==== Chapter 3 - Trouble at the Beach ====

(return to [[ticker_trouble|Chapter Index]])

**At the Bingo Hall**

2010-01-27 18:07:20: calliaphone pads into the Bingo Hall, barefoot and dressed in swimwear, with a coating of sand and sunburn. She goes directly to the kitchen.

2010-01-27 18:11:54: calliaphone is removed from the kitchen by Bruce. He dumps her on the sofa and tells her to wait there. No way is he deep-frying with her under his feet. She shrugs and settles down to wait.

2010-01-27 18:17:03: calliaphone can't leave well enough alone. She leans over the edge of the sofa and round the kitchen door, trying to keep an eye on what Bruce is doing.

2010-01-27 18:18:25: calliaphone calls to Bruce, "you won't forget the newspaper, will you? and the salt'n'vinegar. those are the best bits. . . alright, alright, keep your hair on! blimey, touchy or what?"

2010-01-27 18:19:08: calliaphone subsides onto the sofa, fidgeting and looking anxiously towards the kitchen. Hurry up Bruce, we're starving here.

2010-01-27 18:22:47: calliaphone looks up as Bruce emerges from the kitchen, his arms full of newspaper packages, from which emanates the smell of proper fish'n'chips, with salt and vinegar.

2010-01-27 18:24:07: calliaphone 's eyes get wide. She holds out her arms. Bruce gives her the paper parcels and she buries her nose in them, sniffing happily. He then gives her a little thermos filled with cream of mushroom soup.

2010-01-27 18:24:24: Metallic g_rock strides down the stairs, brushing dust off his restored jacket "Ah, Callia! **twitch**pleasantnicelovelydelightful**twitch**good Morning!"

2010-01-27 18:25:25: calliaphone beams. she'd give Bruce one of her hugs, but she's a bit occupied with fish'n'chips just now. He nods and turns on his heel, heading back to the kitchen. Callia sniffs again, then turns and bolts

2010-01-27 18:26:32: calliaphone bumps straight into G, dropping fisn'n'chip parcels all over the floor. "ouuff. Oh, hallo G!" she glances up at him. "uhh, are you ok?"

2010-01-27 18:27:28: Metallic g_rock smiles and helps her pick up her packages"Never better! Horatio fixed my jacket! And you?"

2010-01-27 18:29:08: calliaphone pauses in the fish'n'chip gathering to perform a dance of celebration for the jacket. then she hugs G. "that's brilliant! i'm so happy for you. i've been swimming on the beach!"

2010-01-27 18:31:23: Metallic g_rock nods approvingly "sounds **headtwitch**amusingpleasurableenjoyable**twitch**fun!"

2010-01-27 18:31:46: calliaphone leaves sandy handprints on G's jacket, just to prove the point.

2010-01-27 18:32:45: calliaphone looks at G again, a bit more carefully. "are you sure you're okay, G? Horatio . . . he didn't hurt you did he?" she looks suddenly fierce, fists clenched.

2010-01-27 18:35:10: Metallic g_rock shakes his head "No! Not at all. We fought, I won, some improbability arced into my jacket and fixed it, since I had put it on for the fight."

2010-01-27 18:36:58: calliaphone nods. "say. you wanna come to the beach? i'm heading off there soon - Darren's there, and Ochris was as well - i left 'em flirting something rotten. She's a lobster, see."

2010-01-27 18:38:11: Metallic g_rock nods "Sure, sounds like fun! Lead the way."

2010-01-27 18:39:11: calliaphone beams! she leads the way, out into New Home and two klicks south. Just follow the smell of fisn'n'chips!

**At Map Square (two south of NH)**

2010-01-27 18:43:04: calliaphone hollows out a cavity in the sand, and buries the fish'n'chip parcels, wrapped in a blanket - to keep 'em sand-free and insulated. All except one packet.

2010-01-27 18:45:46: calliaphone carefully unwraps the selected packet, dipping her nose to catch the steam as it rises, redolent with hot batter and vinegar. she breaks a piece of fish with her fingers.

2010-01-27 18:46:46: calliaphone pops the white flesh, in its golden batter coating, into her mouth. and closes her eyes for a moment. mm-mmm. then she gets to work on the rest of the fish, and the chips.

