This Could Be Anywhere

Annie Maldonato sighed to herself as she sat on a bench, watching the ocean from what she considered a safe distance. She wouldn't get any closer if she could help it. The sun was going down and the sky was a beautiful mix of pinks and purples. She briefly considered making those the next color highlights that went into her hair before she reached into her jacket pocket and produced a folded up photo.

Sure, it was just a faded old picture of the Parisian skyline, but to Annie it was like the future. She'd get there someday. Maybe even all kinds of other places. Then she wouldn't smell like fried fish and chips all the time. She was starting to hate her job.

She glanced at the picture once more before putting it away and leaning forward, blowing a lock of hair from her face. "Blackpool, Blackpool, Blackpool... Every day. I'd go visit Katie just for the change'a scenery." she muttered to herself, then grimaced. "Ehh... M'not that desperate yet. Still, I am sittin' 'ere talkin' to meself so somethin' really oughtta be done."

She leaned back and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the city. People walking past, the trolly rattling by, off in the distance sounds of tourism echoed from the boardwalk. "Maybe I should take up smoking, just for when I wanna 'ave a proper sulk."

Avril giggled as she sprinted, continuing to check behind her as she sped from the scene. Only 3 minutes this time, a proper record. For her, anyway. Did anyone else ever keep track of how long it took to blow up a corner store? They should, it's a fun hobby. The explosion in the background widened her grin, the car alarms and screaming civilians only an added bonus. Then she spotted the girl on the bench. Obviously a good few years older than her, but not quite adult yet. Hm. Good enough for her.

Strolling over to the bench, she plopped down beside her and tapped her on the forehead. 'What're you thinking about? 'Cause you're thinking about something. Bored?' She never understood boredom. There was always something to do. Maybe not for law abiding citizens, but that... was... boring.... Alright so maybe she did understand it, just a bit. But all she needed to do is go find something to ruin and she was thoroughly entertained.

Annie peeked an eye open at the poking of her forehead, looking over to the younger girl. "Yeah. Wonderin' what just up an' went boom an' why." she sat up, looking past the girl towards sounds of chaos. "Hope the fire department gets there quick enough..." she muttered, then leaned back against the seat.

"So who're you, who goes 'round pokin' strangers, eh? What if I was some madwoman who put a knife in your ribs for that?" she asked, turning her attention to the stranger, arms crossed. She sniffed and raised an eyebrow, "An' why d'you smell like... is that gasoline?"

'Oh, let's just say I have a way of reading people.' Avril winked, not really sure why she said it that way. It wasn't all special or anything, she was just good at reading people, but it was more fun if she sounded mysterious like that. Or she hoped she did. The gasoline comment shot her into a fit of giggles. 'Problem with it? I don't like the smell myself, but nothing I can really do about it right now.' Shrugging, she stood up from the bench and took a quick look around. Sirens. Well, she had about 5 minutes to get out of the area, so where to go? 'You like the beach?' Turning to look at the woman, she examined her expression with a frown. 'Why not? Who doesn't like the beach? Nevermind that, city will do. Why don't you decide where we're going?' She wasn't sure when she decided to hang around this woman, but the girl must have been bored out of her wits just sitting there, and at least running from the cops was interesting.

((I feel like I'm godmodding with that bit so just let me know if I totally misinterpreted the whole water thing x_x))

(No, it's fine. She wouldn't go near the beach)

"Wait, wait, wait. You want me to just run off somewhere with ya?" Annie sat up, brow furrowed, trying to ignore thoughts of the beach. "I don't even know you. Maybe you're the madwoman here. Ya do smell like gasoline an' there was an explosion, like, five minutes ago."

Annie stood up from the bench, "M'not in the mood to get murdered tonight, even if it'd be a change'a pace." she told the weird girl and tucked her hands into her pockets, walking off down the sidewalk away from the fire in the distance.

'Oh come on...' Avril complained, setting off after her. 'A person blows up a shop and suddenly they're a murderer! I wouldn't even have anything on me to kill you if I wanted to! Actually, no. That's a lie. But still.' She moved in front of the woman and began walking backwards, arms crossed over her torso. 'You obviously need some sort of adventure. Isn't there something you've always wanted to do? Anything? Got an ex you don't agree with? A boss?'

