RE: [IC][Story][Arc 1] Reach for the Moon (was "title to be announced later")
07-20-2018, 04:19 PM
07-20-2018, 04:19 PM
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
November 6, 2016
12:51 pm
After driving Rin to the train station and coming back home, Rob was walking Kate and Jacky back to their tower. He was curious what it looked like.
"I'm still feeling so ... happy. That was quite the spell Miss Tohsaka cast."
"It's like we've all confirmed that we're friends," replied Kate. "Without being best friends, of course," she quickly added.
Rob nodded, remembering why Kate added the disclaimer. He gathered she'd brought her magic book with her - her jealous magic book. "I'm happy just to be your acquaintance, Kate."
Then he noticed a flyer stapled to the telephone pole they were about to pass. "AKT, Live at the House of Targ! One night only! November 6!" He pointed it out to Kate and Jacky.
"AKT? All Kindly Toes?"
"I have friends in the local entertainment circuit, and none of them have ever mentioned a local band called AKT. But I remember them from the second book that you two are in."
"You think if we go to this 'House of Targ', we'll see a pink-haired girl playing sax?"
"Let's go find out. The venue's just up the road, this side of Landsdowne Park. It's not that much of a detour on our route."
After a few minutes' walk uphill along Bank Street, Rob stopped at an unremarkable glass door in an unremarkable building. They could see stairs heading down just inside the entryway. "Here we are." He pulled on the door, then knocked when it didn't open.
A moment later, somebody walked up the stairs, unlocked the door, opened it a crack, and said "We're not open now. Come back at six."
"We just want to talk with Jemi for a few minutes," Rob replied. "Would you let her know Jacky and Kate are here, please?" He gestured to the two women with him.
The person closed and re-locked the door, and walked back down the stairs. Two minutes later, he came back up, unlocked the door, and said "You got ten minutes while the band's on break."
"Ladies first." Once they'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Rob took a look at the band - it was big for such a small venue. Guys on guitar, bass, and drums, and gals on electric (not electronic) organ and tenor sax all flanked a female vocalist - they barely fit on the stage (if you could call it a stage; it was just a different-colour patch of floor beside the club's perogie stand). Most of the band were stretching; a couple of the guys were making their way over to the pinball tables and video arcade games that were lined up along three of the club's walls. The saxophonist (and Rob couldn't help but notice her bubblegum-pink hair) carefully put her sax down, then rushed over to Kate and Jacky. "About time you two showed up for one of my gigs!"
"Yes, I know, but we were busy!" Kate answered with the same jubilance. "How long has it been, Jemi?"
"Oh, I've lost track!"
Jacky leaned in, gestured to Rob, and whispered, "The old guy knows about us, but he isn't one of us."
"In that case, I've been here less than a week."
"Us too."
Rob sighed. Old guy. He decided to wander over to the guitarist, who looked to be the oldest member of the band and was still younger than Rob. "Hi! I've got a teenager at home who loves your sound." Well, Rui-chan will once she hears it, he added to himself. "Where's your merch table?"
Seven minutes later, he was walking out the door with a small stack of CDs. Jacky and Kate were walking out with him, with an invitation to Jemi's place after the gig.
11:53 pm
"Three late nights in a row. And I'm really not comfortable with us being away from the apartment."
"Neither am I," Makoto added.
"Feeling old to match your gray hair, Rob?"
"We were born in the same decade, Jacky. If I'm old, what does that make you?"
"What happened to never talking about a woman's age?"
"That went out when sexual equality came in."
"We're equal now?"
"Legally, yes. Socially, depends on where you go. Financially, not a hope."
A bit further up the path, Kate waved to them. "I think this is the right spot."
Rob looked around. "How can you tell? Vincent Massey Park has never been the best-marked place in town, and we're in the forest, not the picnic area or the bandstand."
"She can tell because she's been here before," came a voice from behind them. "I didn't get to introduce myself earlier today. Jemi Pook."
