2019-12-13 - Coffee and the New Jumanji

So, a little while before dinner time, Tyrone has gotten off of work as the tour guide at the Addington House and has made his way to the pre-determined meeting spot at which he agreed to meet one Mee Park Park Mee, or which ever order it was supposed to go in. He's still wearing the plain black suit and tie and white undershit that he wears at work, but he's got his bulky, camoflauge, military-style jacket on over it, with his utility cover on his head. He pushes through the front doors of Espresso Yourself and starts scanning around to see if Park is already there, or if he should pick a spot to wait, instead.

Park is already there and still dressed as before - sneakers, tights, denim shorts, big puffy jacket. Though her Pikachu crowned beanie is on the booth seat next to her. And she's not alone! There is a familiar face with her - Lyric. "So, like, he showed me around the museum and he was so sweet. I even had the private tour because no one else was there! How cool is that? Well, there were some other people there in some offices upstairs but they weren't on the tour. He totally knows you though, right? Oh there he is!" Park springs up from her seat to wave frantically at Tyrone. "Over here!!"

SHE may not be, but Lyric has come for a sandwich and something to drink. It's a smoothie though, strawberry something. And the sandwich is a club. She's is seated at one of the tables in the corner, kinda slouched down and she's actually looking down at her phone but only briefly. Seated across from Park in the booth, she looks up at her and grins. "Who is he?" Lyric is wearing her gray and charcoal striped hoodie that zips up the front along with a pleated skirt beneath it and leggings with music notes all over them. Her boots are the same she most usually wears. As she sees her waving at someone and looks over. Looking surprised, she nods to Park. "Yeah he totally knows me."

Tyrone doesn't have to look for very long, as his attention is easily drawn by the Asian woman standing up and calling out. He smirks a little and looks around sheepishly to see if anyone else is staring and pushes in Park's direction. And, look! There's a Lyric! Tyrone looks surprised, then even more sheepish when he spots Lyric there. Cue rubbing at the back of his neck and a certain determination that life must absolutely hate him for some cosmic injustice he caused as a marine. "Hey Park. ... hey Lyric," he greets as he pulls up to their booth and practically winces for some reason.

A hug for Tyrone once he is close enough, and a big sloppy kiss to his cheek. "So glad you could come! What can I get you to drink? Doesn't have to be coffee. You can even have a smoothie like Lyric or a thickshake like me. Gosh I love thickshakes. So ice creamery, you know? Do you like ice cream? I'm so glad that you know each other. I think that tricky ten seconds before you become best friends with strangers can be uncomfortable. Oh, Lyric, I'm trying to get an appointment to see Byron. Sparrow said he knows how to get sponsorship for events like WinterFest."

Lyric had ordered already and her number is called but the barista wasn't terribly busy so she brings over the strawberry smoothie and the club sandwich. "Thanks!" Though she's settling it in front of her when Tyrone comes over. She watches the greeting and grins at Parks animation. "Hi Tyrone, I'm glad you know each other. We're in a band." She bobs her head to Park, "We can meet him together soon?"

Tyrone gives Park the same one-armed return hug he usually gives and makes a little bit of a face as he's given a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "I said I would. And really, I'm good with just some black decaf. I do like ice cream, but it's already cold out there. Not really the kinda weather I wanna get even colder in," he says, shrugging a little. He watches between the two ladies as they talk about someone else doing something together and just focuses on parking his chair at the end of the booth without making it impossible for either of them to get up if they wanted to. "So ... which instruments do you guys play?"

"Did I tell you that Sparrow said 'yes' to playing? I still have to ask Cameron properly" Park grins to Lyric before a thumbs up to Tyrone. "Black decaf. Anything to eat? And you don't eat ice cream to cool down, you eat ice cream because it is...YUMMY!!" She doesn't seem to mind that people stare at her for a moment. "I play bass guitar and I can also play keyboards but we have a keyboardist called Scott and he's pretty good. I also do the recordings so mixing and producing with everyone else's input of course. I'll get your order."