With a sigh, she moved to stand next to her with her hands tucked in her pockets, keeping up with her pace as exactly as she could. For a moment she even tried to mimic her footsteps. 'And anyway, I don't have a reason to murder you. You're boring and your eyes aren't cool.' 

"You are giving me every reason in the world to call the police right now, y'know." Annie grumbled. "Ya just admitted to blowin' up a buildin' and now you're offerin' to murder someone? You are nuts!" she quickened her pace, hoping to get away from Avril.

"Yeah, an adventure'd be nice but not one I could go to prison for. I'll take boredom over incarceration any day." she looked over to see if the psycho was still tagging along, bemoaning the fact she'd left her cell phone charging back at her apartment this morning.

'Oi! Never said I was gonna murder 'em, did I?! Tons of other things you can do! Have you seriously never TPed a house? Gosh, how dull are you?' Avril rolled her eyes, quickening her pace to keep up with the girl. Antsy. That was the word coming to mind. 'And if you haven't noticed, the police are already here. I should probably be running but this is more fun. Now!' She hurried in front of her and stopped, arms crossed in defiance. 'When did I say we had to break the law? There's got to be something you want to do, yeah?' She was starting to think this was the most boring person on the planet, but that was fine. She had some running to do, anyway.

Annie sighed and stopped as the girl stood in front of her. She rolled her eyes and nodded, "Yeah, I want to go to Paris or Tokyo or anywhere but here, really, but m'not exactly rollin' in dough, y'know? I work in a chip shop, for chrissakes."

She tried to skirt around the girl without touching her. Annie was getting a serious case of the crazies mixed with the heebies and jeebies from her and the sooner she could get away, the less likely she was to need a lawyer who could say things like 'not affiliated with' and 'was accosted by'. She also really didn't wanna find out what the girl's ideas of fun were if she thought of arson as being a good time.

"So, uh, y'wanna move outta me way now?"

'Nope. Not really.' Avril grinned, uncrossing her arms. 'Tokyo's a bit out of reach, but how about Paris? Wouldn't take long to get there without a plane. Not really. I could help you sneak on if you want.' She already knew that she didn't want to go committing crimes, but there wasn't much fun to be had without money, and these days, that was just too hard to get. So what else to do but fake your way through everything? 'How bad do you want me to leave right now? Honestly? I'm annoying you aren't I? Or I'm scaring you. Am I? I don't think I'm scary, but I guess if you thought I was a murderer.' She shrugged.

"Yeah, honestly, you're kinda scarin' me." Annie told her bluntly. "I mean, think about it like a normal person. Some weird girl gets in your face, talking about how fun it was to blow up a buildin', starts to follow ya when ya try to leave, then blocks your path? Freaky."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "What're you even goin' on about with Paris anyway? S'not like it's the next town over or anythin'. Can't pop over just like that." she snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"And why're ya even followin' me, anyway? Shouldn't you be more concerned with fleein' the scene'a your crime than talkin' about Paris with a stranger?"

'Nah, they're not fast. Haven't caught me yet, and one time I was still inside the building.' Avril shrugged, knowing she was doing the action way too often but not really caring. 'Plus I failed geography. But I'm still sure that Paris is in Europe, and it wouldn't be that hard to catch a few whachamacallitz and get there, but fine. Have fun standing around doing nothing. Let me know how having fun on a waitress' salary goes for you.' Bright grin restored to her face, she turned and sprinted down the sidewalk, looking for something she could do while she hid. She could go to Paris? Why not? Now that she had the idea, she kinda felt like finding a train or plane or whatever it was she'd have to use. But that would probably be boring fast and she'd just blow it up. So what to do? Sneak into some building and mess around? Yeah, why not?

Annie grumbled, walking down the street to her home. "Yeah, just go to Paris. Not like it's about eight-'undred an' fifty kilometers away..." she shook her head, but the seed of the idea had been planted.

She stopped in front of her building, looking to make sure that psycho hadn't followed her home before digging out her keys and entering her flat. It was rather small, but good enough for Annie. A bit messy and eclectic, decorated with whatever struck her fancy from the shops. An old Clash record played on the turntable she'd left on as she plopped onto her couch.

The woman sat there for a few minutes, tapping her foot before groaning, "Sod it!" She stood up and headed into her bedroom where she began throwing clothes into a bag, "Paris it is. Walk if I 'ave to..." she muttered, tossing a toothbrush into the backpack.

(Closed for done-ness. Thanks for the fun, Avril =D )