soniaroadsqueen | Baltimore, Thursday Afternoon

With no classes on Thursdays, Ringo had decided to take her morning AT run in the city, so she'd left early. And it had been a great run, even if she'd had to be careful not to do anything too visible. No need to draw any official attention, after all. In fact, she'd gotten so caught up in the joy of riding in an actual city that she'd lost track of time and almost forgotten about her deal with Kathy.

Ringo and Kathy had been talking about a shopping trip for quite a while, but just this week they'd ~~handwavily~~ made plans to actually do one. A flurry of text messages had them agreeing to meet up at one of the stores Kathy knew in Baltimore.

She probably still could have made it on time if she hadn't gotten turned around once or twice trying to find the right address. American addresses didn't really make any sense, and she didn't know Baltimore that well, and thank goodness for GPS in phones.

So she arrived a couple of minutes late, face flushed from the rush, with a ripped pair of jeans and a tshirt that were a lot better suited for an AT ride than convincing anyone that she had a real fashion sense.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, already apologizing for making Kathy wait.

[NFB for distance]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

spin_kick_snap

~~Comfort and murder? WTF, self? I don't even know what I meant to type there.~~

"Oooh, look at you!" Kathy said, applauding. "Definitely not like a ruler!"

"She's right, you look fantastic," Letty said smugly. Hey, she knew her job. "Why don't you move around a little? Find how much movement you can get out of the dress?"

From:

soniaroadsqueen

~~"Mobility" maybe? I figured A) it was 1:30am, so you had an excuse, and B) WE KNOW THAT MURDER IS ALWAYS ON YOUR MIND!~~

"Okay," Ringo said slowly. She did kind of look pretty good in it, she had to admit. But she did want to test out mobility. Without actually damaging the dress.

So she slowly leaned forward toward an arabesque position, feeling for where the fabric really started getting in her way. Of course the skirt slid upward an inch or two before that began to be a problem, so she ended up with more room than she'd expected. Though she definitely wasn't getting her back leg out to 90 degrees.

From:

spin_kick_snap

~~YES! THAT'S EXACTLY IT! Also, C) watching Elementary. BUT DEFINITELY A & B, TOO!~~

Well, technically she could, but that would require a lot less modesty on Ringo's part and a lot more willingness to show off her undergarments. But it was definitely possible!

"Very nice," Letty said, with a nod. "Now, some sheathes, depending on the fabric, will give you less room to move around in, but I chose only fabric with would bend and stretch with you. Material choice is just as important to consider as cut!"

"She's been telling me that for months now, and believe me, I feel it when I don't listen," Kathy said, making a face. "Try bending over, make sure your upper body is as free to move as your legs."

From:

soniaroadsqueen

"Oh, right. Good idea." Ringo put her foot back down and adjusted the skirt. Then she did a couple of slow twists back and forth, feeling the way the fabric stretched across her skin. It wasn't that bad, really. Then she tried bending forward, reaching down toward her feet with one hand, the other hovering in case she had to make a sudden grab for her skirt if it rode up too much.

"Am I being too paranoid about how the skirt might shift if I bend over too far?" she asked, still bent over.

From:

spin_kick_snap

"It'll go up high, but not that high," Letty promised. "There's give, but there's a limit to it and the fabric catches on your hips before it slides all the way up, see? So, you might give a show, but no one's gonna see everything."

"I swear," Kathy said with a smile, "Letty runs around and does karate katas in every piece of clothing in this store, just so she can answer questions like this."

From:

soniaroadsqueen

"Really?" Ringo asked, standing up and looking impressed as she glanced back over at Letty.

From:

spin_kick_snap

Letty laughed. "Honey, I don't know the first thing about karate," she said. "But I do know my fabrics and how they word. You wouldn't believe the advanced degree that goes into this job. I'm too good for it, but what're you gonna do in this economy?"

"If you ever open up your own place, I'm following you there, no matter where it is," Kathy said immediately, eyes shining. "You're amazing, Letty, and they don't pay you enough here."

From:

soniaroadsqueen

Ringo flushed, but laughed along. "Well, it's all mysterious to me. You're like a wizard or something."

She pursed her lips, turning her attention back to the dress. "I suppose this isn't as bad as I'd thought it would be," she allowed.

From:

spin_kick_snap

"You know what we should do while we're here?" Kathy said, snapping her fingers. "We should shop for Homecoming dresses! It's in, what? Two weeks?"

From:

soniaroadsqueen

"Um, maybe?" Ringo had no idea.