"Oh Yay!" Lyric is excited to hear about Sparrow and their band. "I bought Jaime in the auction." She looks at Tyrone and grins. "Ice cream is best in the winter. So it doesn't melt everywhere." Looking down she starts peeling the crust off her club sandwich and pushing the crust aside. "I play the guitar," Lyric says. "And I can mess around on the drums some, but not good. And I love to sing. But we all write songs."

Tyrone grimaces and shakes his head a little. "Sorry, I can't do ice cream when it's cold. Especially now, when it's a lot harder for me to warm up. I like it, but it's definitely a summer treat," Tyrone disagrees with the ladies. Since he has no idea who Sparrow or any of the others they're mentioning are, he stays quiet on that subject. He listens to them mention which instruments they play and then nods, smiling. "Cool. And it's cool that y'all are in a band and rocking out together. I hope you guys get awesome and get big and do all the major stuff and then I can say I knew you when."

"You can know us when and then" Park grins before dashing off to do the order and return in a trice. "And we're already awesome" she points out. "Lyric is an awesome singer and I try with the harmonies sometimes." She picks up Lyric's crust to nibble at. "We should write more songs together" Park grins at the other band member before looking back to Tyrone. "I keep writing angry political songs. I need to write more love songs" she blushes. "Are you musical at all, Tyrone?"

"Other than picking out songs, nope. Not a musician," Tyrone says, shaking his head. "And I'm sure you guys are already awesome, but I meant like, an awesome stage show, and touring, and all that good stuff. Be big rock stars or whatever. You know, the whole nine yards." As Park returns, Tyrone remembers his manners and removes his cover, sticking it into a pocket on his coat, which he starts to shrug off. He doesn't pull it out from under himself or anything, lets it hang over the edge of his chair behind him as he starts to loosen his tie and undo the neck button of his shirt. "So you ladies have any big plans for your Friday night?"

"Can you sing at all?" Park asks Tyrone brightly. "I can't wait to put on big shows and sing our songs to everyone. I hope people like them but it doesn't matter if they don't. I mean, it's all about expressing yourself, you know? Getting the art out into the world whether they want it or not" she grins. A wiggle of her eyebrows as Tyrone loosens up his clothes. "Are you going to strip now? We work in a strip club, we've seen it all." Park screws up her nose. "Well, not all of the all. Friday night? No, not really, but Saturday is my birthday! Yay! Should totally have a party and you're invited."

Tyrone chuckles again as he shakes his head. "No, like I said, no musical talent here. Can't sing, don't play any instruments. But, I'll be happy to be the first member of your fan club and be the one that's at all your shows." He listens to Park threaten to put music out even if nobody wants to hear it and crings a little, smirking and shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah ... like I said. I wouldn't know, so I'll have to take your word for it." When Park asks if he's gonna strip for them, Tyrone laughs and shakes his head. "Nooooope. Already took off all I'm takin' off." And then Park's announcing her birthday and Tyrone is at first surprised, but then smiles and nods to her. "Well happy early birthday. ... can I ask how old you're gonna be?"

"Twenty-two!" Park proclaims proudly before it is time for a song. "'Twenty-two today, twenty-two today, I've got the keys to the door, never been twenty-two before.' Though, obviously, I mean Saturday not today but the song doesn't work with Saturday in there. Too many syllables. Oh! And Lyric is going to organise a Christmas party so you have to come along to that too. Are you Christian? I'm not but I'll still do Christmas because all my friends are. Gosh, I still have to get so many presents for people. Though I prefer to make things because that shows love and care. Oh, here's your coffee."

"Ah. Nice. Well, again, happy early birthday. If I'm free, maybe I'll see about stopping by," Tyrone says, completely non-committal. Then the talk moves on to religion and a Christmas party and Tyrone shrugs again. "I dunno what I am. Really, I just try and stay outta religion. I figure if I leave him alone, he can leave me alone and we'll both be aight," Tyrone says. And then his coffee is here! What a great excuse NOT to share his opinion, as he claims the drink and coffeepot from the black island.

"I hope you'll be free then. Do you have Lyric's number or address? If not, then you'll need mine." Out comes Park's phone. "And I should get your number too. If you're not into religion, that's cool. We can still do Holiday stuff. And you're still getting a present. Deets please" she smiles before she whispers. "Do you want to answer my question at the museum? About the...workings. Don't have to."

"Yeah, I've got her number and she's got mine," Tyrone says, before giving his number to Park as well. And, when she asks about the question from the museum, Tyrone blinks a little and then his face scrunches up and he shakes his head, chuckling. "Gonna go with 'I dunno' on that one. Plumbing's fine. Haven't really done any experimenting, otherwise," he admits, shrugging his shoulders to his ears.

"Really? Not even by yourself? At least the plumbing works, that's a good sign" Park smiles warmly. Numbers swapped and Park's address given - it is the same as Lyric's - before her phone is slipped back into her pocket. "So, you can drop by the house on Saturday whenevs. And if we're not there, text and I'll let you know where we are. I think Lyric was talking about going out. Not to the Cabaret though as that would just be like work. What are you going to do on Friday?"

"No, not even by myself," Tyrone repeats, shaking his head. "And okay, I'll see about stopping by." He then drinks more of the coffee that Park got him and shrugs a little. "I don't really have any plans. I should try and catch up with my pal Easton. But otherwise, nothing planned so far."

"I don't know an Easton. Are they nice?" Park asks, and she seems quite interested to know. "And you should definitely stop by. Birthday and Holiday. I won't make you promise me though because no one ever knows what could happen in life, but I really hope you can come." A pause. "No pun intended. We could do something if you want?"

Tyrone chuckles at the question about Easton being nice. "Well, nice enough, I suppose. We served together. I don't really know him that well outside of the marines yet, so. But he's the one that suggested I come to Gray Harbor after my recovery. He's just been busy with his own life and I've still been trying to settle in, so we haven't really talked much." At the continued invitation for the parties, Tyrone sighs a little. "I'll come to your birthday party tomorrow, but I can't make any promises about the holidays. This will be my first, being home, and I dunno what kinda mood I'm gonna be in. I may not be suitable for company," he admits, taking another drink of the coffee. At the suggestion of them doing something, he chuckles a little. "Well, we're getting coffee now. Did you have something else in mind?"

"If he wanted you to come here then he's probably very nice. Whereabouts are you from? I was born in California but I've lived here since I was five. Gosh, soooo long ago" Park giggles. "Just because he's been busy, that doesn't mean he doesn't love you, so don't think that. And the best cure for grumpy holidays is to spend it with me! I don't let anyone be miserable." She ponders what else they could get up to. "Oh, have you seen the new Jumanji film that came out today? We can go see that!"

"Born and raised in Chicago, till I left for the Marines," he answers. At the suggestion that Easton loves him, Tyrone laughs and smirks a little. "Maybe it's a kind of love, I guess," he relents, shaking his head and still chuckling at the idea. He apparently finds it fairly humorous. But, at the suggestion that spending the holiday with her would be a solution to him being grumpy, he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but if I need to be alone, I need to be alone. If I'm good, then maybe I'll hit you guys up. But, if I'm not ... there's very few people who know how dark it can get." Ooo! Ominous! But, Jumanji is definitely the opposite of that! "Oh, nah, I haven't. ... it just came out, and I been working all day, so. But the first one was cot dang hilarious and this one looks just as good, so we could hit that up if you wanted."

Park frowns at Tyrone's insistence he will be miserable. "I am going to write a song for you. To show you how special you are" she promises with a smile. "Chicago, that old toddling town. Is that the lyric? I'm gonna write a musical one day. 'Gray Harbor: The Musical!'. Pretty lit, right?" She slurps on her thickshake some more. "Let's go see Jumanji then. If we can still get tickets. The Rock is awesome. And Kevin Hart. And Jack Black. And Karen Gillan. Oh gosh, yes, we should def go."

Tyrone rolls his eyes at being called special and shakes his head a little, but doesn't verbally argue. "... it's Gray Harbor. I don't exactly see us selling out our movie theater on a regular basis, especially for something like this," he offers. He then looks to Lyric and raises an eyebrow, but she seems to have other things going on, so he shrugs. "... are we going /now/, or should I go home and get out of this suit first?"

"We can go home to your place first if you like" Park shrugs. "Whatever makes you comfortable. Oh...how do you get around? Do you have a car? I only have a moped. It's sooo cute" she grins proudly before glancing to Lyric. "She's fine." Park gives her bandmate a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Catch you at home?" Then another smile for Tyrone. "Let's go!"