2010-01-27 18:46:59: Metallic g_rock happens by, cane sinking into the soft sand "Ah, there you are Callia! Nice spot you have heeeeere" the word elongates into a gutteral sound, like grinding gears

2010-01-27 18:48:25: calliaphone looks up, crinkling her eyes at G. "hiya! glad you found us. the others have gone off f'ra bit, although Darren'll be back as soon as he hears the word fish. Help yourself, anyhows, there's loads."

2010-01-27 18:55:05: Metallic g_rock nods and plops, taking a paperfull of chips and munching

2010-01-27 18:57:47: calliaphone stretches out luxuriously. sand-between-the-toes, and fish'n'chips in newspaper. can you beat that? she finishes off her meal, and lights a cigarette, then opens up the thermos.

2010-01-27 18:58:11: calliaphone waves the thermos at G. "do you mushroom-soup?"

2010-01-27 19:02:01: Metallic g_rock shakes his head "I try not to mushroom at all. When something grows fungus, I tend to throw it out, not cook it up."

2010-01-27 19:04:40: calliaphone giggles, and swigs from the thermos, wiping her mouth on her distinctly sunburnt arm. "so, you an' Horatio. i'm glad you came through ok again."

2010-01-27 19:06:13: Metallic g_rock nods "Only thing is, I seem to have picked up a touch of arthritis or something. Occasional odd pains and pins-and-needles sensations. Rarely, though."

2010-01-27 19:07:53: calliaphone frowns, considering this. "odd, isn't it? i mean, if it was Bernard, i'd be thinking - at his age an'all. But you! Mind you, you were having that ticker-trouble, too weren't you?"

2010-01-27 19:08:34: calliaphone looks a bit anxious. "d'you think you should get it checked out?"

2010-01-27 19:10:30: Metallic g_rock shrugs "By who, exactly? I wouldn't trust those hospital tent hacks as far as i could throw the Bingo Hall."

2010-01-27 19:12:44: calliaphone has some sympathy with that. Besides, who exactly is qualified to repair a joker? "Cadye, mebbe?" and then she remembers - an incident, at the start of the invasions. A chronosphere. A key.

2010-01-27 19:15:37: Metallic g_rock headtilts noncomittally "Idunno. Maybe. 'Sprobably worth a shot."

2010-01-27 19:17:52: calliaphone frowns again. She looks at G a bit oddly. As if she's about to say something, but stops herself. She shakes herself. "Cadye, huh? We could look for her, if you wanted."

2010-01-27 19:21:04: Metallic g_rock lays his head back in the sand "Perhaps. It doesn't **effect**//botheran-n-noy//bother me all the time, though. It's probably just internal bleeding or something. Happens to all jokers."

2010-01-27 19:27:49: calliaphone doesn't like the sound of that one little bit. "What??!! Internal bleeding can't be good! I'm totally going to find Cadye, and get her to talk to you. she knows stuff, Cadye does."

2010-01-27 19:32:05: Metallic g_rock shakes his head "No, internal bleeding is just one of the many joys of jokerhood. Usually only lasts for a day, though. . ."

2010-01-27 19:44:48: calliaphone reflects on this. "hrmph. well, if you say so. but i don't mind telling you this - if you go an' die on me, i swear-to-god i will kill you. So There." she glares.

2010-01-27 19:45:29: calliaphone munches another chip, for extra emphasis.

2010-01-27 19:53:03: Metallic g_rock looks absolutely chastised "Well, we wouldn't want//desireaskforneed//**twitch** want that, now, would we?"

2010-01-27 20:18:02: Metallic g_rock munches another chip in capitulation

2010-01-27 20:20:14: calliaphone is still glaring and munching fiercely, but on G's latest utterance she just stops dead and stares at him. "aw shit G, what the-"

2010-01-27 20:21:27: calliaphone continues, "i don't wanna be rude y'know but i don't think you sound right, are you sure Horatio hasn't fucked up real bad? Only, y'sound like . . . you're slipping a gear or summat." a gear?

2010-01-27 20:24:39: calliaphone scratches her head. since when did jokers have gears? but then . . . how many other jokers does she know that tick?

2010-01-27 20:25:13: Metallic g_rock headtilts "Whaddya mean, I don't sound right? I said 'We wouldn't want that, now would we?' just now, yeah?"

2010-01-27 20:27:46: calliaphone shakes her head. "no, well, yeah. yeah, you said that. but - you kinda twitched. and said some other stuff, it was a bit fast, jumbled, i couldn't catch it. you didn't notice?"

