banjoanjo

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Wouldn't mind at all, would be happy to continue this in any form. I think it'd be good to get the number back up tbh

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Still here

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SARA ZHOU █ act one: way down we go ▸ p. johnson's ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Sara flashed him a smile. Friendly, empathetic even. Right out of the customer service handbook. “Seven years flies by in a blink, eh?” She gave a slight wince as the familiar, high-pitched squeal of a popular girl rang through the bar. As Hanna practically flung herself onto Sangster, she tossed a glance at Lucas to gauge his reaction. “Goes fast… but it’s plenty of time for people to mellow out, I’m sure.” A steadfast reassurance. She turned back to the bar, an easy excitement rising as she spotted Meir at the bar. God, it seriously had been too long. He’d really grown into himself, becoming barely recognizable from the scrawny AP class companion she had. Not to Sara though. She’d know that curly hair and nervous posture anywhere. That particular deer-in-the-headlights expression was not as frequent, however. She had to rack her brain to recall what or who would trigger that one. It wasn’t a bully, was it? No, he wouldn’t be as clammy if it was. Maybe one of Hanna’s clique? Closer, but no dice. No, it was a specific person. Darn, who was it again? “Hey Freya! What’s going on?” Ah. Fuck. It came from a voice she couldn’t place for the moment, but it told her everything she needed to hear. Sara’s jaw clenched and she quietly abandoned all plans to join Meir at the bar, instead opting to continue blending in at this booth. She couldn’t just leave Lucas alone, after all! ‘I thought I was ready for this,’ she sighed internally. Her bereavement was quickly - efficiently - pushed aside as she watched Jack approach. “Hey guys, what’s up? Party’s happening over there.” “Just making sure a little lamb didn’t get too lost,” Sara smirked back. Past Jack, she caught yet another person looking bug-eyed, in their booth’s direction this time. Was Cal… holding in a sneeze? “Uhhh…” Maybe she should just ignore that. She needed a proper distraction either way. “Yeah, ‘f course, no rush. Hey, I’ve got a keg out back I prepared just for today. You mind helping me carry it to my car?” ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

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I'm prepared to make a response to Jack but I reckon I'm gonna give @Mao Mao a chance to post first.

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I'm still on board!

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<Snipped quote by banjoanjo>

If you want to add a layer to their friendship then Sara knew and could have probably tried to help him. Otherwise she could have had her suspicions. Either one I would be totally fine with!

@Salsa Verde

It would probably add a layer but maybe not in the positive way when current day Meir realises Sara was good friends with Freya, knew about his crush, and did nothing to help with it ;;

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SARA@banjoanjo
Fair enough, though I wonder would Sara feel a little comfortable with Connor being that both behave as the ESFJ type? Plus I wonder... her brother Willard was in a car accident, when was this? Connor was in a car accident at night at one point. Idea: maybe Connor and Willard crashed? Maybe they saw each other around Delton in enough years to be familiar at the reunion?

@Sweven7

Sara's brother's crash ended up taking their father's life since he was in the passenger seat so I'm not sure you'd want Connor to be saddled with that kind of trauma. I am up for Sara being more comfortable after graduation and realising he's not as bad as his jock friends though. They'd probably see each other often at the general store Sara works at.

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Also @Salsa Verde back in high school, how obvious would Meir's crush on Freya have been to Sara?

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SARA ZHOU █ act one: way down we go ▸ p. johnson's ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

“Mm. Nah, <<no, I haven’t eaten yet.>>” Sara sat in the dark of her car across from P.J.’s, combing a hand through her hair. The other held a phone to her ear. She winced when it came out damp. Ugh, maybe she shouldn’t have squeezed that shower in after work. “<<No, I am! Yes, I’ll get something to eat. We’re meeting at P—uh.>> We’re meeting at a bar first then heading to the school so I’ll probably just grab something on the way. Or after.” “<<Yeah, Jack organized the whole thing. And, ah! Do you remember Meir? We carpooled to science decathlon. …Yes, he was the skinny one. There were a lot of skinny ones, Ma. He had glasses—okay, a lot of them had glasses too. He…>>” Sara sighed. “The Jewish one, Ma. Yep, he—yep, now you remember. Yeah, Meir! He’s gonna be there too. It’s gonna be good.” The voice on the other side of the world continued, asking a question that made Sara frown. “<<The nice girl.>> …Freya?” She paused longer than she liked. “Well, Facebook said she’d be there. I dunno. I don’t really… eh, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll let you know if she shows up.” She turned to stare out the window. A familiar looking man was entering the bar. “<<I better head in. You eat something too, yeah? Isn’t it like lunchtime for you now? Mm. Yeah, okay. Tell Uncle I said hi. Love you too. Okay. Bye, Ma.>>” Another hand-comb of her hair and Sara stepped out. The entrance to P.J.’s was certainly a familiar sight, one that brought a little comfort even. It wouldn’t have been the first place she’d have chosen for a high school reunion. Then again, if you’d asked her seven years ago, Sara wouldn’t have guessed Jack as the one who’d suggest a gathering either. Sara stopped in her tracks, neurons firing. P.J.’s, Jack, old classmates… She… wait, was she planning to come out? … “…No, that’s dumb.” Sara stated it solidly and banished the idea before she headed inside. There were already a few familiar faces at the bar, and she almost bounded right up to them. But as she scanned the establishment a little more, she saw the man who’d been outside. Ah, now she recognized him. Why was he slouching all alone in the corner like that? She could guess why, of course, but still, that wouldn’t do. If Jack wanted this to be a fun night for old acquaintances, then Sara would make sure that was the case. She went to the booth and propped herself against the opposite wall. “Hey, Lucas.” Yep, that was his name. She nodded her head in the bar’s direction. “You been well? I just got here too – was about to head over there myself.” ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

