[D5 LA] Tiff's Tiff and other Miscellany

[Tiffani]

"Hmm," Tiffani mutters thoughtfully as she stares out through the window at the town beyond. "Well, discounting all the obvious things that most of us Changelings have to endure - I think what bothers me most is the complete reliance on technology that people my age have developed. For instance, if I wanted to be the life of the party, I simply wouldn't go to the party at all. Instead, I would stay home. Because all the people at the party would ignore each other and be calling and texting me. It's like ... the people who aren't there get more attention than the people who are. Because they have to be texting or posting on social media. It's as if everyone below a certain age have forgotten how to have face-to-face interactions."

As the bus pulls away, its diesel engine all but drowning out Tiffani's little giggle, she adds, "I'm not crazy about a lot of the fashions these days - and so many hairstyles are absolutely dreadful. And rap music? Rap!?" All she can do is sigh helplessly. "Speaking of which, I hardly think the street gang subculture is one to be emulated considering how violent and vulgar it is."

"How about you, Jack? What really bothers you about this brave new world we've found ourselves in?"

[Jack Doyle]

"It's very noisy." he answered. "It wasn't entirely quiet in my time, or in the workshop, but all the noise had some consistency to it. Now, it all seems so loud and random. And, there's so much plastic. I really don't care for plastic."

[Tiffani]

"It's only noisy in urban areas - like New Orleans. You know, you'd probably like where I'm from - a little village called Thurleigh. It gets so quiet there that I can actually hear the blood rushing through my veins. It made me understand the phrase: The silence was deafining."

Tiffani thinks for a few moments, stroking her chin as she does. "You know, it's probably good that some of the things are made from plastic. Otherwise everything would be really heavy. Imagine how much a simple computer keyboard would weigh if it was made out of steel or iron. But all of it does come with a cost. Even back in the 80s, we were becoming a disposable society. Even expensive things were supposed to only last a few years. Then you threw it away - you don't repair it, of course - and then you run out and buy a new one."

"Though you work with wood, primarily, right? I guess I can see why you wouldn't like plastic since it's kind of like your competitor. Have you ever thought about switching into making like, wooden ornaments, works of art, things to hang on your wall - that sort of thing? Wooden toys may be obsolete but wooden art is certainly not."

[Jack Doyle]

"I can see why plastic is so popular." he sighed. "I just think it's overused. I can carve a lot of things. I can work with other materials, too. Wood is just my favorite."

[Tiffani]

Tiffani remains silent as the bus rumbles along making more stops with people getting on and off. Most sit toward the front of the bus leaving the two of them all the privacy they have any right to expect on a public bus.

After a time and some obvious thinking, she finally responds. "Yeah ... yeah, I can see your point. Back in 1985, for instance, all the soda that was dispensed through vending machines were genuine glass bottles. The bottles were even insulated with styrofoam." She laughs and continues, "I remember we used to try and peel off the styrofoam in one long unbroken spiral until we got down to the bottom - and then we would pull the rest of the styrofoam just a millimeter or two off the bottle and then slam the bottom with our palm like people do when trying to get a cork out of a champaign bottle." She pantomimes the motion with her hands, "And BAM! It sounded like a gunshot going off. Used to scare the shit out of people not paying attention."

When she shouted the word "BAM" several of the passengers actually looked over their shoulders in her direction; she merely waved at them and offered a honey-coated little smile.

"Now all the bottles are plastic. I've heard about that ... what do you call it ... that, uh, weird plastic vortex out in the Pacific. Millions of tons of plastic just floating around out there? I mean ... jeez, why? Besides, soda in glass bottles actually tastes better. A lot better. I can barely drink the stuff now."

She then clears her throat and seems to calm herself a bit, that funny little memory about soda bottles from her before life having made her more animated and excited than she normally is. She simply folds her hands in her lap and appears a little - but not too - sheepish.

"If you had the power to change the world, can you give a few examples of what you would stop using plastics for? I'm just curious because, well, I'm always curious."

[Jack Doyle]

"I can see its uses. I appreciate its qualities." he said. "I visited a toy store just after I came back. It was huge, filled with toys of all varieties. Many were plastic. That didn't bother me, not really. The way they were packaged, though, encased in cardboard and plastic. Some items were surrounded by more materials than they were made from."

[Tiffani]

Tiffani tilts her head back a bit, her spiraly hair falling over the back of her sea and laughs - hard. "Oh my god ... yes, someone else sees it! Sheesh, some of that packaging requires a chainsaw, a jackhammer, and a couple of sticks of dynamite to open. I think I'd have an easier time breaking into Fort Knox than I do trying to get through the package to my rightfully owned product!"

She laughs some more, actually leaning her head on Jack's shoulder momentarily as she enjoys the mirth. When the laughing subsides to giggles and the giggles to a long sigh, she says, "Oh Jack ... you really do make me laugh. That's a good thing, ya know. I was actually thinking a few minutes ago about how the packaging was going to be a nightmare to get into after this shopping trip. You practically read my mind."

The bus pulls into a massive parking lot filled with hundreds of cars. The lot surrounds an equally massive white granite building that seems to stretch on forever with all kinds of corners, wings, and ... not a single window anywhere. The bus pulls up to a series of glass doors with people going in empty-handed and people coming out with armloads of bags.

"And there it is," Tiffani says to Jack, making a grandiose hand gesture toward the building as if she's trying to sell it. "The mall. What'dya think?"

[Jack Doyle]

"It's big." he said. "Very big. How much do they sell?"

[Tiffani]

Tiffani shrugs one of her shoulders. "I don't really know for sure. Usually malls like this have one or two major stores like Sears. The rest are little boutique type stores that sell very specific things - like clothing for people my age." She gives Jack a little smirk. "Most guys usually cut and run for the record store or the video arcade or, maybe, the book store. Not a lot of men's clothing stores, I've noticed."

She pulls herself up using the seat in front of her and exits the bus looking back over her shoulder to make sure Jack is following her. Before getting off, she says, "This is your last chance to turn back." Her tone is light, almost flirtatious. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." She grins at Jack then steps off the bus into the cooler autumn air.

[Jack Doyle]

"The bookstore is the only thing that sounded interesting." he shrugged. "But, I can't imagine there's anything there that isn't elsewhere."