[IC][Story][Arc 1] Thermal, er, Culture Shock
12-25-2017, 01:46 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-21-2018, 06:04 PM by robkelk.)
12-25-2017, 01:46 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-21-2018, 06:04 PM by robkelk.)
OOC: Rob's sidestory #4, set after "It's All Relative" and before "Reach for the Moon"
OOC: Yes, it really was snowing in Ottawa at 4pm on October 27th, 2016. Just a few flakes, and it melted as soon as it hit the ground, but still.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
October 27th, 2016
4:00 pm
"Why is it snowing?"
Rob was puzzled for a moment at Ruiko's question. "Why wouldn't it be snowing?"
"It's October!"
Rob sighed. "This is Canada. For us, this is Thursday."
"I want to go home."
Kuroko followed Ruiko in, taking off her coat as soon as she was past the building's vestibule. "Saten-san, until that whole mess that Washuu-chan caused with the various universes is cleaned up, we are home."
Ruiko looked over at Kuroko. "That isn't helping, Shirai-san."
"I'm sorry." She turned to Rob. "But I do have to agree about the snow. Is this some freak of nature?"
"I'm afraid not - this is the right time of year for the first snowfall of the year. But the ground won't be cold enough for snow to stay around for a couple of weeks yet. Before you ask: no, the air will probably not warm up again until next spring."
"I'm going to freeze out there."
Rob remembered that Kuroko had bought the least of all the girls when they first went clothes shopping, nearly two months ago. "Didn't you buy any slacks when the five of you bought new wardrobes back in September?"
"Slacks are not ladylike." (Rei nodded in agreement with Kuroko.)
"Perhaps. However, they help keep your body warmth near your body when you're outdoors in the winter." Rob thought quickly. "Come to think of it, perhaps you all need some long underwear."
"Never!"
"Kuroko-san, 'never' is a long time ... and in a month or so, the daily high temperatures will be below freezing."
All of the girls looked horrified - excepting Ami (who merely looked upset at that news) and Kazari (who at first didn't seem to care, then put on a dismayed face).
Kuroko's only reply was, "Perhaps I was hasty with my words."
5:21 pm
Mii had confirmed all of the girls' sizes and placed an online order with a company that Rob knew of in Nova Scotia - one that he thought made the best winter underwear in Canada.
Minako, Rei, Kuroko, and Kazari were all at the mall a few minutes' walk from the apartment, buying unladylike-but-practical winter clothing. More accurately, they were sitting at a food court table and grousing about buying unladylike-but-practical winter clothing (except for Kazari, who was using the mall's free wi-fi).
"Is nobody here familiar with the word fashion?" Minako groused.
"Indeed," sighed Kuroko. "Not a single thing here would attract anyone's gaze, even in the adults' sizes."
"Rob warned us that this was a small mall, before the five of you arrived." Kazari tapped at her laptop, then smiled. "How about we go on a little trip?"
Rei held up one hand, in a "stop" gesture. "How little?"
"Montreal is only two hours away by train."
"Each way?" After seeing Kazari nod, Minako continued, "I'd say that isn't little, but I heard about the trip Makoto and Ruiko-san took. We have school tomorrow. As soon as we get there, we'd have to come back."
"Right. Kuroko-san, you and I are going to buy a pair of jeans each." Before she could reply, Rei continued, "I don't care how ugly they are. Wear them tomorrow. Saturday, we go shopping some place where they've heard of fashion."
Between Ottawa, Ontario, and Montréal, Quebec, Canada
October 29th, 2016
10:22 am
"What're you looking at, Mina-chan?"
"Suburbs."
Rei sighed. "Want to play cards?"
"Might as well."
The cabin attendant stopped at the girls' seats and asked, "Would you like to see today's lunch choices?"
The girls looked at the menus and smiled. "Now I see why Rob-san insisted we travel in business class," Minako commented.
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
October 29th, 2016
12:25 pm
"What's a RÉSO?"
Kazari sighed. "It's the underground mall, Minako-san."
"So we don't need to go outside to shop? That's even better than I hoped!"
"That depends on how large this mall is," Kuroko pointed out.
"According to this Wikipedia page," Kazari replied, "there's 32 kilometers of tunnels and over 1600 stores."
"Finally! A decent-sized mall!"
Even Rei gave Minako a wondering look at that comment.
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
October 29th, 2016
1:07 pm
"Oh, I like her style." Minako nodded in the direction of a girl who appeared to be about their age.
"Whose style?"
"The dark-haired girl leaving the jewelry store over there, with the same hairdo as you, Shirai-san." Everyone else glanced her way.
"Not quite the same - we both have twin tails, but her hair's a bit longer."
Minako sighed. "Her hairdo isn't important, except that she's got colour coordination going for her - those ribbons are the same shade as her skirt and hose."
Kuroko gave Minako an annoyed look. "Just because the name of that colour nearly matches my given name doesn't mean you can't say the word. Trust me, nobody will be confused."
"Rob-san said that I had to be more careful with my words."
"Donaldson-san isn't here," Rei pointed out.
"True. Do you think I could get away with wearing something the same shade of red as her top?"
"With your hair and eyes, you could wear anything," Kuroko replied somewhat jealously.
Kazari just watched in envy as the girl left, thinking she could never pull off that look. Then she noticed the girl's skirt didn't cover the top of her hose... and realized where she'd seen the girl before. "I-gotta-go-see-you-at-the-train-station!"