2010-01-27 20:28:20: calliaphone adds, "it's not the first time, G. it's been happening since you came downstairs in clan halls today."

2010-01-27 20:31:35: Metallic g_rock looks at her oddly "No I didn't. I feel like I would've noticed something like that. Are you sure you haven't been hitting the //C6H14AlkaneHydrocarbontwitch//Hexane again?"

2010-01-27 20:35:04: calliaphone looks hurt. She hangs her head a bit. "I'm not doing that any more. Only the good stuff from now, i swear. Anyway," she looks up, "don't make this about me. You just did it again."

2010-01-27 20:42:18: Metallic g_rock stands, shaking his head "That just doesn't make logical sense! How would I be saying and doing things I don't remember? Maybe your plaits are too tight or something." his eyes are. . .odd. . .//cold//

2010-01-27 20:47:30: calliaphone gulps, and sits back a bit. she struggles for words. at last, she manages to whisper, "you're not well, i'm telling you. something's gone awry."

2010-01-27 20:53:27: Metallic g_rock sighs and walks off to the north, shaking his head. As he walks off, his hand starts shaking, and the chips slip out and fall to the sand

2010-01-27 20:55:43: calliaphone stares after him, eyes wide. "shit" she mutters to herself. "shit shit, that can't be good."

**At the Bingo Hall**

2010-01-27 21:06:39: Metallic g_rock storms back in ". . .I'm not //nutsbonkerscrazywildmad//crazy! She's the crazy one. Hearin' things, like."

2010-01-27 21:11:15: Metallic g_rock heads to the library for some peace and quiet

2010-01-27 22:15:06: Uncle Bernard sets about the long laborious process of finding the teabags (Bruce looking on), popping one in a mug, putting the mug on the side, putting on the kettle, sniffing the milk, trying to wipe a teaspoon

2010-01-27 22:17:04: Non-stick Spandex turns he back to the counter and heaves herself up so she's sitting on it, right beside the mugs. She reaches up and grabs the bag of sugar and dumps some in one cup, "sugar?"

2010-01-27 22:32:23: calliaphone drags her recently-mended cart back into the Bingo Hall, and parks it in the corner. Scooping up Darren, she pads barefoot to the sofa and drops down, leaving trails of sand everywhere.

2010-01-27 22:32:58: calliaphone curls up, hugging Darren, and staring abstractedly into space.

2010-01-27 22:37:35: Non-stick Spandex jumps down from the counter, and goes over to offer callia her mostly unfinished mug of tea, "tons of sugar in this one." A stroopwaffle in the other hand: "biscuit?"

2010-01-27 22:39:56: calliaphone looks up, a bit blankly. "oh, hi Dex." then she shakes herself. "Dex! Hi! How's tricks?" she takes the tea and thingywhatsit gratefully, slrrrping and tucking in, respectively.

2010-01-27 22:41:48: calliaphone 's penguin wriggles off her lap and goes to pay Spandex some compliments. And he was only flirting with Ochris this morning. Tart.

2010-01-27 22:44:16: Uncle Bernard smiles at Callia and Darren, he's got Callia's latest issue - he's put it in her pidge.

2010-01-27 22:46:42: Non-stick Spandex picks Darren up from under the flippers, and sets him on the kitchen counter. She looks behind her shoulder at that_Bernard and asks, "you like goats?"

2010-01-27 22:47:08: calliaphone sighs, and gets up to go get a Darren-replacement from her cart. Rummaging, she finds the mini G-bot. She looks at it, and her eyes darken with something like . . . worry.

2010-01-27 22:48:02: calliaphone puts miniG back in the cart, and rummages again until she finds Cordy and Mouse-Thing. She returns to the sofa, pausing to give Bernard a peck on the cheek as she passes.

2010-01-27 22:48:56: calliaphone flops back down. She'd normally be all over her pigeon-hole by now, trying to get the magazine out. But she hasn't even noticed it's there. She curls up again, hugging her toys.

2010-01-27 23:23:29: Metallic g_rock comes in from the library, and heads for the kitchen. He spots Callia, and looks very sheepish. Seriously. Any more sheepish, and he'd be coughing up wool. "Hi, Callia. Sorry if I was. . .abrupt.

