|
|
Post by aliceroosevelt on Apr 26, 2008 17:56:06 GMT -5
My father would kill me.
Alice couldn't help but to think this over and over as she got closer to the Harlem River. If her father knew that she had left her mother at the bookstore and walked through Manhattan into Harlem, where he had forbidden her to go because it was too far from home as well as potentially dangerous. Alice knew she probably wouldn't be here in the first place if her father hadn't specifically said not to go here. Sometimes she just needed to make him angry, because that was the only way she could get his attention. He loved little Ethel and his sons more than her, she knew it. The only time he noticed when she did something was when it was something that went against his wishes.
So, Alice chose to do that a lot.
She loved the feeling of defiance; her stubborn, nonconformist nature thrived whenever she was breaking the rules. The seventeen-year-old had been unable to control her life thus far, but the realization that she could seize the controls was disastrous for her father and stepmother...but life-giving to her. She felt as if she could do anything, anywhere, without society bearing down on her with their ugly stares and disapproving pouts. Forget society, she thought, as she looked around the deserted area and kicked off her shoes. She decided she was going to wade in the river, for no other reason than she knew her father would kill her.
Alice balanced herself on each foot as she pulled off her stockings and discarded them next to her shoes. Her hat was next to come off, it sailed down nearby when she tossed it. Now her gloves, the horrid things. Satisfied, she left her discarded accessories on the bank, and walked toward the river. It rushed quickly, faster in the middle, but Alice wouldn't go in that far. She hiked the skirt of her dress up to mid-calf and stepped in, letting the shock of the cold water thrill her. She didn't think she could have been having a better time, as her heart raced with the prospect of being caught.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frankie on Apr 26, 2008 18:16:51 GMT -5
Frankie heard the guys yelling. They were done for the day, thankfully. The sun was hot on his back as he finished with the last of his crates and wiped his gloved hands together, before pulling them off and pushing them into the back pockets of his trousers. Sweat glistened down his face as he made his way over to the barrel filled with cool water. He washed his hands in it and then cupped water into his hands to splash into his face.
the salty water of his sweat mixed with the cool water from the river and then followed its trail down his face and neck till he grabbed his outer shirt he had discarded earlier from the heat and dried his hands and face off with it.
"See ya later frankie" a big fella called as he made his way towards lennigans. IT was where they always went after work. Franke sometimes joined them, but he wasnt much on the 'in' crowd with them. Sure he got along well and they always invited him but he had his own things to do, and he just wasnt into group drunk fests.
Instead Frankie decided a walk would be best. And as he started he could feel it was just what the doctor had ordered. His stress from the past week started to melt from his shoulders as his deep green eyes took in the sites and the people he passed by. It didnt matter how many times he walked through new york and its different buroughs there was always something new. Whether it was peoples interactions or a new business or something, there just was always something new. To be honest he loved new york.
He hadnt realized he'd come into Harlem until he noticed the river. IT was different here, something he always noted, though his attention was drawn to a figure clad in a fine dress taking her shoes and stockings off to enjoy a little wading in t he water.
He glanced around, but saw no one nearby, something he thought was strange for someone that looked to be in her stature of society. Then again he could be wrong. She could be a run away or she could have stolen the dress, or she could be in theatre. Either way, it was worth checking into Besides it had intrigued him, things out of the ordinary usually did.
"Hello there.."He called from a safe distance so he wouldnt startle her when he was closer. "Be careful those currents can take you down quick, theres a bit of a drop off around here' he warned.
|
|
|
|
Post by aliceroosevelt on Apr 26, 2008 19:09:52 GMT -5
"Hello there.."
Alice turned to see a young man, older than her, but not by much. By his attire, as well as their current location, she guessed he was a dock worker. Her hunch was half-verified by the crowd of them that seemed to just be getting off work, heading up to the pub, most likely. Dock workers didn't have an excellent reputation, to say the least. Alice had heard her father talking about cutting their wages to help some of the homeless around New York, which she thought was ludacris...they didn't get paid much as it was.
She was embarrassed that he had seen her in the river--she wasn't completely shameless--but she wasn't about to cut off her good time because someone came sauntering up to her. It would completely defeat the purpose of what she was trying to do. In addition, she thought he seemed kind enough, and probably wouldn't bother her much. She hid her embarrassment well, and responded to him with a soft smile. "Hello..."
"Be careful those currents can take you down quick, theres a bit of a drop off around here."
Alice glanced around. She slid her foot forward in the water and could detect the beginnings of a steep, abrupt drop that would send her plummeting down the river. She quickly drew her foot back. "I'll be sure to watch out," she said, not to be unkind. After a moment's thought, she added for good measure's sake, "You'll have to excuse my seeming lack of modesty, but frankly, I couldn't care less at the moment."
|
|
|
|
Post by Frankie on Apr 26, 2008 19:31:36 GMT -5
Frankie continued on when she looked up and said hello to him. He offered her a friendly smile, she looked about his age. He was never good at telling ages unless there was an obvious difference in looks. He had run into several people that looked younger or older then what they really were. Frankie stopped a few feet from where she was in the water, his hands in his pockets as he watched her.
He watched her slide her foot forward a bit, he assumed she was looking for the drop. She must have found it because then she looked back ot him telling him she would be sure to watch out. "its okay"He smirked some. "im not exactly fully of modesty myself"He said. "I just got off of work, I am dirty and smelly...'He tried to make her feel better, but he didnt seem to have to. She seemed quite pleased to be what she was doing.
"Im Frankie... well I mean. Scott Connelly"He told her. "People just call me frankie, so its really up to you"he usually didnt offer his real name, not because he was ashamed or anything, but just because he was used to the name Frankie. Though with her, he felt like being proper and he once used to be in her state of society, but that was long gone and over with.
"Do you... live around here?"he asked He didnt want to be rude and ask if she was homelss or a runaway or something, so maybe this way would tell him. He couldnt be certain, but you never know.
|
|
|
|
Post by aliceroosevelt on Apr 26, 2008 19:46:01 GMT -5
"I'm not exactly fully of modesty myself. I just got off of work, I am dirty and smelly..."
Alice laughed a little; she couldn't help it. His brutal honesty was endearing, if not amusing. "Well, then, it's a good thing I've run into you and not someone else." She offered him another smile. She enjoyed people who weren't too full of themselves. She spent far too much time around people who were up on a high horse. I'm at the Governor's Mansion, they would say, socializing with his family and eating at his table and laughing at his jokes when they're not funny because I'm just that important. She was sick of the snobs who thought a lot of themselves. It was nice to talk to someone ordinary for a change.
"I'm Frankie... well I mean. Scott Connelly. People just call me Frankie, so its really up to you."
She wasn't really sure what to call him. She was used to calling people she didn't know by their surname, but she had the feeling it wouldn't do for this fellow. He was a working man, friendly and casual, and she wouldn't be doing her cause justice if she called him Mr. Connelly. "Alright, Frankie," she said, enjoying the notion of calling someone by a nickname and liking the sound. "My name is Alice." She intentionally refrained from telling him her last name. Odds were he would know her by her surname, and proceed into a tirade of apologies and the like. Everyone did that, she thought sullenly, and she hated it.
"Do you... live around here?"
Alice shook her head. "Well, not in Harlem, if that's what you mean. Manhattan, though, of course. Although...far from here..." She trained her gaze on the rushing current again, taking care to make sure her skirt wasn't trailing in the water. She would have a hard time hiding her deed if the hem of her skirt was soaked with river water. She couldn't tell Frankie exactly where she lived, and hoped he wouldn't ask. He didn't recognize her by sight, which was an anomaly within itself, so she wouldn't ruin her casual conversation or her good spirits by slipping up now.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frankie on Apr 30, 2008 23:15:26 GMT -5
Frankie grinned a bit and shrugged some "Yes I suppose. If it were anyone else you might have to act as proper as a lady is suppose to be.. right?"he raised his brows. Frankies looked around then, no one else seemed to be around. He wet his lips a bit as his eyes fell to the river side. He took in the soil litered with rocks and sperattick grass.
After a few moments he lifted his deep green eyes back to hers. He had kind eyes, much like his smile and his expression. It was hard not to be comfortable around Frankie and a lot of the times he had that Big brother type aura about him. Or well someone you could just trust and go to if you needed to talk
Frankie grinned further when she used his name and then gave hers in return. "Well its very nice to meet you Ms. Alice" he said. He stopped by a rock that was there and sat on it, lifting his feet to take his shoes off as well as his socks. Rolling his pants up to a little below his knees he walked out towards her. "Mind if I join you?"he asked. The cool water hit his feet and he stepped back a bit. "Cold..' It was more of a second thought comment as he stepped forward again embracing the cool water as it washed over his feet.
Frankie didnt know much about the people, he normally kept to himself so it wasnt really strange for him that he didnt recognize her. "oh..'He said, with a slight nod as she explained about where she lived. it wasnt a direct answer, but that didnt bother him. They had just met and besides living quarters were not very important. |
|
|
|
Post by aliceroosevelt on May 1, 2008 16:29:11 GMT -5
"Yes I suppose. If it were anyone else you might have to act as proper as a lady is suppose to be.. right?"
Alice grimaced and nodded. "Yes...I certainly would have to." She hated admitting it. The fact that she changed her behavior and personality depending on who was around at the time sometimes annoyed her, but she knew it was something she had to do. She couldn't be expected to be the perfect daughter all the time. Still, however, she was the Governor's daughter, and sometimes the occasion called for dignity and a certain amount of ladylike behavior. It was what society expected, so much of the time it would be what she would give them without much question.
"I really am glad I encountered someone like you, Frankie," she said, the informal name sounded odd mixed with her formal language. "Unless you expect me to be proper...then I most likely won't hesitate to leave the river..." She shuffled her foot along the bank, taking care of the steep drop he had pointed out to her. She glanced at him and met his eyes. As she did, she couldn't help but to notice what an extraordinary color his eyes were. He had such a friendly air to him, she was relaxed into smiling. It seemed as if the people of the lower classes always brought out the best in her. Not always, she corrected herself, recalling the rude newsboy in Central Park, but usually they could cause the stubborn, hot-tempered girl to be pleasant.
"Well its very nice to meet you Ms. Alice. Mind if I join you?"
Alice shook her head. "Be my guest," she said. It wasn't her river, after all, it was everyone's. She liked that aspect of the world outside her own. It wasn't about who owned this and who bought what and where and why. She knew it all wasn't rosy, no matter how you lived, but sometimes she felt as if she would be happier if she had less money, or if her father was a businessman instead of a politician. She turned to Frankie again. "I would enjoy some company..." she said with a smile.
"Oh..."
He didn't seem to have much to say about her residence, which was all the better for her. The less he asked, the better. Too many nice people had been too embarrassed to talk to her when they found out what family she was from. "And could I ask you the same question?" she said, meaning to be conversational.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frankie on May 18, 2008 19:46:40 GMT -5
He nodded a bit as she admitted to it. He looked down at the waters below him, squatting a bit and ran his fingers through it, feeling the water trail through his fingers. It was a nice feeling. He enjoyed water greatly and wanted to go swimming, but it was a bit chilly.
At her words he looked up at her and gave her a half smile. "I dont know you very well, but IM glad Ive met you as well"he said. Hhe wasnt the type to feel the need to compliment a person after theyve said something nice to him as well, but he was the type to tell the truth and therefore, thats what he did.
"its okay. I dont expect you to be anything you dont want to be"he told her. "You're free right now... be you"
He was glad when she allowed him to join her. "Is it lonely?"He asked. "Being where you are?"he meant station wise. He had been a happy child, but eversince that fateful night that took it all away, he has been on the streets or well generally on his own. He had no idea if his life would have turnd out cold or... stay warm. Wealth was a bad thing and when you had it, if you werent strong, it ate you alive.
"Well.. Ilive in the tenements in Brooklyn"he answered truthfully
|
|
