silvermist1116

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Mention: Zeltzin@Bartimaeus

Ophrenia walked out the door with Z. The image of a woman flashed in the window right before she left. She frowned. That was interesting. Spooky town and their ghosts. Or maybe it's the mix of humidity and the exhaust from the truck that just passed by. Anything was possible. She thanked Z for holding the door open for her.

"I'm very good at this. I just don't do well with dudes that mustaches are a few snipes away from looking like Hitler. I'm sure he says the n-word in private and probably committed a hate crime in college." She put her arm around Z's shoulder for a split second, then took it off. It was way too hot and she remembered that Z doesn't seem to like being touched. "But let's put that vexing man out of our heads and move onto plan B. The Black house. We could knock on the door and ask if the old lady will talk to us."

Seemed easy enough. She knew old people would open the door for anyone who knocked. Or in the case of rich old people, have a maid or butler or assistant do it for them. She used to be a door-to-door saleswoman for knives. She knew who to would budge and who wouldn't. Old retired people living on their pension and desperate to talk to anyone would gladly let her through the door. Not when she looks like she does now, but back then it was all uniforms and clean image.

"I promise I'll try harder this time. I doubt we'll run into anyone else that looks like him. Think the local bar will have people willing to point us in the right direction?"

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Mention: Zeltzin@Bartimaeus and Callum "5 degrees from a porn 'stache" Black @Punished GN

Ophrenia didn't take offense to Z moving her out of the way a bit. She saw what she was trying to do with her placating gesture. Callum was all but ready to kick them out and Z swooped in and saved the day, which was what she wanted...kinda It's good cop, bad cop reversed this time. Instead of her coming in as the voice of reason when they tried to get the secretary to get them in contact with the old lady, now it was Z's turn. Half of what she wanted and half her need to tell Callum what she thought of the...look he achieved. Whatever he was going for. It was a nice touch that Z took him off guard asking about Eleanor. He got quiet for a moment, hesitating right before he lied through his teeth and kicked them out.

"Sheriff Parts? Is his first name Private?" She looked at Z. Cops are a big deal, but she's not about to be punked by some cop name Parts. She'd get them sooner arrested cracking jokes at his name, than they would for being brown in the South. "Before we go, I just want to confirm you're aware that we're aware that you're a lying liar who lies." She pointed to everyone in the room for confirmation, but didn't really wait for one then gave a thumbs up. "Okay, great. We're all on the same page. And since you're a liar, you can bet your ancestors' slave owning wealth that you will see us again. Of course, I'll take reparations to guarantee you'll never see me again, but you're not going to cut that big a check."

She nudged Z with her elbow. "Let's go, before Sheriff Penis escorts us out of this...fine establishment." She whispered, "I've been kicked out of way better places." But she didn't actually whisper it. It was very much staged and in a near empty room anyone could hear her. She headed towards the door. Time to go to her Plan B, knock on the old lady's door and see if they can get answers that way.

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Mention: Zeltzin@Bartimaeus and Callum "5 degrees from a porn 'stache" Black @Punished GN

Ophrenia raised her hand away from Z when she slapped it away. She shook her hand out and grimaced. It didn't hurt and she didn't much care, but the lady was staring at her so she had to sell that Z losing her shit would be a bad idea for her if they didn't get what they wanted. She thought they were doing well so far. So well in fact, they summoned a cartoon villain from the '30s.

She's seen a lot of weirdos from her time in LA, but that's west America weird. He most definitely didn't fit with any of the weirdos she grew up around in Tennessee. His whole...everything rubbed her the wrong way. Like who makes the personal choice to look like that in this century? A villain that's who. A tall villain. A long legged villain in the middle of a Louisiana swamp town. Great. She's doubting if Eleanor's worth all this trouble, but he introduced himself as Callum Black so he's gotta be related to her in some way. He's not the one they needed to speak to and she didn't care to keep up the charade if this wouldn't get them their goal. It'd be a bust as soon as they tried to talk their way out of showing him a lie, anyway.

"Wow. Shouldn't you be tying up some white woman on the tracks to heist a train?" She gestured to the disrepair of the building. "Seems like you need to. The renovation budget is like three decades behind. We can't sue you for the bike. The damage doesn't exist, but we can sue you for whatever disease we're breathing in." She scratched the back of her neck. "I'm getting kinda itchy. Are you itchy Z? She's itchy. How much for a disease borne pathogen from your family's back water swamp abomination?"

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Mention: Zeltzin@Bartimaeus

Ophrenia grinned. "Time to ruin someone's day." She hated to do, especially in a lie. She's worked a ton of customer service jobs and nothing said 'shit on my day' then someone bitching about something that had nothing to do with you. But it also got fast results from the ones that wanted you out of their face. She hoped they were in for the fast option. '

She opened the door, holding it open for Z, then followed her inside. The place looked as bad on the inside as it did on the outside. Wall paper from the '70s peeled on the walls. There were ladders with buckets of paint in section where the wall paper was taken off to give the building an update. The ceilings had those popcorn bumps and water damage. Maybe when it was done, it wouldn't look like they'd get asbestos poisoning just from breathing. There was a lady at the desk. She could've been anywhere from age 55 to 80. It was hard to tell with her white hair, few wrinkles and her floral granny suit.

She went right up to her, giving her signature creepy smile to unsettle her. Her bright eyes piercing through her soul. "Hi, so we have a bit of a problem and we heard from some locals that a woman named Mary-Louise is the person to go to fix it." She patted Z's shoulder. "You see some kids, we were told they're names are Genesis and Cody, vandalized my friend's friend's bike. She's an absolute nut about her bike. Like ready to commit murder for it. Anyway we can get this resolved peacefully? I'm not trying to catch a charge over some no good kids causing problems, you dig?"

I Remain Quest (A cruise ship horror set on a boat where you decide the fate of the cast!)

Mundane.

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Mention: Zeltzin@Bartimaeus

Ophrenia didn't feel a particular way about Z turning her down for a roommate. To each their own. She was trying to save money by going halves, but whatever. The walk from the cafe to the motel was short. In this heat it felt like forever and she was very disappointed when they arrived at the motel and that too didn't have A/C. Or at least A/C from this century. There was an A/C hanging out the window the lobby. She didn't expect anything less in their room with their two beds. She grinned at Z teasingly. Wiggled her eyebrows and resisted the urge to blow a kiss at her. That would be too much for a total stranger.

They were given a room on the first floor. Not ideal. She liked second floors, but Z had a limp and they had a lot of walking to do so it would probably be best for her leg at the end of the day when they came back.

*********

It was another short walk to the office building. It said public relations across the front. There was work being done on it. Considering how old the town is, she's surprised none of the other buildings seem to have work being done on them. They're probably in a line up. Black family buildings first, then everyone else gets their turn.

"Hope we don't breathe in asbestos or get lead poisoning. Speaking of, let's not drink the tap water." She didn't want to know what swamp tasted like nor did she want whatever illness causing microbes were in it either. Z suggested two ideas that had Ophrenia's eyebrows in her hairline. Neither of which would be a good idea for them, especially not with her in the picture.

"Thoughts, compañera?" Z said.

"Do you not see me? Do you not see you? We'd be clocked right away saying anything about business dealings. I know these types. We don't fit the part of business partners. I don't have a suit in my bag and I'm sure you don't have one either. Let's just ask about the old lady like Jen suggested." She snapped her fingers, something Jen said right before they left clicked into place. "Remember she said that the old lady love her kids and grandkids. The grandkids' names were Gen-something and Cody, right? And they're troublemakers. We go in say we want to talk to Mary-Louise about her grandkids. Something about one of them scratching your bike or spray painting it or setting it on fire. They might connect us right away. Could be a good strat to get our foot in the door."

She gave Z a once over, then moved her hand in a motion referring to Z's face. "You're going to have to do something about that to get it to work though. The stoicism is hot, but we need anger, righteous fury. Something that says 'Some little punks fucked up my bike and there will be hell to pay.'"

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Tall ass family. Will they see most of us dwarves?

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Mention: Zeltzin@Bartimaeus

Ophrenia peeled her ears for Zeltzin saying her name again. "Right. Got it. Z it is then." She can say it in her head, but knowing herself like she does she'll likely fuck it up again. Mind to mouth don't translate well sometimes. She's happy Z made it easier for her. Jen went on to point out the different places on the map along with explain who was there and how they could possibly help. That's a lot of shit going on in such a small town. Got murder mystery vibes. Good to read. Terrible to participate in.

She caught Z looking at her. She wiggled her brows and gave her her creepy signature smile where the edges of her lips curve up a little too much to be normal. Yeah, it's gonna be fun hanging out with someone so no-nonsense looking.

"Stay safe." From Jen sounded like famous last words, especially with her wanting to go off on her own. Fair enough.

"Vamosing." She finished the last of her pie, drank her last gulp of water and pulled her suitcase from under the table. She would need to find some place to put this. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and took a quick picture of the map. That should help find where they need to go and know where everyone else is.

She knocked her knuckles on the table and addressed everyone. "Don't go out in the swamps, don't talk to strangers, and we'll y'all at 7. Oh and Jen, don't die." She shot finger guns and followed Z to the door.

"First order of business before going to the office is dropping off our stuff at the Summit Motel. You think they'll have singles? If they have doubles, want a roommate?"

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

Mention: Zeltzin@Bartimaeus

A girl with blue dreads was the only one to take her up on her pie offer. She cut a slice from her slice, put it on a napkin, and handed it to her. She introduced herself as Lily and how she knew Eleanor. Seemed like that's a thing everyone was doing around the table. She kept her relation to her short. "She's a friend." And left it at that. She didn't care to go into a diatribe about why Eleanor was important. Considering it seems none of them truly knew her at all, if she can be anything to anyone, then it seemed like to Ophrenia Eleanor is a mystery. She knew that coming here, but to get details was odd.

She was surprised by the foreigners at the table. Eleanor was across the pond in Europe too? Damn. The pretty lady next to her mentioned she's her mom, and another woman her child. And she's dated how many people here? "Eleanor sure got around." She sat back listened to Jen explain the Black family's history. She chuckled when she looked at her and the other black people at the table nervously. She knew what she was about to say. As if mentioning a plantation is a trigger or something. They're a rich white family in the south. Shit's not surprising at all. It would be a doozy talking to Mary-Louise, but that'd be light work.

"If we can get a meeting with her, I'll go with...Ziltzen, you said your name was?" she asked, totally mispronouncing her name on accident. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? My Appalachian accent and names more complicated than John fuck me up." Never mind her name's Ophrenia, but she's been hearing that since birth.

She adjusted her seat to get a better look at the map Jen laid on the table. It had Xs and Os and a skull. She wasn't going to question it. Skulls meant dead things, but the woman who was Eleanor's mom and the pretty British lady had to ask. Jen confirmed her thoughts. "Not going anywhere near that. Let's do all the other ones first. Like a video game. Build our stats, then fight the final boss...or ignore it completely, because this isn't a video game and I'm not aimin' to die in some back swamp town in Louieana."

Recollections: Who Is Eleanor Black [CANCELLED]

The sun was a little passed 4pm when Ophrenia finally got off at the bus stop that was miles away from her destination. She had taken a Grey Hound from the airport to get as close to Quintin as she could. The rest of the way she would have to walk. She tied her leather jacket around her waist. She was insane to have brought it with her, but she took it everywhere. Bringing it to Louisana had been a mistake. The heat was like nothing she ever experienced before. She was from Tennessee. It was hot, but not humid. California, where she lived now, was also hot but not humid. She could describe the heat as hell on earth, and she had to walk it.

She mapped out her destination on GPS. It was a straight shot actually. Good. Nothing more she had to remember but that. She hit the road on foot. Her outfit being more of a detriment than a help. Her pants were long and black with four deep pockets. Her crop top also black; the sleeves long. Her hair frizzed up. Now wavy and on its way to poofy if she didn't get somewhere with air conditioning soon. She lasted an hour, before she put her thumb out for a ride to hitchhike the rest of the way. Dumb, she knew, but what else could she do? Lay down a die was an option she wasn't fond of. Fucking Eleanor had to be from the back swamps of Louisiana. She was starting to hate her friend for disappearing off the face of planet. And also hate herself for caring so much.

She finally got a ride from an old man that was driving home from visiting family in New Orleans. He wasn't fazed by her piercing light blue eyes at all. And she thought that'd be the thing that wouldn't get her a ride. He talked the whole way about his grandkids on and off. Almost swerved off the road to show her grainy pictures on his flip phone. She entertained him, engaged him in conversation about anything that came to mind. The conversation didn't stay on track for more than a minute, before something else reminded either of them of something else. She had a great time talking to him.

He dropped her off at the Webb Family Coffee House. "Thanks again, Morton. I'll be in town for awhile, so let's grab something to eat when we can."

"See you Ophrenia. Good riding with you."

He didn't drive away until she went inside. The wheels of her suitcase squeaked on the floor. She saw a long table full of people. She recognized Jennifer right away. She made a quick stop at the table, sliding her luggage under it by a chair next to a black woman will dark curly hair. She caught the tail end of a woman named Harmony introducing herself.

"Hello all. Good to see you in person, Jen. Ophrenia Winston." She motioned to herself. "I'm gonna grab a water. Be back in a bit." She knocked her knuckles on the table and left as fast as she came. She went to the counter. She order iced water and saw they had apple pie as the pie of the day. The cafe reminded her of a place in her hometown. Felt very at home. If only the heat wasn't murder on her hair. She got a big slice of pie and her drink. She put a few singles on the counter. "Thank you, love." She winked at the waitress, then joined back with the group.

"Hey, how are ya? Hope everyone's day was good. Louieana's heat's a killer." She sipped her water. It tasted like a swamp, but she was used to well water. Not much different. It quenched her thirst. Good enough for her. "Pie?" She offered to anyone that wanted some.