Hidden Information Problems

[jimmydalad]

Christine grunted with affirmation in response to Parker's statement. Yeah, sure was. She wished Chattanooga was like this all the time. Her problems a million miles away and letting the dancing lights trick her mind into thinking everything was alright. Maybe, no, she definitely wished that life was like this all the time. It may not be the most glorious aspirations to linger on the waterfront while getting high, but it was good enough for her.

She was never the type to have lofty aspirations anyways.

At this point, Christine didn't really know where to take the conversation. Instead, she gazed listlessly over the waters, her eyes never straying from the city lights. They were so pretty. The disorganised mess that somehow formed a cohesive unit. The smattering of colours of the lights and buildings that melded into one indescribable masterpiece. The contrast between the dilapidated poorer parts of town with the country club and fancy houses. It was a beautiful mess and each time she sat down and took it all in, the city gave her new things to appreciate.

The city was alive, even at this time of night.

She looked down at her phone. No messages from her parents. Not like she wasn't expecting any, but maybe it would've been nice if they noticed she was gone. The more she thought about it, it was probably for the better that they didn't care. Made it easier to disguise the fact that she was doing less than legal shit. She groaned inwardly, her face glum as she noticed the time on her phone. 10:30 pm. It was getting late. All good things had to come to an end. Then again, it didn't have to be over. It wasn't like she had to desperately go anywhere tonight. Maybe she could just enjoy this moment a little longer.

It was really up to Parker though. She didn't want to feel like she was kidnapping him for his time just because she was enjoying doing nothing.

At first, she hesitated, briefly pondering whether not mentioning anything would allow this time to stretch on infinitely. That didn't sound so bad. It probably wasn't her decision, however. She took a second before she turned to Parker.

"It's getting late. Do you have anywhere to go? I'm uuh happy to chill here if you are."

[Frozen Smoke]

Parker had quietly opened his bag and pulled out his own grinder, the black coating of it worn off near the edges and revealing the metal beneath. He wanted to stay at this exact level of high, as he was coming down and everything felt like it made sense, all the things he was concerned about feeling more like Tetris than roadblocks. It was like he was zoomed out on his life, and could properly see the path forwards, what he had to do to make it all work. But unlike normal, that didn't come with apprehension of the work to come, he could simply think about it.

He held the black cylinder in his hands for a while, cradling it in silence whilst it heated up, as the two of them existed in parallel. He spared little thought for his spatial companion as he let his mind wander from potential invasion plans to deliberating on some of his decisions post college. He didn't want to go to Uni, really. He wanted to earn money - good money - as soon as he could, and he was pretty sure that path didn't lie through that level of education. He'd want to make sure to get a lot of shit done whilst in college too, not just sit around and smoke weed all day. Maybe he'd start making videos, or something like that. He'd find something like that that he was good at that he could refine. That way even if he didn't properly succeed, he'd have a backup plan. That made sense.

Just as he was about to bring his vape up to his lips to take another drag, Christine spoke again.

He paused, and struggled to bring to mind what else he had to do today. He hadn't brought his schedule with him, but he was pretty sure this was the last big thing for today. There was probably some shit that he could be getting done at home, or on EVE, but there'd always be something to do there. This was kind of a unique opportunity, to just chill out with someone. Nothing else, just getting to sit down, turn some of his higher brain functions off and relax for a while. Shit if this was a high school movie this would be when they'd make out, but he got the impression Christine wasn't exactly high school female lead material in that way. No reason not to strum the cliche a little bit though, he reasoned, just in case she was thinking along those lines.

"Nah, fuck it." he muttered lackadaisically "Teenage rebellion, or something." he added, with a wry grin in her direction. As if staying up a little too late past non-existent curfews was the most rebellious thing either of them had done today.

[jimmydalad]

A breath of relief. A simple smile.

"Yeah, teenage rebellion." Christine quipped back, letting herself relax back into the tree that she had made her temporary nest. Teenage rebellion was definitely something she could get behind. Rebellion from her parents and how they treated herself and Ethan. Rebellion from Ethan and every single terrible thing he ever said about her. Trying to fit within expectations and follow rules that were laid out for her never went well for her so long as the spectre of Ethan hung over her. Teenage rebellion was something she could do and she wasn't alone in doing so.

She gave an appreciative look towards Parker. Even though he's not the most approachable person and can be intimidating, he was cool in her book. Christine didn't really know too much about Parker. There was time, however. There was time tonight and there was certainly going to be time in the future. She'd personally ensure that. These opportunities didn't come often, but when they did, Christine knew she had to grasp them before they could slip away from her. Loneliness and sadness were her companions for some time. She probably would appreciate a change of pace.

"Uh, do you mind if you give me a bit more weed? Starting to run a little dry right now?"

---

Some more time passed before Christine couldn't justify staying out much longer. She gave her farewells and headed back. Her parents were probably asleep by now so she didn't really have to worry about obscuring her night time shenanigans. Overall, she had a good time and wouldn't change that night for anything in the world.

((Christine Summers continued elsewhere...))

[Frozen Smoke]

Parker considered refusing for a few moments, before discretely digging into his bag, and having her his own grinder. It was an annoying social courtesy that enough stoners had shared with him that it had become ingrained. Refusing to help someone who was dry meant they’d never help you if you were, and whilst he’d rather not put himself in that spot in the first place, it never hurt to better his situation should that occur. That was how he managed to stop himself from holding on to it, thinking about that.

He’d heard that gifts had a better psychological effect that getting an expected reward, more so than the simple receipt of resources - Those resources were perceived to be worth more as they were percieved to be given from a pure place, with no strings attached. So much so that they were vastly more likely to complete a survey as a result, than if a similar amount was put up as a reward. He couldn’t figure that out, and his mind wandered around in silent, self-contained discussion as the two of them sat in a haze of chemicals and dusk light, until the dusk light itself faded. Then they were illuminated by phone lights and the cherry red of slowly burning paper and plant matter.

Eventually, Christine said her farewells, and he thanked her for her company, as nearly irrelevant as it had been. She was an odd one, and he couldn’t quite figure her out. She was a rebel who longed for peace and direction. She seemed fragile and cautious, but she was willing to break the law to get away from... whatever it was she was running away from.

But, she did something that he liked more than anything else. She seemed to treat him with respect. She didn’t poke and try and figure him out, she was happy to just accept what he said. It put him at ease, knowing that she was more concerned about upsetting him than she was about trying to be popular. It put her goals in the right direction, aligned with his own.

He’d see her around. He’d make sure of it.

((Parker Green - GOTO thread/Null█))