down, recovering the items that had been in the box she dropped as she continued the conversation.

“So...”“How do you like New York so far?”

From the pauses and slight indifference and other social habits that were slightly against the norm, Ezperanza gleaned that perhaps Vanessa wasn't used to being this friendly. Again, she tucked the information- or rather the conclusion she had jumped to- away for future references.

"Being a ciudad that is small demographically, yet large in the amount of population it holds, it is loud, bustling, and noisy. It also has really great public transportation, and other wonderful public services. And, it is going to be a tough place to run my store- what with all the other businesses- but once I can get it going, it should be fairly flooded with people. So..." She paused, smiling at how she took her opinion from a positives and negatives standpoint, "New York has its good and bad." She concluded with a slight, but firm nod of the head. Just then, she finished packing up the box. Nothing broken had been clearly visible, but there was a lot of bubble wrap obscuring her view. Ezperanza walked into her apartment, where most of her furniture, her cleaning supplies, and her kitchen supplies (along with some chile ristras hanging over the stove) were already out in an orderly fashion.

Wondering if Vanessa had followed, she asked, "Would you like anything to eat or drink?" It was Ezperanza's apartment now, after all.

[dany]

Vanessa half-listened, still curious, but starting to care less. Which was reassuring. She was starting to have some irrational worry that she was becoming... friendly. She mentally groaned at the very thought. Jewelry was good, though. There weren’t very many jewelry stores she could walk into without either breaking the bank or feeling sick by the intense amount of color. Why couldn’t she find a store that sold, perhaps, ocean-themed necklaces? She owned one seashell necklace and it was by far her absolutely favorite piece of jewelry. Maybe this new woman had some stuff she’d like at her new place. “Interesting,” she said after she’d finished explaining.

Vanessa regretted asking the question for a short moment. She had absolutely no idea what the woman was saying until she mentioned that it was loud, bustling and noisy. This was true. This was New York. Vanessa didn’t know of the public transportation. She’d been driving or was driven since she’d moved here. The memory of moving here suddenly infuriated her. She needed to get back to Florida. “Well, you seem to be adjusting alright,” she said with a small shrug before looking around the hall once more. She almost offered to help before catching her near mistake and biting down hard on her tongue. Vanessa winced but she’d much rather be in pain than actually help somebody. Unless, of course, there was something in it for her.

Ezperanza picked up the box she’d been packing and headed down the hall to her apartment. Curiosity overtaking her again, Vanessa followed the woman to the room. She peered in, noticing that it wasn’t all that empty. She must’ve been unpacking for awhile, then. At the question, she stepped further inside and crossed her arms over her chest. Vanessa had a sudden craving for lemonade, actually. Something sweet with a tang. “Lemonade, maybe?” she answered, looking around the room some more.

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Ezperanza nodded at the inconsequential answers.

"Was there any sort of jewelery you were looking to find? I could probably get wherever you wanted even if I don't generally carry it- or something similar, anyway." Ezperanza offered.

Ezperanza opened her fridge, peering inside as Vanessa asked for lemonade. She had... everything BUT lemonade: apple juice, orange juice, grape juice, root beer, milk, even limeade, for Heaven's sake! Oh well, limeade would have to do. Pulling two paper cups out of the cabinet not having any glasses unpacked yet she asked, "Is limeade okay? I don't have any lemonade," Ezperanza poured some into her cup while waiting for a reply, "Sorry about the paper cups; I don't have any glasses unpacked yet."

Stepping into the other room to unpackthe box and check for broken items Ezperanza listened to the pop of the bubble wrap as shed peeled it off her pottery. Luckily non of them were brok- oh, that one there was. Fortunately, it was a clean split so although it would not be valuable any longer, it would be salvagable. "So what do you do for a living?" Curious, Ezperanza wondered what occupations the people in her apartment building had. Proceeding into the other rooms of her apartment as she found places for her artwork. Wow, she had a LOT of unnecessary stuff.

[dany]

Vanessa stepped a bit further into the apartment and look around some more. Ezperanza seemed unpacked for the most part. Well, this room was furnished well enough, anyway. She looked back towards the woman as she spoke and rose her eyebrows. Not furnished in dinnerware, though. Vanessa took the plastic cup and peered into it. Limeade? What the hell was limeade? Never in her life had she heard of this. Annoyed, she took a sip anyway. Yuck. Gross. Fucking disgusting. Limes had never been something she liked anyway. Setting the cup on a nearby surface, Vanessa crossed her arms over her chest again and thought out her answer to her neighbor’s first question. “Shells, I guess. Ocean-themed, if that makes any sense.” It made sense to Vanessa so surely it would make sense to somebody who sold jewelry, right? Vanessa rolled her eyes and followed Ezperanza into another room, curiosity still there.

