Don’t Knock It Til You Try it

[Mike Carter]

(From the thread, No Party Like An Eden Party, here … )

Thursday, 07 Jul 2518
Main Concourse, Entertainment sector
Omega Station
9:15 PM, AST




“Actually, if you wouldn’t mind a short detour,” Mike said, slowing down til they all stopped. “We can stop by my pod and get a fresh shirt for … I’m sorry. If my momma were here, she’d have reminded me of my manners. Please forgive my lapse.”

He gently disengaged and took a step back to give both the women a minute bow. Instead of looking awkward, he made it look charming.

“Hello, I’m Michael Carter.” He offered his hand to the women for a shake. “Please call me Mike.”

[Samantha Greystone]

“That’s fine with me.” Sam wasn’t overly picky about where she ate. Surprisingly so given she was a cook but the girl had also lived on practically nothing at times. Besides shwarma was usually good, she didn’t recall a place like that here from her past stops but that didn’t mean much.

The brunette wasn’t buying for one minute that Rina and Mike didn’t know each other. There was something about him or her, possibly them, that made her suspect they did. Sam could always be wrong about that, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Either way, they clearly weren’t offering and she wasn’t about to ask.  How the man managed to bow and have it not look strange, like most men would, was a little beyond the young woman.  

"Well, it's nice to meet you Mike,"  Sam retuned the handshake.  "Samantha Greystone, if we're being formal, but everyone calls me Sam."  

[Mike Carter]

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sam." Mike shook and released Samantha's hand with a broadenng smile. One got the impression he really was pleased to make her acquaintance, given the friendly shine in his eye.

"And you?" he asked. That shine got just a touch shinier as he offered his handshake to the dark-haired engineer.

[Marina Kseniya Sebastien]

"Pleased to meet you. Name's Marina Sebastien," Rina said, looking him straight in the eye and shaking his hand. Then she grinned. "But friends and bartenders wielding towels of doom call me Rina."

And here she had the grace to look embarassed, that grin of hers turning into a grimace.

"And ... I ... really appreciate your offer of a clean shirt. If it's not too much trouble?"

Did she actually look down and scuff a booted toe in a universal awww, shucks ....?

Yup! She did.

[Samantha Greystone]

Well, if they did know each other, they hid it pretty well. If it wasn't for the fact that, at times, her and Max had to play this same game, likely Sam wouldn't suspect anything.

Definitely noticing the almost coy way Rina reacted to Mike, it was a little odd given what Sam knew about the woman and made Sam question her first suspicion. Though it seemed as if Rina, at least, might like Mike. Maybe I just needed to stop trying to interpret everything.

The shirt, Her mind suddenly focused back to current topic. Addressing Mike, Sam said, "Okay then, lead the way."

[Mike Carter]

Mike offered an arm to each lady and took them all off to a capsule hotel a quarter turn round the concourse and one level down. It was one of the smaller ones, being removed from the main action one level above and procedures were a little more relaxed.

The desk manager just gave Mike an up-nod, despite signage that clearly stated that this hotel was strictly male-only, and tossed him his key card. Mike deftly caught it and walked deeper inside.

Once away from the lobby, the scent of too many people crammed into close quarters assailed the nose. Disinfected piled on top of it. Air con kept it reasonably cool and it wasn't a struggle to breathe, but it didn't encourage anyone to linger.

Neither did Mike. He led them to his unit, third row up from the floor, just one of many that lined one side of a long tall corridor. Many of the hatch doors were dark but some glowed from inside. Noises spilled out from a few: conversation, entertainment feeds, music.

"Excuse me, ladies," he said and climbed up the ladder quick as a cat, tapped his card to unlock the hatch, and wiggled inside. His voice drifted down, slightly muffled. "I'll just be a moment."

Perhaps 90 seconds later, he was back on the deck again, a messenger bag slung across his chest and a grey shirt in hand. He held the shirt out to Rina and nodded further down the corridor.

"There's a cubby if you'd like to change."

[Marina Kseniya Sebastien]

"Thank you, I would." Rina accepted the shirt and got herself in that cubby. Wrinkling her nose at the smell, she called through the heavy curtain that served as a door. "Can't say as I've ever checked into one of these. A bit tight, isn't it?"

Her borrowed shirt was a plain tee, collegiate gym grey, and it was a little too large.

[Mike Carter]

"I thought the same when I first saw it but then thought, 'Don't knock it 'til you try it'. It's big enough if you don't plan on staying in it," Mike said with a shrug. "Turned out, most of my waking hours were spent on the job and I only checked in to sleep."

[Marina Kseniya Sebastien]

A little too large? Rina thought, eyeing the neck of the shirt sliding down one bared shoulder. It's a tent!

Sighing, she rolled up the sleeves, tucked the tails into her skirt, and knotted the front hem at her waist. The ad hoc alterations held the neck of the shirt just north of her armpit and she felt decently attired again. She pulled her soiled shirt into a tighter bundle and drew the curtain aside.

"Ready to go if you are." She took Mike's offered arm and nodded toward the entrance. "Ship's that way."

[Marina Kseniya Sebastien]

(/side thread!)