As Minako watched Kazari take off after the girl, she said, "Uiharu-san didn't need to go ask her where she shops."
To be continued...
OOC: Yes, it really was snowing in Ottawa at 4pm on October 27th, 2016. Just a few flakes, and it melted as soon as it hit the ground, but still.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
October 27th, 2016
4:00 pm
"Why is it snowing?"
Rob was puzzled for a moment at Ruiko's question. "Why wouldn't it be snowing?"
"It's October!"
Rob sighed. "This is Canada. For us, this is Thursday."
"I want to go home."
Kuroko followed Ruiko in, taking off her coat as soon as she was past the building's vestibule. "Saten-san, until that whole mess that Washuu-chan caused with the various universes is cleaned up, we are home."
Ruiko looked over at Kuroko. "That isn't helping, Shirai-san."
"I'm sorry." She turned to Rob. "But I do have to agree about the snow. Is this some freak of nature?"
"I'm afraid not - this is the right time of year for the first snowfall of the year. But the ground won't be cold enough for snow to stay around for a couple of weeks yet. Before you ask: no, the air will probably not warm up again until next spring."
"I'm going to freeze out there."
Rob remembered that Kuroko had bought the least of all the girls when they first went clothes shopping, nearly two months ago. "Didn't you buy any slacks when the five of you bought new wardrobes back in September?"
"Slacks are not ladylike." (Rei nodded in agreement with Kuroko.)
"Perhaps. However, they help keep your body warmth near your body when you're outdoors in the winter." Rob thought quickly. "Come to think of it, perhaps you all need some long underwear."
"Never!"
"Kuroko-san, 'never' is a long time ... and in a month or so, the daily high temperatures will be below freezing."
All of the girls looked horrified - excepting Ami (who merely looked upset at that news) and Kazari (who at first didn't seem to care, then put on a dismayed face).
Kuroko's only reply was, "Perhaps I was hasty with my words."
5:21 pm
Mii had confirmed all of the girls' sizes and placed an online order with a company that Rob knew of in Nova Scotia - one that he thought made the best winter underwear in Canada.
Minako, Rei, Kuroko, and Kazari were all at the mall a few minutes' walk from the apartment, buying unladylike-but-practical winter clothing. More accurately, they were sitting at a food court table and grousing about buying unladylike-but-practical winter clothing (except for Kazari, who was using the mall's free wi-fi).
"Is nobody here familiar with the word fashion?" Minako groused.
"Indeed," sighed Kuroko. "Not a single thing here would attract anyone's gaze, even in the adults' sizes."
"Rob warned us that this was a small mall, before the five of you arrived." Kazari tapped at her laptop, then smiled. "How about we go on a little trip?"
Rei held up one hand, in a "stop" gesture. "How little?"
"Montreal is only two hours away by train."
"Each way?" After seeing Kazari nod, Minako continued, "I'd say that isn't little, but I heard about the trip Makoto and Ruiko-san took. We have school tomorrow. As soon as we get there, we'd have to come back."
"Right. Kuroko-san, you and I are going to buy a pair of jeans each." Before she could reply, Rei continued, "I don't care how ugly they are. Wear them tomorrow. Saturday, we go shopping some place where they've heard of fashion."
Between Ottawa, Ontario, and Montréal, Quebec, Canada
October 29th, 2016
10:22 am
"What're you looking at, Mina-chan?"
"Suburbs."
Rei sighed. "Want to play cards?"
"Might as well."
The cabin attendant stopped at the girls' seats and asked, "Would you like to see today's lunch choices?"
The girls looked at the menus and smiled. "Now I see why Rob-san insisted we travel in business class," Minako commented.
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
October 29th, 2016
12:25 pm
"What's a RÉSO?"
Kazari sighed. "It's the underground mall, Minako-san."
"So we don't need to go outside to shop? That's even better than I hoped!"
"That depends on how large this mall is," Kuroko pointed out.
"According to this Wikipedia page," Kazari replied, "there's 32 kilometers of tunnels and over 1600 stores."
"Finally! A decent-sized mall!"
Even Rei gave Minako a wondering look at that comment.
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
October 29th, 2016
1:07 pm
"Oh, I like her style." Minako nodded in the direction of a girl who appeared to be about their age.
"Whose style?"
"The dark-haired girl leaving the jewelry store over there, with the same hairdo as you, Shirai-san." Everyone else glanced her way.
"Not quite the same - we both have twin tails, but her hair's a bit longer."
Minako sighed. "Her hairdo isn't important, except that she's got colour coordination going for her - those ribbons are the same shade as her skirt and hose."
Kuroko gave Minako an annoyed look. "Just because the name of that colour nearly matches my given name doesn't mean you can't say the word. Trust me, nobody will be confused."
"Rob-san said that I had to be more careful with my words."
"Donaldson-san isn't here," Rei pointed out.
"True. Do you think I could get away with wearing something the same shade of red as her top?"
"With your hair and eyes, you could wear anything," Kuroko replied somewhat jealously.
Kazari just watched in envy as the girl left, thinking she could never pull off that look. Then she noticed the girl's skirt didn't cover the top of her hose... and realized where she'd seen the girl before. "I-gotta-go-see-you-at-the-train-station!"
As Minako watched Kazari take off after the girl, she said, "Uiharu-san didn't need to go ask her where she shops."
To be continued...
--
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown