how do life [ closed psl ]

[androit]

WHO Will Vega, Jr (androit), Leia Organa (borntoresist)
WHAT how do college... how do.. independence... how do life????
WHEN About 2098 when Junior is starting college.
WHERE Start at a supermarket, work from there.
WHY because I love you all

This was not going entirely to plan. Not that he was floundering or anything, and he had the funds to sustain himself for a while no matter how much he messed up, but Junior was rapidly realizing that living away from home was not as simple as finding replacements for everything he left and simply continuing on. There were such things as shopping lists for basic necessities that he actually hadn't gotten the hang of; most of his shopping had been the ingredient sort, which he knew well enough, but what about the other things? Long-lasting supplies and such.

What he should have done was call his grandparents. Admit he needed some help and he may have shooed them off a little early with his enthusiasm to start learning and making himself better, more of an adult who didn't need his grandparents' guidance to know what kind of laundry detergent to buy. He looked again at the rudimentary list he'd drawn up and brushed his hair away with a little narrow-eyed squint. This was clearly the fault of the list. He should have prepared that thing better. Maybe he should call Felix? Talking to him would at least cheer him up...

But no. No, he could do this. It was a shopping trip. What the hell? He didn't need to call the cavalry. Starting to move before fully looking away from his list, he pulled up short almost immediately when he nearly ran over the person who was already in that space. Which was pretty impressive considering he was still a runt well into early adulthood now. "Whoa—I'm so sorry! Sorry. Um, that... I was just thinking. Sorry," he said, once again shifting his hair as if the action would hide him.

Comments

[borntoresist]

Leia, used to being tiny and still commanding her own space, looked up at the not much taller young man who'd nearly run her over and smiled wryly. He was new and had the look of someone way over his head. Not that she could blame him. Life on your own was always hard in the beginning and he appeared to be about the right age.

The question was did he push everyone who could teach him these things away or did he lose them recently?

"Thinking's well and good, young man, but perhaps you should keep one eye open for those smaller than you," she said gently. "Not everyone's so ready to forgive you as I am."

She pointed to the list in his hands. "Do you need help finding something?"

[androit]

At the admittedly light scolding, Junior hunched up a bit and brought his shoulder up in a sort of shrug as if to weather it. Not that he wasn't used to stronger reactions, but those were either from his grandparents or he had Felix around to gauge the actual response by. He felt a little fragile for all that nothing earth-shattering had happened. He was just too adept at taking in so much at once that it all could explode into things equally ginormous.

"O-of course," he said with an emphatic nod. Right, he would definitely be keeping his eyes on the prize so to speak. Granma would have given him a light knock upside the head for it and he allowed a slight smile at the thought.

His attention turned to the piece of paper and he gave a sigh, shoulders slumping. "Everything," he answered. "Everything except maybe food. I'm, um, not from the area. Or used to... shopping..."

[borntoresist]

He had a good smile and that was a nice indication of what kind of kid he really was. And, well, she'd always been a sucker for a nice smile. It's how she got mixed up with her own husband, that's for damn sure.

"Everything, huh? First time out on your own?" She looked over at the list and held out her hand. "Give it here and I'll see what I can do to help you."

[androit]

At the request, he tipped the paper over and set it into her hand. It was a bit of a mess, a few things crossed out here and there and other things more like guesses than being sure he would need them. Cooking supplies were notably absent; he at least had known what to get with those and had done so previously before realizing there was more to living alone than just feeding oneself.

He wasn't as separated as most might assume when seeing him struggle alone like this, but it was a matter of not wanting to crawl back to his family and friends as soon as something became tough. Adversity bred invention, or something like that, and it wouldn't hurt to try this out on his own first, right? It took a moment before he belatedly responded, "College. Right. First time, yeah."

One day I will be out of this weird funk where I can only tag at 3am.

[borntoresist]

She looked over the messy paper and shook her head. "My husband's handwriting's just as bad as this. You do this right before you were running out the door too?"

At least that was always Han's excuse for his abysmal penmanship. She knew he was just lazy about writing and didn't care. But after thirty-plus years of marriage, she'd be a fool to not know either.

"Alright, young man, let's seee what we've got." She looked over the list and frowned. "What do you have at your residence right this second?"

Aw, it is okay.

[androit]

"No, more... whenever I thought of something at all," he said, shuffling his feet and looking down to his laces for a moment. It wasn't quite a scolding or anything but she did have a certain caring sharpness about her that reminded Junior of his own grandmother. He hated to disappoint Saylor, and it seemed some of that was transferring to this kind stranger.

At the question, he looked back up with a thoughtful squint. "Not a lot. It's a campus apartment, so the furniture and everything was there but nothing to really fill it up. I have... trash bags? Dishes, soap..." Mostly things to make sure he could feed himself because that was the most important thing before anything else, also the thing he knew how to do best.