"Oh. Uhhhh, I take the bus. So ... if you just wanna meet me at the theater? I don't think you can take your moped on the bus .... I dunno," Tyrone says, shrugging. He finishes his cup of coffee and starts pulling his jacket back on over his suit. He tells Park where his apartment complex is, though, so she can decide where she wants to go. "Otherwise, we can meet there or whatever. Up to you?"

"I'll meet you there!" Park promises. "At your apartment, I mean. I don't think we could get your chair on my moped" she frowns. Taking down his address, she nods at knowing where it is. "How long does the bus take?"

Tyrone shrugs. "From here, there's one about every thirty minutes, so ...," he pauses, checking his phone. "I'll be home in like, forty five? I know it's kinda slow, but it's what I got."

"I will see you in forty-five minutes." Park checks the time on her phone. "We should still be able to get a late show. Awesome sauce! Who wants to speed throught life? Slow is fine."

Tyrone chuckles and nods and undoes his breaks so he can turn around and head for the door. "See you in a little bit, then."

About forty-five minutes later, Tyrone is getting off the bus which happens to stop mere meters away from the door to his apartment complex. It takes a second, as the bus pulls up to the curb, opens the doors and folds out the handicap ramp. But then there he is, wheeling off and turning towards his door, peeking around for Park.

The pink moped of Park is...parked...on the curb and the woman herself is sitting on the steps to the complex, earphones on and singing along to the music. She didn't miss the arrival of the bus, smiling and waving as she sees Tyrone. "Hey!" Once to her feet, she rubs her backside to get some warmth back into it - those steps are cold. "I got the right place" she grins.

"Yup. Hey," Tyrone comments as he rolls up. He mounts the ramp to the side and pulls the lanyard from around his neck that has his keys. The door is unlocked and then held for Park so she can enter. "You can bring your moped in if you want? I dunno how you secure those things," he offers, waiting for her to decide. Once inside, he'll lead her down the hallway to the door to his apartment, which opens with the same key. And when he opens the door to the apartment, he'll let her in first again.

The apartment is the very definition of the word 'Spartan.' While it's not like he doesn't have any space, he simply leaves most of the space empty. The door opens into an entryway that leads straight back into the kitchen, while to the right is the opening of his living room. There's no table or anything, and there is one bowl, one plate and one glass sitting on the kitchen counter, ready to be used. In the living room, the only furniture he has is a couch, which is facing a 43" television which is sitting on a small TV stand. There's a PS4 underneath it, as well. Otherwise, there isn't any other furniture visible in the main areas.

"Can I bring it inside? Cool." Park grabs her moped and follows after Tyrone through the various doors, though slipping into his apartment first. Her moped propped against the kitchen counter before she starts checking out the apartment. "Nice place. I like how you've let the space breathe." He obviously needs some space to get around. She eyes off the one glass etc. and assumes she will not be offered a drink. "While you get changed, do you mind if I sit on your couch? Ooh...PS4. What games do you have?"

"Do you want anything to drink? There's beer in the fridge, or I think I've got orange juice or something," Tyrone offers, contrary to popular belief! "You can use the cup on the counter if you want juice, just put it in the sink when you're done. And I don't have a ton. Black Ops, Fortnite, Madden .... They're all digital so if you wanna play, you can. There should be a headset in the cupboard underneath if you wanna go live for a round. It'll take me like, ten minutes to get changed or so. Otherwise, make yourself at home." Or, at least as at home as one can make themselves in a stranger's apartment. Tyrone shrugs out of his coat and hangs it on a rack next to the door, hanging his cover over it, and then his key lanyard next to it. He then heads for his bedroom.

"I'm a terrible drinker. I sniff beef and I get drunk. I'll be fine, I'll grab a Coke at the movies." Park considers the games on offer. "Fortnite I could do" she decides, "But ten minutes isn't long. Do you need some help to change or anything?"

As he enters his room, Tyrone laughs. "Nah, shawty. I got this." And then he closes the door to his bedroom. And it honestly takes him more like 20 minutes to change, he's still pretty terrible at accounting for not being able to move half his body. But, when he's done, he'll come out wearing fatigue pants, amd a white t-shirt with USMC stenciled on it. "Alright, changed."

Those ten minutes seem to stretch a bit longer than ten. Park reading something on her phone when Tyrone reappears. "Hey!" she grins, hopping up to her feet and checking him over. "You look great. Oh, you like DJing?" She points at his t-shirt. "U.S.M.C. Though I guess an M.C. is more vocals, than DJing the music. Mic Controller after all. We should get going though. Okay for me to leave my moped here?"

Tyrone blinks in confusion when she asks him about DJing. And when she explains her reasoning, he closes his eyes and shakes his head, a wry smirk growing on his lips. "United States Marine Corps, shawty. I keep telling you, I got no musical chops. And the title 'emcee' /actually/ refers to a master of ceremonies. That's what the original rappers were alluding to with the MC acronym," he explains, dropping knowledge. He then nods a little and checks his phone. "Well, it took me a little longer to change, but, it just means we don't have to wait for the bus as long. ... or ... well .. /I/ don't have to wait longer. You've already been waiting. But yeah, you can leave it here. We got like, five minutes before we need to head for the bus stop. No sense being out in the cold rain longer than we gotta, right?"

"Oh, Master of Ceremonies?" Park thinks on this. "I guess that makes sense. I think I perfer Mic Controller though. And I don't mind waiting. I can always find things to amuse myself" she shrugs. "But, yeah, maybe waiting in the rain might not be fun. You know what this city needs? Sheltered bus stops. I mean ones that have roofs, not bus stops that we need to keep safe from nasty people. I should have asked the city council about that when I went to see them."

Tyrone chuckles. "They have them at the major bus stops. Just not all the residential ones," he explains, rolling over closer to the couch. "Besides. This one is literally like thirty feet from my door. We can just wait inside until we see it up the block." He looks over to notice that the Playstation isn't on, nor the TV, and returns his attention to Park. "So ... California, huh? That musta been nice. You ever go back there?" Aww, look, he's trying to make small talk!

A shake of her head to talk of California. "No need to. My family is here. I mean, sure, it's warmer, but this is home now. I guess I've been here so long, it's really home now anyway, you know? I can't remember a lot about Cali. So, to refute Mr. LL Cool J, I won't be 'going back to Cali' anytime soon." She giggles a little before nudging him. "That was a musical joke. Oh...do you want to hear some jokes. This one is my current favorite. Ready? A cowboy asked me to help him round up eighteen cows. I said, 'Sure, that's twenty cows'." Park bursts out laughing. So hard she may have trouble breathing. "Gosh I love that joke."

"... wasn't that Biggie Smalls?" Tyrone offers, somewhat confused. And then Park is telling a joke. He quirks an eyebrow for a second, before the punchline dawns on him and he rolls his eyes. "Ugh. Math jokes." Then he smirks. "I got one for you. What makes a joke a dad joke?" he asks, unable to contain his smile.

"Pretty sure it was LL Cool J" Park ponders, lips pushed out in thought. That Tyrone does not explode in laughter like she did is a bit disappointing, but she does seem to appreciate humor a lot more than others. Or she has no taste and laughs at anything. But she is excited to hear Tyrone's joke. Wide eyed with anticipation as she shakes her head. "Nope, what makes a joke a Dad joke?"

Tyrone's smile turns into grin as he finishes his joke. "When the punchline becomes apparent." And he lets that hang there for her reaction.

It takes a moment but then Park is laughing loudly and happily once more. "Oh my gosh! That's so good. I get it!" she grins. "Okay, okay, let me think of another one." It's on now! "I�m sure wherever my dad is; he�s looking down on us. He�s not dead, just very condescending."

Tyrone groans and chuckles at that one. "Yeah, I get it. But hey, we should head for the bus," he says, gesturing towards the door. Also because he has to put his coat on and stuff, which takes a second.

"To the bus we go!" Park will wait patiently while Tyrone gets his coat on, slipping her own giant puffy jacket on as well. And then off they go to the movies. "Is this Jumanji Two or Three? You think the first Rock one was a remake or a sequel to the Robin Williams one?"

"I think they call it a 'spiritual successor,' but I dunno if it's exactly the same. I think it's supposed to be in the same universe, though?" Tyrone offers, shrugging as they board the bus. He, of course, pays Park's way, since it's his mode of transportation.

Park will sit wherever Tyrone chooses. "It's been ages since I've been on the bus." She looks out the window, watching the world go by for a moment. "I pay for the movie." Tyrone has no say in this. "How long have you been working at the museum? Is it what you want to do?"

Tyrone's choices are fairly limited, as only two sets of seats fold up in the front of the bus. But, he's gotten good at it, by now, and so once the driver lets the lift down and he's able to get on, he gets the seat up and one of the restraints on all by his lonnesome. The driver puts the rear on, and Park can certainly sit either in front of him or across from him. "Um, like a month or two? And nah, it's just a part time job to give me a little extra income beyond what I get for disability," Tyrone explains.

Park will sit opposite Tyrone so she can look at him as they speak. It's only polite. "So what do you want to do? I guess you rent that place you live in?" A little giggle. "I probably should ask you if you actually like living in Gray Harbor before I get too ahead of myself."

Tyrone shrugs a little. "I mean, I don't hate it. Crime ain't as bad as Chicago, so there's that," he says, considering if there's anything else he really likes. After a few more seconds, there's another shrug as he comes up with nada. "And I haven o idea what I wanna do. Right now, I'm just trying to adjust to being crippled. Once I get that down, I'll try and figure out what my next move is gonna be."

"Not hating something is rare these days. You should cherish that" Park winks. "Chicago is worse than here?" An awful lot of people seem to die in this town after all. "You can do whatever you want to do. You're not 'crippled'. Okay, you may not be able to become a professional ballroom dancer, but who wants to? Some people said I could never be a musician...but here I am."

Tyrone rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Anybody who tries to tell me I ain't crippled either wants something from me or is trying to sell something. I can't walk. Can't feel my legs. Period. Anything I /can/ do? Go'n have to make accommadations for that. Don't mean I can't do stuff, just means I gotta do it different. All this 'you can do anything' bullshit gets real tiring," he says. Then, he grimaces a little. "I'm not yelling at you or anything, I'm not upset. I'm just saying. All these people who can walk and do stuff keep telling me I ain't crippled, I can do anything, and they ain't even understand what I done already. I think I'm perfectly okay having no clue what I wanna do right now, beyond getting in shape and getting over getting shot."

"Okay. Sorry" Park replies quietly. Thankfully, any sadness she may feel is quickly quashed, and she's all smiles again. "I'm sure you've done plenty already. I don't know how I would handle being shot. That's not a nice thing to have happen. And you're totally okay. There are plenty of people who have 'more' than you who have no idea what they want to do. Nothing wrong with that."

Tyrone just smiles a little sheepshly, obviously feeling bad for having blurted all that out. "Yeah, that's what I keep telling people. Sometimes, it's okay to just be okay." And, needing something to fill the sudden vaccuum, he turns it around. "What about you? Do you know what you wanna do?" And, immediately after asking, he grimaces. "Oh, right, you wanted to be a musician." Cue awkward silence and rubbing the back of his neck.

"I am a musician" grins Park. "I want to be one who gets listened to. Gets to release their music. Not just my music. Music I do with the rest of the band. All of our art merged into a gestalt of goodness. Ooh...we should call the first album that, 'Gestalt of Goodness'. Do you think that's a good name?"

Tyrone laughs again and shrugs his shoulders, looking over at Park. "You keep asking like I'm suddenly gonna be good at music. I have no idea if it's a good name or not. If the music's good, who cares what the name is?" he asks. "It's not a /bad/ name, I can tell you that much. But, that's about the best I can do. Aaaand, we should be about to the theater soon."

"You don't have to know about music to know a good title. I mean, good titles speak to everyone. 'Gestalt of Goodness' is probably a bit highbrow. How many people know what a Gestalt is? But the really big songs have a name that means something to everyone. It could be a saying, or just meaningful. And it has to match the music too." Park sighs playfully. "And people think it is so easy." She looks out the window to see the cinema looming ahead. "Yep, there it is. I'm so excited."