[Regina Petrov Trip Start]
The breeze over her skin felt absolutely fantastic as she stepped out into the open area of the Washington DC Wharf. The smell of the waters just across the road soothed her as she watched the hustle and bustle of the city’s visitors and inhabitants go about their day. She couldn’t help but grin as she floated around the area, taking in all the new sights and sounds, it really felt like a different world than back home in Chattanooga. She had been dying to go out and do some sightseeing since the moment they arrived, and now finally she had the chance to walk around uninhibited so she could do some souvenir shopping.
Regina had picked out what she thought was the perfect outfit for the occasion. She had a pair of grey leggings on her bottom half, with a pair of three inch reddish-brown knee-high boots paired with them. On her torso she had on a thin stark-white blouse, covered by a loose beige knit sweater. She wore a long necklace with a thick, bronze-colored chain around her neck, with a stylized cross hanging from said chain. She decided to leave her hair out of it’s usual braid today, and instead settled on wearing a maroon colored wide-brimmed floppy hat to complete the outfit. She thought she looked rather fashionable if she could toot her own horn a bit. DC was full of fashionable people, and she wanted to look the part.
Turning to look around for her companion, she didn’t seem to see her right away. She’d dragged Caroline along with her on the walkabout adventure, but the girl seemed to have separated from her at some point. Regina pulled her phone out of her Michael Kors purse and quickly shot out a short text to the other girl, clarifying her location.
-Where’d you go? I’m by A Beautiful Closet
Looking up from her phone and craning her neck to try and get a look around to see if she could spot the shorter girl again, she sighed in defeat and looked through the window of the store as a distraction while she waited. The inside of the store was very pretty, with plenty of gorgeous clothes and jewelry and some of the cutest shoes she’d seen in a while.
Maybe once Caroline caught up they could go inside and check it out?
Walkabout
Day 3. DC Wharf area. Tagging Shiola. Open once they post.
Caroline Ford - Trip Start
It was possible that if she'd ran into herself a year prior, Caroline wouldn't recognize herself. As the wind from the Potomac gently blew the myriad flags back and forth, rolling a lone coffee cup past her feet, she still felt the conspicuous absence of her once-long hair. The pixie cut was a pretty radical change from her typical look, but the change had helped her in more ways than she'd realized. The last really bad night, now a rapidly-fading memory, led to her taking a pair of scissors to her hair. At the time she'd been convinced someone was going to try and rip it out, and she was determined to beat them to it.
Still, it had been a blessing in disguise. Going to a hairstylist for a fix and a new look ended up as a way to leave the worst parts of the past year behind. The stylist pointed out that she should think about updating her wardrobe, given that she had something of a different silhouette to work with. It was hard to not catch her reflection in panes of glass, much as she wouldn't ever want to seem vain. Someone had told her it looked like she'd stepped back into the 21st century; sort of a backhanded compliment, but it was the first one she'd gotten in a long time. Dark blue jeans, a black v-neck sweater with a floral dress shirt and a loose necktie. She'd even found a pretty cool-looking pair of sunglasses. The tomboy aesthetic was pretty new to Caroline, but it felt comfortable. Some of the elders at the church would probably make passive-aggressive comments about it, if they saw.
Or they could just be glad that I'm doing better. Pssh, not likely.
Her relationship to God wasn't contingent on their approval, and she had tried to think less of the various errors and strictures she'd been breaking lately. All things considered, she felt closer to Him than she had in a very long time.
The new look was a nice way to put up a division between the worst places she'd been and the place she was in now; it made it easy to appreciate days like this. There were lots of people wandering around the wharf, and Caroline couldn't help but sneak a few of them into pictures she took with her phone. They were the kind of people that would be interesting to sketch, if only she had a chance to sit down and do so. Seeing the text as she snapped a photo of an elderly couple walking together, she felt frustrated that she'd let herself fall behind Regina.
>Hey, I'm nearby! I'll be right over.
For the most part, it just felt like they were friends on a trip together. Only a few times when Regina had spoken of places she'd wanted to go was Caroline reminded that they were more or less tethered to each other. She didn't really think much to make suggestions as to where to go, since it seemed like Regina deserved that much for looking out for her.
Looking to the shop she'd mentioned in her text, Caroline saw Regina standing out front. She'd put a lot of effort into her outfit for the day, though Caroline figured she would look beautiful in just about anything. It would be nice to do a sketch of her in that outfit, Caroline thought. Fishing through her bag for a small two-section pill organizer, she picked out a small capsule and swallowed it.
One out of two, for today.
Caroline walked over to Regina, a smile on her face and surety in her step.