"Rob Donaldson. Pleased to meet you." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark-skinned woman walking up from the nearby riverbank. "Is she a friend of yours?"
The woman quickened her pace, since she'd been noticed. "A friend of hers, but not a friend of yours, human. Give me a reason to tolerate your presence here."
"Take a good look at my foster daughter."
She sneered at him. "I already did. I can sense the luck of the moon dancing around her body. I'll tolerate her. Give me a reason to tolerate you."
"You don't care that I have every right to be in a public place, or that I've been invited here by the Pook, or that the Jack can vouch for me, do you? All you want is a fight. I won't give you one unless you start one."
They stared at each other for a long, long moment.
"All right. You can call me Loireag."
"I'm honoured to make your acquaintance, Loireag. You can call me Rob."
"And I'm going to call you both rude if you force me to keep my door open in this cold for too long!" Once Jemi had their attention, she continued, "Let's go inside where it's warm." She knocked on a stone in a particular pattern, and the hillside opened up.
As they walked into Jemi's home, Makoto asked Loireag, "I've never seen anyone who looks like you before."
"You've never seen somebody who isn't white before?"
"I see a non-white in the mirror every day; I'm Japanese. I've never seen somebody with a long mane of hair like yours."
Jemi laughed. "A mane! I think she can see what you are, not just who you are!"
"Oh, that. I'm a kelpie."
Rob tuned them out and looked around, seeing the posters for various bands. Teenage Head, The Subhumans, Dayglo Abortions, The Scenics, even one for D.O.A. He knew Jemi could sell them to a punk memorabilia collector for quite a lot of money. He also knew that she never would. "Looks like I made the right choice in a thank-you gift, Jemi. A little something for your music collection, in return for your hospitality." He offered her a copy of The Chemistry of Common Life.
She took the CD from his hands. "'Fucked Up'?"
"The 21st century's answer to D.O.A. This is their second album. Also, a commentary on what's happened to our lives."
Even Loireag laughed at that. "What exactly did happen to us?"
"From what I've been told, it all started when somebody who claims to be the greatest scientific genius in the universe tried to access a computer she should never have gone anywhere near ..."
November 7, 2016
12:21 am
"That's ... crazy."
"I know. But most people seem to think it's normal." Rob smiled. "God knows why."
"And that explains why the rest of AKT didn't think anything was strange. It wasn't, for them." Jemi leaned forward. "What made you decide to come see me, Rob? You've already met the Jack."
"I just wanted to say hello to my neighbours and see whether you needed any help settling in. Ottawa looks much the same, but there's a three-decade hole in your knowledge."
"We're neighbours?"
"We live just downriver and a bit up the hill," Makoto explained.
"That's close enough for me. Hello, neighbour," Jemi said as she shook Makoto's hand. "Oh, wow. Loireag, you have got to touch Makoto hand to hand!"
"Why?"
"I can feel the Moon on her!" Jemi turned back to Makoto. "Are you some kind of moon spirit?"
Loireag looked cross. "Didn't I already say I could see the moon on her?"
"I'm not a moon spirit, Jemi-san. I'm a Sailor Senshi. I count the Princess of the Moon as my closest friend."
"The Princess of ... Whoever she is, we have got to meet her!"
"Tomorrow," Rob insisted. "Or, looking at the time, later today. I apologize for leaving so soon, but Makoto has school to attend, and she needs her sleep before that."
"That's an odd pocket watch, Rob."
"It's actually a cellular telephone, Jemi."
She looked him up and down once. "That's small for a portable phone. And you don't look that rich."
"You can get a cellphone and a service plan for less than the cost of two cups of coffee a day. That's one of the ways Ottawa has changed in the last three decades. Almost nobody has a landline any more."
"A landline?"
"A phone that's wired to the wall."
"Can you help me get one of these phones, please?"
"And me, while you're at it?" Jacky sounded as excited as Jemi.
"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow morning... no, you're a musician. I'll see you all at the crack of noon, at the Bank Street entrance to Billings Bridge."
To be continued...
November 6, 2016
12:51 pm
After driving Rin to the train station and coming back home, Rob was walking Kate and Jacky back to their tower. He was curious what it looked like.
"I'm still feeling so ... happy. That was quite the spell Miss Tohsaka cast."
"It's like we've all confirmed that we're friends," replied Kate. "Without being best friends, of course," she quickly added.
Rob nodded, remembering why Kate added the disclaimer. He gathered she'd brought her magic book with her - her jealous magic book. "I'm happy just to be your acquaintance, Kate."
Then he noticed a flyer stapled to the telephone pole they were about to pass. "AKT, Live at the House of Targ! One night only! November 6!" He pointed it out to Kate and Jacky.
"AKT? All Kindly Toes?"
"I have friends in the local entertainment circuit, and none of them have ever mentioned a local band called AKT. But I remember them from the second book that you two are in."
"You think if we go to this 'House of Targ', we'll see a pink-haired girl playing sax?"
"Let's go find out. The venue's just up the road, this side of Landsdowne Park. It's not that much of a detour on our route."
After a few minutes' walk uphill along Bank Street, Rob stopped at an unremarkable glass door in an unremarkable building. They could see stairs heading down just inside the entryway. "Here we are." He pulled on the door, then knocked when it didn't open.
A moment later, somebody walked up the stairs, unlocked the door, opened it a crack, and said "We're not open now. Come back at six."
"We just want to talk with Jemi for a few minutes," Rob replied. "Would you let her know Jacky and Kate are here, please?" He gestured to the two women with him.
The person closed and re-locked the door, and walked back down the stairs. Two minutes later, he came back up, unlocked the door, and said "You got ten minutes while the band's on break."
"Ladies first." Once they'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Rob took a look at the band - it was big for such a small venue. Guys on guitar, bass, and drums, and gals on electric (not electronic) organ and tenor sax all flanked a female vocalist - they barely fit on the stage (if you could call it a stage; it was just a different-colour patch of floor beside the club's perogie stand). Most of the band were stretching; a couple of the guys were making their way over to the pinball tables and video arcade games that were lined up along three of the club's walls. The saxophonist (and Rob couldn't help but notice her bubblegum-pink hair) carefully put her sax down, then rushed over to Kate and Jacky. "About time you two showed up for one of my gigs!"
"Yes, I know, but we were busy!" Kate answered with the same jubilance. "How long has it been, Jemi?"
"Oh, I've lost track!"
Jacky leaned in, gestured to Rob, and whispered, "The old guy knows about us, but he isn't one of us."
"In that case, I've been here less than a week."
"Us too."
Rob sighed. Old guy. He decided to wander over to the guitarist, who looked to be the oldest member of the band and was still younger than Rob. "Hi! I've got a teenager at home who loves your sound." Well, Rui-chan will once she hears it, he added to himself. "Where's your merch table?"
Seven minutes later, he was walking out the door with a small stack of CDs. Jacky and Kate were walking out with him, with an invitation to Jemi's place after the gig.
11:53 pm
"Three late nights in a row. And I'm really not comfortable with us being away from the apartment."
"Neither am I," Makoto added.
"Feeling old to match your gray hair, Rob?"
"We were born in the same decade, Jacky. If I'm old, what does that make you?"
"What happened to never talking about a woman's age?"
"That went out when sexual equality came in."
"We're equal now?"
"Legally, yes. Socially, depends on where you go. Financially, not a hope."
A bit further up the path, Kate waved to them. "I think this is the right spot."
Rob looked around. "How can you tell? Vincent Massey Park has never been the best-marked place in town, and we're in the forest, not the picnic area or the bandstand."
"She can tell because she's been here before," came a voice from behind them. "I didn't get to introduce myself earlier today. Jemi Pook."
"Rob Donaldson. Pleased to meet you." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark-skinned woman walking up from the nearby riverbank. "Is she a friend of yours?"
