not_so_great_wall | 010 ~*~ The most anticlimactic return

[ Action : 340 Brady Lane : Sunday mid-day ]
[ It might be difficult for outsiders to tell that something was off about Meiling, at first. As a drone she was a touch more pleasant and carefree, a bit more diligent with her work, and much more subservient to her "husband". At school she was pleasant and diligent and a good, hard worker.

But today, the vacuum cleaner in the living room is on and just... running in place. A quick investigation will show that it is on and sitting flat on the floor beside the couch. The couch that a certain redhead is dead asleep on.

...drone!Meiling did not understand the importance of proper rest, so that's why Meiling, having snapped out of it, decided to rectify this at the cost of all else happening around her. ]

[ Action : Mayfield Elementary : Monday Afternoon ]
[ Dressed in her usual overalls for her work, this particular janitor is mopping the halls rather dully. She isn't humming to herself as usual, or trying to make a show of cleaning for anyone still milling about after school. Meiling is definitely not all there, but at least it's obvious from the lack of a genial smile that she is no longer droned. ]

[ Phone : Monday Evening ]
[ That's both the longest and most frightening droning period ever for her, so those who know her might notice that she's just barely keeping the disappointment inside. This place can make her break just about any promise, it seems... ] Um, hi Mayfield. It's Meiling. I was told I was out for a little while, now, so I want to say I'm sorry to anyone who wanted me for any reason! I'm all better now, I pro-- .

[ Deep breath. ]

I'm pretty sure I am, I mean.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

imjustpicky

[Picky is pretty absorbed in his recently-regained Game Boy, and had it out of his backpack and on for another round of Tetris as soon as class was out. He played it all the way down the hall, towards the doors... and because he wasn't paying attention?

He bumped right into the nice janitor lady.]

Oh! Aaah, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I wasn't watching, I... I-I-I...

[He's quickly trying to tuck the toy away somewhere so it doesn't get confiscated.]

From:

not_so_great_wall

[ She lets out a startled sound, but doesn't lose her handle on the mop. ] Ah! [ She laughs a bit. ] I'm sorry, I should be out of the way, but I wasn't expecting anyone.

[ Leaning down with the mop handle supporting her weight a bit. ] Are you okay?

From:

imjustpicky

I-I'm okay! I'm fine! I...

Oh! You're real!

[That surprised him more than anything else, and made him forget about possibly getting busted for possessing "communist electronics". Hadn't she been... not-so-real, before?]

What's your name? I'm Finch!

From:

not_so_great_wall

[ A tilt of her head. ] Of course I'm real! [ Then it hits her. ] --oh, you mean. [ Scratching her head a moment in silence, but then just smiles and nods. ] I'm Meiling. It's nice to meet you!

From:

imjustpicky

Good to meet you, too, Meiling! It's... uh... we real people should... stick together, right?

[The kid looks like he really wants to be friendly... but he also looks like he's waiting for someone to come by and smack him. Anxious.]

From:

not_so_great_wall

Definitely, Finch! [ She stands her mop upright in the bucket, as if was a weapon and not a simple cleaning tool. ]

[ Then she leans down, curious. ] Say... what's that behind your back?

From:

imjustpicky

[Wow, she's enthusiastic! And kind of intimidating...]

Uh... what? [Oh great. Busted again. But she's a real person, and can be reasoned with, surely... so he brings his toy back out to show her.]

It's my Game Boy. I just got it back in the mail today! Uh... I'm not in class so it's totally okay for me to have it. Yeah.

From:

not_so_great_wall

Oh, that's neat! [ Staring. ] ...what does it do?

From:

imjustpicky

...

[Well OF COURSE he had to demonstrate his game to her! He shifts around so that he's beside her and stands as high as he can, while turning the game on. And he has the screen angled so she can see what he's doing.]

This plays video games! You can take it with you anywhere! This one's Tetris. You have to move the blocks around and make lines. It gets faster and faster the more you play! It's really fun.

From:

not_so_great_wall

Video... games...? [ A pause. ] Oh! I was told about those. So this is what was meant... [ She speaks with a certain fascination, peering closely. ] It even plays music and everything! [ A pause, as she looks around it from different angles. ] ...where are the cables?

From:

imjustpicky

Yeah! Video games are cool. I got this for my birthday. I have lots of different games back home!

[Picky is nowhere near as good a player as the dude in the link, though. And he forgets to pause when she asks about cables. He tips his head back to look at her while he answers.]

Uh, it's all in there. It's portable. If you wanna play games in color, you need to hook it up to a TV with cables but...

[Eeeehn! And there was the game over noise.]

Aaah! Oh no! I lost!

From:

not_so_great_wall

So compact... Technology from the outside world really is wonderf-- [ Meiling recoils at bit at the reaction. ] Oh no! Is that it? Can you still play again? Is it broken?

From:

imjustpicky

[Oh no, he scared the lady! That wasn't right. He'd have to correct this.]

It's fine! It's fine. I just lost the round I started. But I can start another one.

[And he proceeds to do so, clicking through the menus.]

See? D'you want to try?

From:

not_so_great_wall

[ Her expression softens. ] Ohh, I see. [ Even if she only mostly understands. ]

[ A blink, she points to herself. ] Me? Are you sure? I don't want to break it or anything! That would be terrible.

From:

imjustpicky

It's pretty durable! Just don't drop it, and it'll be okay! And, and even if you drop it? It's fine. See? [He points to a scuffed and dented spot on the bottom.]

That's from when my brother pushed me and I dropped it. It's still fine!

From:

not_so_great_wall

If you're sure... [ Meiling makes sure the mop won't fall over out of the bucket and wipes her hands on a rag tucked into the front pocket of her overalls. Then she carefully puts out her hands to accept the device. ] What do I do?

From:

imjustpicky

[Picky passes her the toy once her hands are free.]

You use the control pad to move the piece back and forth. If you wanna drop it fast, press down! And you use the red buttons to make the piece rotate. If you need to take a break, hit the Start button in the middle.

From:

not_so_great_wall

Okay! [ And she gives it a try, but it's evident from the way she very very swiftly gets the GAME OVER sound that she wasn't really paying attention, before, when Picky was playing. ] Ah! Oh no! Did I do it wrong? I was dropping the pieces just like you said...

From:

imjustpicky

[Picky frowns a bit, hearing that GAME OVER sound... but he thinks he sees where she went wrong. He reaches up to take the Game Boy back, if she'll give it.]

You have to make lines with the pieces, though. Across the bottom of the screen. Here, lemme show you?

[And if she does hand it back, he'll demonstrate, setting it on the lowest speed and moving the pieces around so that they fit together and clear a few lines.]

They're like puzzle pieces. You just have to fit 'em together right.

From:

not_so_great_wall

Oh? [ Watching. ] Ohhh~ I see it now, I think! [ Holding out her hands for the device, again. ] So then I do it like this and... rotate this? And then it goes into this spot... and... [ Looks like she got one line. ] A-hah!

From:

imjustpicky

[He hands the Game Boy back, and watches her give it another shot.] Yeah! Yeah, it's like that! You're doing it! It's fun, huh?

From:

not_so_great_wall

It really is! [ She's getting into it. ] How do you win? They just keep coming!

From:

imjustpicky

You don't really win... uh, it's a challenge! You play for as long as you can! And get the most points!

I can get to level 5! Sometimes. I can almost get to level 6!

From:

not_so_great_wall

Ohh. I think I get it. [ A pause. ] What's a "level"?

From:

imjustpicky

Uh... A level's a level! [Wait, that's not going to do it at all...] It's like... a stage? A section? Every 10 lines, the speed gets faster and you go up a level!