The Town Joke [Beaky]

[Mr. Banana Beak]

Rika was running a quick errand to the nearby supply store. A couple days ago, while fishing, Paprika heard a very odd noise coming from the boat. Just playing it safe, she turned around and docked the boat, with barely any fish to show. Returning home, her mom obviously yelled, calling her good for nothing. "You refuse to clean the fish and you can't even catch any, what can you do?" Then again, when isn't my mom calling me a disappointment? So when her mother was going on another one of her rants, she just walked passed, ignoring her, and looked for her father.

Covered in oil, an hour and a half passed, a few laugh were shared with her big brothers and the culprit was discovered. Rika knew her away around the mechanics of the boat, but most of the time she just nods along and goes with what everyone else says. Apparently there was something wrong with the Oxygen sensor, which was directly connected to filter. Meaning until she got the new part she wouldn't be getting out on the water any time soon, and because of the weather she hardly ever when out fishing, or anything for a matter of fact.

Walking towards the store, Paprika saw a bunch of girls huddled around the front. Great, how wonderful. As Rika started approaching the store door she heard the group of girls giggling like idiots and making fun of the boy that worked inside.

Paprika absolutely hated people like those, they were all the same. Annoying, bitchy, hurtful. They didn't care who they hurt, just as long as they climb the social ladder. And that was the whole point, they hurt people so that they can become popular. They need to feel better about themselves so they try and make other people feel less insignificant. Idiots. Just plain idiots, that was a reason why Rika liked hanging out with guys, girls were all the same.

Paprika walked passed the circle of gossiping idiots rolling her eyes at them. She so badly wanted to scream at them or even punch them, she couldn't stand people who gossiped. It was none of their information what happened with Todd's family.

Todd was a nice guy, they used to be best friends before he drop out of school, now, she barley talks to him anymore. She sees him at the store a lot but that's because she was almost always stopping by the store to pick something up. They used to have a lot of great times together, but then life for Todd just fell apart, got dealt a shitty hand. He didn't deserve to be the bottom of people's jokes, nobody did.

Entering the empty store, Rika looked at the boy who wore a face filled with hurt and anger and his fist clenched. "Just ignore them, Todd. They aren't even worth your energy." She said to Todd trying to comfort him by giving him a compassionate smile.

Paprika knew what he was going through, after all she used to be constantly teased for her shrimp like height. She couldn't stand it, she actually punched someone, but that was ancient history. Rika still get teased but she laughs with them, only way to handle it. But it's hard, she knew exactly how Todd felt right now.

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[Eastern Orange]

OOC: I just had a thought, what if they had been best friends before Todd had to drop out of school?

Todd tensed as another girl came in, but saw that it was just Paprika. His head was suddenly filled with the adventures he and Paprika carried out together as children in the school yard. Before everything had happened, and his life had turned to shit. Those were probably the happiest days of his life. He suddenly wanted to know why him and Rika had never stayed friends...There would have been multiple times to hang out over the years.

He still saw her now and then. Mostly in the shop, but there was no happy fuzzy feelings surrounding those times. It was a simple costumer-worker relationship. He looked over the counter at her, seeming to finally see her after all these years, as she spoke to him. He was about to snap back, but he didn't. "Yea, I'm used to it." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't care to much, they just had to make it about my mom."

"Hey, Rika...." He said, trailing off. He hadn't used her nickname since they were kids. "How you been?" He asked. He knew her brother had died in the Hunger Games a few years back. Even though time had passed, she probably still hurt like hell. Todd still sorely missed his own brother, who died two years before her's.

OOC: Geez, these two are a pair.

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[Mr. Banana Beak]

"They just had to be born morons." Rika said laughing at her own joke and her tiny play-on-words. When in doubt, laugh. At least that was Paprika way of thinking. It was the way she tried to live her life. Instead of getting angry she laughed, but this is coming for the worlds biggest hypocrite, is it not? She did punch someone once.... okay a few people, and did have a slight anger management problem.

Other than her temper issues, Rika did laugh at everything. But that was easy for her to do. Her life had never been anything too tragic. She was lucky enough to be born in a fairly wealthy family, they weren't rich, but they did have their share of money. They owned their own fish store. Her mother was bitch, everything Paprika did was a disappointed. Her living was a disappointed in her mothers eyes. Her mom wanted a feminine girl whom she could go shoe shopping and bake with. instead she got a girl that would rather play sports than give manicures. Her father was not just a parental figure but also a friend that she could goof off and go boating with. She had two older brother that teased her about her height and roughhoused her, but it was for fun and love.

A bitchy and annoying mother, two playful and caring older brothers, and a loving father? So what if she was born a chipmunk, what was there to complain about, life could be a lot worse. But Rika's life isn't perfect, the loss of her oldest brother took a big toll on her life. when it first happened, she locked herself in her room refusing to talk to anyone for three entire months. Then when she finally decided to leave her bedroom and venture out into the real world, she almost lost her sanity. Her temper seemed to get worse, just the tiniest remarks, things that normally didn't bug her, sent her flying through the roof. She was doing really reckless things just to keep her mind of Vorth. It took Rika awhile to return make to some form of sanity. She had a hard time finding a balance.

In this world, death happened, poverty happened... life happened. You just have to find a way to live with it. Not everyone can though, that's the hard part. Not everyone was dealt an easy hand.

She looked at Todd, feeling so sorry for him. Those bitches really did go too far talking about his mother right in front of him.

Although Paprika avoided gossip, like a mouse avoids a hawk, sometimes the hawk still manages to find the mouse.

She had heard about his family and his mother, it was a really sad story. It really put your own life in comparison.


Rika was just searching the small shop for the part see need when he asked her how she doing. "Same old, same old. " She replied still searching for the part. She looked up from her search to look at Todd. "what about you?" That was all she could really think to say. She already knew the answer. Of course he wasn't alright. But she wan't going to say anything about it, it was known of her business.




OCC: I love that idea :] Perfect. I modified my first post so I could get that in.

[Eastern Orange]

Todd shrugged again. "Uh, fine I guess." He mumbled. My mother is sleeping with guys left and right, and my little sisters are starting follow her example. Yes, everything is just peachy. He added in his head, feeling bitter. He clenched his teeth, anger flaring up again. He hated to think about the twins prowling the streets with their mom to sell their body; they were only 16. But that was what was happening lately. Just when he thought life couldn't get any worse.

That was why Todd was so determined to make money. He had to keep his little sisters off the streets! Just as he was thinking this, however, his abusive boss came from the back room and started to yell. "You think you can just flirt with the costumers!" He yelled, flailing his chubby arms around. He placed a meaty paw around the back of Todd's neck and dragged him around the counter and in front of Paprika. "Is this scoundrel bothering you miss?" He growled, shaking Todd like a dog.

Todd's boss was a house of a man. Everything about him was big. And hairy for that matter. He always smells sour, a mix of fish and BO. He is greasy, and all his clothes have nasty yellow sweat stain on them. Over all, he was a nasty guy to be around. And he had a bone to pick with Todd. Todd's mother, the town whore, refused to sleep with him since he was Todd's boss. So ever since he has been trying to find an excuse to fire him. Well, he just found one.

"I'm sick and tired of you flirting with all the girls that come in here!" He yelled, shacking again Todd. "Apologize to the lady!" Todd shot a disgusted look at his boss, but didn't put up a fight. But he didn't say anything either. He just turned his hate filled eyes on the floor. "I'll teach you to ignore me boy!" His boss yelled. He put Todd in a headlock, and punched him in the stomach, then in the face with his free hand. He dropped Todd then, and Todd knelt on the floor gagging trying to breathe, but failing since the wind was knocked out of him.

"I'm very sorry." The man said to Paprika. "You had to be victimized by this playboy." He placed a foot on Todd's back and kicked him over. "He won't be working here anymore." He growled, and spat on him. Todd, still having trouble catching his breath, stayed down. Oh, but he plotted his revenge!