[borntoresist]

She couldn't help that slight 'what am I going to do with you' attitude that she adopted when she ran into someone who obviously couldn't handle being an adult just yet. "I understand that. Sometimes penmanship gets lost when you're trying to make sure you don't forget."

She squinted at the list and then back at him. "No extra towels, iron, washing powder? Do you own a broom?"

[androit]

It was a good attitude to take, one Junior was familiar with. It helped offset the awkwardness of being essentially taken on like a helpless duckling even if that was an incredibly apt metaphor for his current situation. Still, she had an air around her that made listening okay and being unprepared nothing more than a step in the process.

"Uh, no, none of those yet," he said, running a hand through his hair to keep the bangs out of his face. It was a nervous, thoughtful gesture and the more things she brought up, the more he realized how out of his depth he was. "It's only been a few days?"

[borntoresist]

It was a practical attitude, and Leia was a practical woman. She had no trouble taking in someone who was obviously lost and needed the help.

"Maybe we should start there. Do you have any allergies? Preferences?" The more she talked, the more lost he looked. And the more she knew he needed her help. "Well, if it's only been a few days, it's a good thing you almost ran me over then. Any longer and who knows what kind of trouble you could have gotten yourself into."

[androit]

Obviously needed the help was a very accurate statement. Odds and ends were usually outside of his scope, Junior being the sort of person who took what was there as a given just because he was thinking about other things at the time rather than what he was doing or what he would need to do it. Usually it worked out and he could fix things that ran out as necessary. When starting from scratch was when it got a little more complicated.

"No, and no," he said a bit meekly. That didn't give her very much to work with. Maybe it would make grabbing something quick and painless? He could certainly hope. He was already taking time out from her day by being so clueless. "Hopefully nothing too big. I mean, it's just college. Uh... I'm Junior, by the way. Thank you."

[borntoresist]

Well, how was he to know if he'd never had to figure these things out? Kids usually flailed about a bit before they found their footing anyway. And if he had a bit more help in the form of a tiny old lady, then he was doing okay.

"Well, that narrows it down some. No allergies means that we can get anything, which helps with a small budget. Since you're a student, I can't imagine you have a lot of money to spend on things." She nodded as she started thinking about what he needed before pulling a few items (dish washing liquid and some relatively decent washing powder and fabric softener) and putting them in his basket.

"It's alright. We'll get you settled, Junior. You can call me Mrs. Solo."

[androit]

At least it wasn't the old lady that was his grandmother. Not that any of them would tease, just... Junior had a habit of wanting to do things himself where he could since so many other things had simply been handed to him in life. It was a bit of a point of pride when he could make his own way. No one needed to know he was soliciting help in grocery stores or whatever this was.

"No," he agreed. "Not if I want to make it last or useful or go home at all between semesters. As long as it's decent stuff that'll last." He knew that much about budget spending, anyway. Cheap, but not so cheap that it would lose its use too soon.

"Trust me when I say it's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Solo." Whether he was good at words or not, he certainly knew his manners. His grandfather had seen to that, among other things. Someone who couldn't be grateful for the things they were given wasn't someone worth giving things to.

[borntoresist]

He was old enough to learn that some things you just asked for help if you didn't know about or how to do. Pride was the downfall of many people and Leia had no problem cutting someone down to get them to see sense. Better her than other people who could. She'd at least soften the blow.

"Hm, yes, well, I've heard that before. Although, probably little more breathless." She flashed him a smile as she continued to look around at things he'd need. "This should take care of the washing side of things, but let's get you a broom, dustpan, mop and bucket. Dorm or not, you're responsible for your own space and keeping it clean is important."

[androit]

He was definitely getting the picture here. Someone kind, with a firm hand, and an expansive heart willing to help out even strangers who could use the help she might provide. It was better than a lot of other strangers, sometimes even more than Junior. His ability to approach people he didn't know without a solid reason was not exactly practiced.

Picking up the items as she pointed them out, Junior started to read the labels just to get an idea for the reasoning. It would help later on, right? "Right, you're right," he agreed, attention snapping back to her. "Have you done this before?"

[borntoresist]

Yes, well, spend a life in public service and it's a hard thing to break, even at her age. Despite being sarcastic and just a little cynical, Leia still tries to reach out to others, especially younger people, to make sure that things are lost along the way. Junior was just her latest of such actions.

But it didn't make it any less important.

"Done what before? Taken in a lost duckling and helped them find their way in the world?" She gave him a smile as she pulled down some reasonably priced hand towels that would last him a while. Thank goodness for Super Stores. "I've spent my life doing this. It's how I met my husband."