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IC CONTACT | mayfield_rpg

"Edward Nigma speaking. Riddle me this: What is it that demands an answer, yet never asks a question? Answer: A telephone, of course. Unfortunately for you, I've no further answer to give, as I'm currently occupied. Leave a message and, if you're lucky, I may do you the honor of returning your call. Ta-ta!"

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[Luke frowns, addressing the obviously most important issue here:]

I'm not that short.

[Harumpf.

Still, Luke does as he's told and adjusts his seat and the mirrors so that he can see the road clearly. Not that it will matter here in a few minutes once they pull out of the parking lot.]

Good. In the interest of time, let's keep this next bit short.

[A quick check of his watch tells Edward that it's been little more than two minutes since the car's owner went into the Zemekis building. He buckles up, then rattles into a very rapid-fire explanation of some basic tips for keeping control of the vehicle: hands always at ten and two, only operating the pedals with one foot, checking the car's mirrors religiously, and all that good stuff.]

Now then. Are you ready to start the car?

[Ready. In fact, he's been ready since five minutes ago and is now trifling through some sport and car magazines he's found in the vehicle.]

[Luke listens as best he can, although some of the instructions are a bit confusing. Now that Slugger's busy distracting himself in the backseat, Luke feels a little more at ease with fewer eyes on him.

The car will pull out of the parking lot very, very slowly and jerking from time-to-time.]

So far, so good.

[And not a moment too soon. The door to the Zemekis building still has yet to open and, with any luck, they'll be long gone before the car's original owner pops back out.]

Let's head right on this road. Make sure you use your turn signal.

[He may look as if he isn't being observant with his face hidden behind a magazine, but Slugger is paying attention, particularly to the gear shift. Stick is still something he finds a bit complex.]

[Luke struggles a bit with changing gears at first, but soon enough they turn onto the road, which goes kind of smoothly enough.

The problem? Luke is on the wrong side of the road, facing the oncoming traffic.]

[Yeah... Might want to do something about that.]

Right. Right, Luke. In America we drive on the right side of the road!

[from behind the magazine]

Left side in Tokyo.

W-what, really?!

[He's used to being on the left side of the road as well, but sure enough here comes some cars heading towards them. Not to worry, Luke will handle this problem and quickly swerve to the right side of the road, just barely avoiding the cars in the right lane.]

[Don't mind Eddie, he's just clutching the armrests of his seat for dear life.]

Better. That's---that's much better.

[Though the U-turn causes Slugger to slide back and forth in the backseat, he continues reading without looking up.]

[Dang Slugger you're handling this a lot better then Edward is, maybe because Edward and Luke have the worst chance of survival here. Luke himself is thoroughly shaken, but now that he's in the right lane he proceeds forward, going back and forth between old granny fast and race car driver fast.

One of us might not be coming out of this alive, just so you know.]

W-where are we going now?

Hadn't you mentioned something about the bookst---slow down---store...?

[Oh god oh god maybe this driving thing wasn't such a hot idea after all.]

O-or if you would prefer, we could always drive home.

[They'd walked a pretty long way to the Zemekis Corps. Offices after all. And right now, home is sounding pretty appealing.]

[Glancing up, Slugger interjects to point something out.]

Stop sign.

I-I think the bookstore might be closer. And then we could-

[Whoa, stop sign?! Where?

SCREECH.]

[Thank god for seatbelts, but this is the second time already that Eddie's bumped his head against the roof in some way.]

Blasted--- [He seethes, searching for and eventually finding the release for the roof, allowing it to sink back and turn their ride into a convertible. There. Now then, calm down, Edward.]

All right. To the bookstore, then.

[Upon peeling himself away from the back of Edward's seat, he discovers that his magazine has been crumpled. Luckily, he's had sufficient time to glean from it a very important fact. That being: motorbikes are bitchin'.

Slugger readjusts his cap and settles back into his seat after the minor inconvenience.]

Then ice cream?

[Luke frowns, feeling a bit guilty for tossing around the other passengers. He remembers getting a similar lesson in Westport, and that didn't turn out well either.]

I just can't seem to get the hang of-

[Oh, ice cream? Luke immediately jumps on that subject.]

Can we get ice cream afterwards? ...I don't have to be the one to drive for that one.

[Luckily for you guys, Luke's driving is getting slightly smoother. He's still incredibly slow, but he seems to be calming down with the constant jerky movements.]

[Good, good. Edward's beginning to settle down as well, glancing from Luke to Slugger and back.]

...Very well. If you like, we can all stop for ice cream afterwards. And if---[God help them.]---you feel comfortable enough to drive there as well, then by all means, you can.

[Briefly, Slugger glances up from his now-crumpled magazine. He doesn't say anything yet but later, when an opportunity arose, he would express his interest in possibly driving the car as well.

He could technically steal any car he wanted in Mayfield and drive it around to his heart's content. But for unexplained reasons, he would prefer at least once, for someone to be there with him.]

O-okay. I think I'm getting the hang of this. I should be able to get us there...

[And off they go to the bookstore! Slowly. Very very slowly.]

You can afford to go a little faster. [Then, very hastily amending his suggestion:] Just a little.

[Well, this drive could do with a bit of music, couldn't it? Eddie reaches forward and switches on the radio, and some popular music of the era begins to play.]

[As the car approaches one of the few semi-busy intersections in the town, the traffic light changes. Slugger squints through the window at it.]

That light's fuchsia. Do we still have to stop?

Eh? Do we stop now?

[And Luke's starting to slow down, thankfully not coming to a sudden halt like last time.]

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questionauthority - 2012-03-30 05:07 (UTC) - Expand

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