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@fledermaus
I can picture Sara keeping an eye on Gen after that big incident at later parties out of her sense of duty, and them getting to know each other from that. Maybe after a while, if they somehow started talking at school as well, she'd even 'accidentally' leave her notes out for Gen to copy.

@Gisk
That works with me! If we want to take it further we could even say they went on one date that went terribly then started drifting apart haha.

@nodogs
Wooah. Reading over that old IC, Sara was a lot angrier/bitter than I remembered lol. Anyhow, she'd have the same opinions about Jack's sexuality as the last iteration, maybe more light-hearted about it since they're more familiar here. I hope Jack likes beer cos Sara needs someone to taste all her dud batches.

@Eleven
That sounds great, I really enjoy fleshing out Sara and especially Willard's friendships. The double disappearance is gonna be very uncomfortable for Sara to deal with after all these years, gonna be interesting to see it play out.

If you'd like, we could PM more about some Willard stuff?

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Gonna try and get a post out around the weekend.

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Sara Stuff

• Her brother worked part-time as a kitchen hand at the Bistro. If he didn’t get the job at first, he would have nagged his way into the position, constantly swinging by to get the staff to try his cooking. When Willard disappeared, Donovan was the first person Sara asked for his whereabouts.
• Willard dreamed of opening a restaurant in Delton, one great and crazy enough for Guy Fieri to feature on his show. He swore that Sara would be his right hand chef. (“It’s sous chef, you dork.”)
• Sara’s mom told her to get a hobby so she decided to get into beer brewing with help from the guys at P.J’s. In return she lends them a hand with their events, occasionally with bookkeeping too. Due to her unofficial apprenticeship she often goes straight there after work.
• She’s not gay though. Why do people keep assuming that?
• She campaigned for Student Council President back in high school. The campaign ran out of steam after Willard left so she settled for the position of Treasurer.
• No one knows how she balances her day job with her P.J’s commitments and her online degree. (She naps a lot in the break room.)
  Once she heard about the reunion, she would have had a big hand in getting the word out about it. She’s bringing a keg in her trunk for the demolition watching.

Relationships

Lucas @Mao Mao
If Lucas was friends with Meir they probably talked often enough for her to remember the boy behind all the tragedy. But after the profile leaked and he started flunking, he became little more than an example of what not to be.

Connor @Sweven7
It would be nice to hang out with another beer appreciator but unfortunately she finds it hard to look past the stereotypical popular white jock he was back then, even if he’s mellowed out now. She’s cordial to him and his wife at least when they pop by the store. Has made the mistake of asking if there were any kids on the way at least once.

Freya @Eleven
Depends if she was one of Freya’s ‘unlikely friends’. Sara would have wanted to keep it under wraps, knowing how other people viewed her relationships as weirdly contractual. If anyone knew about it, Freya – or worse, other people – would likely just assume she was using the rich girl for popularity or a brief escape from middle class life.
If they weren’t friends then Sara wouldn’t take the initiative to talk to her. Freya would just be a face she’d note from the periphery of a party.

Benjamin @Odin
Maybe if his grades were better she’d probably remember who that was.

Hanna @Prisk
The bathroom encounters were an inevitability. Sara would have tried making an acerbic comeback before realizing there was no way she’d ever beat a mean girl in a competition of smack talk. She used a different bathroom for the rest of that school year.
The years have passed and Sara has let go of her grudge, chalking it down to it being a standard high school experience. Honestly, after the cheerleader drama, the thing that stands out the most about Hanna in her mind is her hypocrisy.

Meir @Salsa Verde (i get hungry every time i read your gd username)
They probably were good friends. Decathlon buddies? Sara would have been openly jealous of his superior grades but also appreciative that there was another person who excelled through hard work rather than natural talent. Out of the cast, he’s the only one she would have tried staying in contact with after graduation, though that stopped after a measly few months.

Genesis @fledermaus
If Genesis was the one chugging vodka on the table, Sara was the one wiping the shoeprints off afterwards. Sara secretly prided herself on knowing how to avoid trouble.

Jack @nodogs
A casual friend in high school likely. She would have tried recruiting Jack to the girl’s soccer team several times, until it became a running joke between them (from Sara’s perspective anyway). Though Sara would consciously avoid the Bistro, since they both stayed in Delton and weren’t actively hostile, there's a good chance Jack is the person Sara is most familiar with out of the cast currently.