2010-01-27 23:28:34: Metallic g_rock rubs the back of his neck, and very nearly BAAAHs "Thing is, I didn't remember having done what you said, and. . .then things went kinda. . .static-y, like I just couldnt care less. . .anyway, sorry."

2010-01-27 23:31:29: Uncle Bernard looks worried, "Is everything all right here, kids?"

2010-01-27 23:32:33: calliaphone is lost for words. she hugs Mouse-Thing and Cordy, and bites her lip. "uhh. . .s'ok." she looks like she might says something else, and then she doesn't.

2010-01-27 23:34:37: Metallic g_rock nods to Bernard "Yeah, everything's **tick tick tick** //sufficientadequatealrightsatisfactoryokay//**twitch**alright, if I haven't been too terrible to Callia, that is."

2010-01-27 23:35:53: calliaphone jumps, and stares at G, wild-eyed.

2010-01-27 23:36:05: Metallic g_rock nods to Spandex "Happy to he//lpaidassistbackup//lp! Just say when and where."

2010-01-27 23:37:44: calliaphone gulps. and grits her teeth. "G." she says, "you're doing it again. you're scaring me, cutitout."

2010-01-27 23:38:42: Metallic g_rock headtilts at Callia, head going about 18 degrees too far for normal "You okay? You look like you've seen a post-it wielding ghost!"

2010-01-27 23:41:43: calliaphone backs into the sofa-cushions, white-faced. nodding. "i'm okay, it's you i'm worried about. what's with your head, it shouldn't be tilting like that. should it?"

2010-01-27 23:51:09: Metallic g_rock looks apologetic "I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean. If I were doing something on purpose, I would try to st//op-op-op-op// complaining, Callia! Is my neck hurting you in any way? No!"

2010-01-27 23:54:04: Metallic g_rock rolls his eyes "I mean, if you're so scared, you shoul//dd-d-dn't //worry about me so much. I appreciate how much you care, but I feel fine. I'm sorry if I've offended you, though."

2010-01-27 23:54:52: Metallic g_rock rummages and offers Callia a box of graham crackers, with a helpful smile

2010-01-27 23:59:32: calliaphone stares at the crackers. stares at G. shakes her head. "you need help. i dunno what help, but something. you ever decide you agree, let me know. till then - i don't need crackers, ta."

2010-01-28 00:03:30: Non-stick Spandex is staying single FOREVER. "What the hell you two? Just like, kiss, already!"

2010-01-28 00:09:12: Metallic g_rock 's hand shakes, and he drops the Crackers on the counter, clutching and shaking his hand, like it's asleep. He stops abruptly, and grins at Dex "Sounds like someone's trying to live vicariously!"

2010-01-28 00:10:33: Non-stick Spandex shakes her head at G. "i'm going to read these notes from beyond. You two argue."

2010-01-28 00:10:54: Metallic g_rock steps closer to Spandex, verging on uncomfortably close "Are you saying you want a little more attention?" he grins lasciviously

2010-01-28 00:10:56: calliaphone has nothing to say to this. she just glares. All directions. Before finally noticing G's hand. She glares even more, fixing her gaze on the crackers.

2010-01-28 00:15:15: Non-stick Spandex stuffs the post-its in her back pocket, and slides her hand down until it is very close to uncomfortably grabbing him. "dude. i've not been laid in weeks."

2010-01-28 00:15:53: Non-stick Spandex squeezes just a little, "but quit with your silly games, now."

2010-01-28 00:16:52: Non-stick Spandex lets go and walks over to the stairs up, sits, pulls out the notes and reads.

2010-01-28 00:19:31: calliaphone winces. and murmurs, sotto voce. "Bloody hell, Dex. you only had to ask. . ."

2010-01-28 00:19:52: Metallic g_rock //ticks//**twitches**, then blushes and looks around "Erm. . .wait. . .what? Did. . .did someone just. . ." he flushes even more brightly and goes to sit heavily on the sofa, studiously not looking at anyone

2010-01-28 00:28:04: calliaphone gets up, keeping Cordy between her and . . . the world at large. She grabs her cigarettes. "i'm just goin. . .outside. . .smoke, like. . ." and suddenly she bolts for New Home.

2010-01-28 00:29:13: Metallic g_rock nods to Callia's retreating back. He stands and walks slowly out to Squat for some questing.

[[ticker_trouble4|Next Chapter]]

(return to [[ticker_trouble|Chapter Index]])