"And, er, what's Homecoming?" Speaking of things Ringo didn't have any idea about.

From:

spin_kick_snap

"Oh, right!" Kathy said, remembering this would be Ringo's first. "So, it's an event when the alumni come back to school for a dance. There's usually a carnival or festival or something."

Usually it had been a carnival, but after last year...yeeeeah. Maybe not.

"So, big fancy dance, people vote for the Homecoming King, Queen, and their Court from each individual grade, too."

From:

soniaroadsqueen

"That sounds fun," Ringo admitted with a grin. "But also a bit confusing?" Kings? Queens? Courts? Voting? Why not just have a dance?

From:

spin_kick_snap

Well, how else would they separate it from all the other dances in the year?

"It's not that confusing," Kathy promised. "Each class votes for a guy and a girl in their grade. The people with the most votes becoming part of the Homecoming Court, with the senior girl becoming Homecoming Queen and the senior guy becoming Homecoming King. There's a fake crown and they all get a special dance and then it's back to dancing as usual."

From:

soniaroadsqueen

There were multiple dances? Yay!

"Oh. I guess that's not that complicated." Well, Ringo already knew who was going to be the Homecoming Queen this year, and grinned to herself at that knowledge. (After all, everyone else had to know how awesome Kathy was, right?)

From:

spin_kick_snap

Would Ringo be heartbroken to know Kathy had never won? She didn't exactly know the numbers, but she doubted that she'd ever come close, even.

"Nope! Just a quick vote and a dance and a shiny crown you can wear to prom, I guess." She glanced at Ringo. "Does Japan have proms?"

From:

soniaroadsqueen

That was not even possible, Kathy, so don't try to convince Ringo that it was actually true.

"Prom?" Ringo frowned. "Is that another dance?" Hey, they were talking about dances, so it seemed like a decent guess.

From:

spin_kick_snap

Winners of Homecoming Court were announced on radio! She could check for herself!

"Oh, prom," Letty said with a wicked grin. "I remember my senior prom very well. Or, at least, the afterparty."

Kathy laughed a little. "Prom is the biggest dance of the year, at least for juniors and seniors. You can only go if you're in that grade or the date of someone who is. Again, there's a King and Queen chosen for each grade and it's supposed to be a magical and wonderful night."

And before you ask, nope! Kathy hadn't won Junior Prom Queen last year, either.

"That's actually how I met Letty," Kathy confided. "I needed a prom gown. She wouldn't let me have a gown, but she did give me a dress and it went over pretty well, I think."

From:

soniaroadsqueen

Pffft. Clearly fabricated!

"Oh, I see." Ringo's enthusiasm for prom may have fell a bit when she realized she couldn't go.

And she grinned over at Letty. "I hope she appreciated you properly when that happened."

From:

spin_kick_snap

"She came back and spent ridiculous amounts of money in the store, has agreed to wear only things I approve of, and has brought me a new customer," Letty said with a laugh. "I think it's safe to say she has." Nudging Kathy, she added, "Show her how you looked. It was amazing. I'm still very proud."

Laughing, Kathy pulled out her phone and swiped until she found the picture Letty meant. "My prom...dress," she said, since gown didn't work at all. "You like it?"

From:

soniaroadsqueen

"Whoa," Ringo breathed, eyes wide as she stared at the photo.

Sorry, Kathy, she was having a bit of trouble processing at the moment.

From:

spin_kick_snap

"Isn't it gorgeous?" Kathy asked fondly. "Letty is brilliant. I don't think I've felt more glamorous, before or since."

From:

soniaroadsqueen

Ringo was still pretty distracted staring at the photo, but she had enough presence of mind to nod slowly. "I bet you turned a few heads," she said with a grin.

From:

spin_kick_snap

"Well, Anders and Ezra both made sure to compliment me, though Anders is one of my best friends and Ezra is, you know, Ezra." Kathy couldn't help but smile again. Ezra might have been completely incorrigible, but he was sweet and charming and knew full well how to make someone feel attractive. "And Nick, this guy I knew, seemed to like it, but..."

Nick was kind of a complicated topic. And one Kathy couldn't get into in front of Letty because it involved superheroing and Fandom craziness.

"So that was three, huh?" Letty asked. "Okay, our goal for Homecoming is at least four!"

From:

soniaroadsqueen

Ringo laughed. Anders was the only one of those three she really knew. She'd met Ezra, but nothing more than that.

"Does the number just go up one each time?" She grinned over at Kathy. "Better be careful how many events you go to, or you'll have some huge target."