More boxes. Packed still. There was the popping of bubble wrap and Vanessa cringed. She’d always hated that sound. Watching, she realized that the box had held some pottery. Huh. Maybe they could get along, what with the whole art hobby that Ezperanza seemed to have. Who knew. “I’m head of the Art Department at Baum Academy,” she answered without really having even paid attention to the question. “And part time at the Make a Wish Foundation.” Ugh. Just saying the name of that horrid place made her sick. If she weren’t getting extra money from it, she’d probably burn the building down. Ezperanza headed into another room and Vanessa followed again, becoming increasingly annoyed. Wasn’t it rude to unpack when you had a guest over? “I paint, too. So I sometimes sell those.” This room seemed like a place for her artwork and such. Vanessa shifted on her feet, still unaccustomed to being this friendly.

[blahblahbertha1]

"Shells, I guess. Ocean-themed, if that makes any sense."

With a wry smile, Ezperanza chuckled slightly, "New Mexico isn't really known for its spectacular ocean-themed jewelry; it IS a desert after all. However," Ezperanza became more serious, "I bet I could get some stuff for you from Virginia Beach, possibly, or California. And turquoise is a nice mixture of blue-greens, so perhaps you'll like to browse some of that, too."

“I’m head of the Art Department at Baum Academy,” “And part time at the Make a Wish Foundation.”

Ezperanza went back into the kitchen. "The Art Department, huh?" With a glimmer of bemusement, she asked, "And how do you manage to keep those teenagers focused with such a serious topic?" She remembered when her own children had been teenagers. What a hectic time! Her girl hadn't wanted to wake up and go to school, so Ezperanza had to literally drag her out of bed. Her boys had been something else, and trying to get them to finish their homework was a massive battle in itself. Not to mention the amount of food they ate! Ezperanza was of the definite impression that teenagers were always hungry. Still, you couldn't really blame them with their hormones running amok, massive growth spurts, and horrible social conditions.

"Speaking of artwork, what is your favorite medium?"

"I paint, too. So I sometimes sell those."

"I never could paint myself. Maybe you'll show me some of your paintings sometime. Perhaps we could trade, artwork for artwork." Rummaging around underneath the kitchen sink, Ezperanza found what she was looking for. "I did a little bit of stone polishing and beading when I was in my twenties, before I took over the family business."

[dany]

Vanessa forced a smile to at least appear amused at Ezperanza’s statement. Deserts. Disgusting. Heat, sun, dry air, bright, a complete and total lack of water. She couldn’t understand why anybody would want to live in a place like that on purpose. Virginia Beach? Beaches had shells so she could appreciate that. Oh! California. How Vanessa longed to visit California. Never had she gone anywhere but Florida and New York. All of her money went to bills, unfortunately. Turquoise colored jewelry could work just as well… maybe. Anything but the overpriced, gaudy, sparkly, obnoxious pieces she had been finding. “Those all sound fine. I’ll have to stop by your store.” Vanessa regretted the sentence. Was she giving hope to her neighbor? Vanessa was one to go through with plans, or whatever, but not how fun would it be to say she would go and then never show up? Oh, she loved when others were upset. But… if she went to the store, she was getting something out of it. Jewelry.

After peering around the room once more, Vanessa followed the woman into the kitchen. She began to toy with her necklace, the only shell-type jewelry she owned. Vanessa could feel boredom taking over, slowly but surely. All she wanted right now was a nice bubble bath and her easels and paint. “Most of them are into Art enough to keep themselves focused.” Except for Alexander Fortescue. Ughhhh, that boy. Vanessa was answering the question without remembering have heard it. Oh, the workings of the mind. Leaning against the doorframe connecting the room full of boxes and the kitchen, Vanessa folded her arms over her chest. Never paint? The very idea was horrifying to her. Painting was her escape. It was the only thing she could rely on ever since she’d been forced to leave Florida and the glorious beaches. She almost laughed out loud. She wasn’t going to show some new neighbor, some stranger, her paintings. That was something for people who she was close to. Stone polishing and beading. That sounded incredibly… boring. Evidently, if it wasn’t painting, Vanessa didn’t care. “Interesting.” Not.

notes; sorry that this took ages!