"Hey there! I got caught up taking pictures back there. It's gorgeous out. I'd love to stop somewhere and draw for a bit." She pointed to the door.
"Did you wanna go in?"
Regina continued to eyeball the inside of the shop as she waited on Caroline’s text back. She wasn’t too worried about the other girl. Lately she seemed to be doing a lot better mentally, and she didn’t want her to feel as if Regina was policing everything she did. She needed to have some freedom of her own too. Back at the beginning of the year when Caroline and the school had asked her to be her peer aide, regina had agreed to it immediately. She knew Caroline had a lot of stuff to work through, and being able to be her support and a friend in her times of need was an honor in her mind. But even still, she felt as if her friend needed to be able to stand on her own two feet just as much as she needed the support, and she had to give her the room to do just that.
Her phone ding alerted her that Caroline had texted back, and she looked over the text, smiling when she read it. Good, she was glad the girl seemed to be just fine. Regina knew that she tended to be a bit of a mother hen around her friends, so she’d been doing her best to step back a bit and was glad that it seemed to be going well.
Regina turned at the sound of a familiar voice and grinned at Caroline’s approaching figure. Regina was glad that the shorter girl had decided to try out a new style. Not that there was anything wrong with the way she used to dress, but change was good for the soul. It helped that she really pulled off the style choices she’d made too. Caroline apologised for falling behind and regina waved her off as it wasn’t a big deal. Caroline mentioned wanted to find spot to do some sketching and Regina clapped her hands together and nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah! We could find a cute place to sit and relax for a bit! Ooo! If we find a little cake shop or something we can make a picnic out of it or something!” She squealed with glee.
Caroline asked if she wanted to go into the store and Regina blushed a bit as she twirled a stand of her hair with her left pointer finger.
“Am I that obvious?” She giggled a bit. “Yeah I wanna check out some of their jewelry, I’d love to bring something nice home for my mom, y’know?”
Regina held out her hand, taking Caroline’s in it and nodded towards the shop door.
“Let’s go in, I promise i won’t take too long.” She pulled the smaller girl behind her as the two stepped into the shop.
Regina released her hold on Caroline as they came inside. The shop was very cute, with a lot of varied designs and a lot of gorgeous accessories. Regina made her way over to the jewelry stand and began to sift through the necklaces. Now that she was inside, it seemed that this boutique was a bit more aimed at a mature woman, but that was okay, Regina was looking for something for her mother anyway, at least that was what she could tell herself as she let her eyes roam over all the beautiful items on display. She pulled off a particularly pretty necklace with a long silver rope-chain and three large round blue gems locked in place on various parts of the chain. It was very pretty, she thought.
“Caroline, what do you think of this?” She held it out so her friend could make a judgement.
Her phone ding alerted her that Caroline had texted back, and she looked over the text, smiling when she read it. Good, she was glad the girl seemed to be just fine. Regina knew that she tended to be a bit of a mother hen around her friends, so she’d been doing her best to step back a bit and was glad that it seemed to be going well.
Regina turned at the sound of a familiar voice and grinned at Caroline’s approaching figure. Regina was glad that the shorter girl had decided to try out a new style. Not that there was anything wrong with the way she used to dress, but change was good for the soul. It helped that she really pulled off the style choices she’d made too. Caroline apologised for falling behind and regina waved her off as it wasn’t a big deal. Caroline mentioned wanted to find spot to do some sketching and Regina clapped her hands together and nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah! We could find a cute place to sit and relax for a bit! Ooo! If we find a little cake shop or something we can make a picnic out of it or something!” She squealed with glee.
Caroline asked if she wanted to go into the store and Regina blushed a bit as she twirled a stand of her hair with her left pointer finger.
“Am I that obvious?” She giggled a bit. “Yeah I wanna check out some of their jewelry, I’d love to bring something nice home for my mom, y’know?”
Regina held out her hand, taking Caroline’s in it and nodded towards the shop door.
“Let’s go in, I promise i won’t take too long.” She pulled the smaller girl behind her as the two stepped into the shop.
Regina released her hold on Caroline as they came inside. The shop was very cute, with a lot of varied designs and a lot of gorgeous accessories. Regina made her way over to the jewelry stand and began to sift through the necklaces. Now that she was inside, it seemed that this boutique was a bit more aimed at a mature woman, but that was okay, Regina was looking for something for her mother anyway, at least that was what she could tell herself as she let her eyes roam over all the beautiful items on display. She pulled off a particularly pretty necklace with a long silver rope-chain and three large round blue gems locked in place on various parts of the chain. It was very pretty, she thought.
“Caroline, what do you think of this?” She held it out so her friend could make a judgement.