The woman quickened her pace, since she'd been noticed. "A friend of hers, but not a friend of yours, human. Give me a reason to tolerate your presence here."
"Take a good look at my foster daughter."
She sneered at him. "I already did. I can sense the luck of the moon dancing around her body. I'll tolerate her. Give me a reason to tolerate you."
"You don't care that I have every right to be in a public place, or that I've been invited here by the Pook, or that the Jack can vouch for me, do you? All you want is a fight. I won't give you one unless you start one."
They stared at each other for a long, long moment.
"All right. You can call me Loireag."
"I'm honoured to make your acquaintance, Loireag. You can call me Rob."
"And I'm going to call you both rude if you force me to keep my door open in this cold for too long!" Once Jemi had their attention, she continued, "Let's go inside where it's warm." She knocked on a stone in a particular pattern, and the hillside opened up.
As they walked into Jemi's home, Makoto asked Loireag, "I've never seen anyone who looks like you before."
"You've never seen somebody who isn't white before?"
"I see a non-white in the mirror every day; I'm Japanese. I've never seen somebody with a long mane of hair like yours."
Jemi laughed. "A mane! I think she can see what you are, not just who you are!"
"Oh, that. I'm a kelpie."
Rob tuned them out and looked around, seeing the posters for various bands. Teenage Head, The Subhumans, Dayglo Abortions, The Scenics, even one for D.O.A. He knew Jemi could sell them to a punk memorabilia collector for quite a lot of money. He also knew that she never would. "Looks like I made the right choice in a thank-you gift, Jemi. A little something for your music collection, in return for your hospitality." He offered her a copy of The Chemistry of Common Life.
She took the CD from his hands. "'Fucked Up'?"
"The 21st century's answer to D.O.A. This is their second album. Also, a commentary on what's happened to our lives."
Even Loireag laughed at that. "What exactly did happen to us?"
"From what I've been told, it all started when somebody who claims to be the greatest scientific genius in the universe tried to access a computer she should never have gone anywhere near ..."
November 7, 2016
12:21 am
"That's ... crazy."
"I know. But most people seem to think it's normal." Rob smiled. "God knows why."
"And that explains why the rest of AKT didn't think anything was strange. It wasn't, for them." Jemi leaned forward. "What made you decide to come see me, Rob? You've already met the Jack."
"I just wanted to say hello to my neighbours and see whether you needed any help settling in. Ottawa looks much the same, but there's a three-decade hole in your knowledge."
"We're neighbours?"
"We live just downriver and a bit up the hill," Makoto explained.
"That's close enough for me. Hello, neighbour," Jemi said as she shook Makoto's hand. "Oh, wow. Loireag, you have got to touch Makoto hand to hand!"
"Why?"
"I can feel the Moon on her!" Jemi turned back to Makoto. "Are you some kind of moon spirit?"
Loireag looked cross. "Didn't I already say I could see the moon on her?"
"I'm not a moon spirit, Jemi-san. I'm a Sailor Senshi. I count the Princess of the Moon as my closest friend."
"The Princess of ... Whoever she is, we have got to meet her!"
"Tomorrow," Rob insisted. "Or, looking at the time, later today. I apologize for leaving so soon, but Makoto has school to attend, and she needs her sleep before that."
"That's an odd pocket watch, Rob."
"It's actually a cellular telephone, Jemi."
She looked him up and down once. "That's small for a portable phone. And you don't look that rich."
"You can get a cellphone and a service plan for less than the cost of two cups of coffee a day. That's one of the ways Ottawa has changed in the last three decades. Almost nobody has a landline any more."
"A landline?"
"A phone that's wired to the wall."
"Can you help me get one of these phones, please?"
"And me, while you're at it?" Jacky sounded as excited as Jemi.
"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow morning... no, you're a musician. I'll see you all at the crack of noon, at the Bank Street entrance to Billings Bridge."
To be continued...
--
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown