Lt. Robin Hopper: Fancy
Robin Hopper
((OOC – Sorry for the wait. Trying to work through the brain fog and get caught up!))
((Wet Goods Tavern & Karaoke Bar, Grand Mezzanine – Amity Outpost))
Robin watched as the strange newshound slunk out of the bar and into the mezzanine beyond. It was the second or third time she’d seen the man around, in his unusual anachronistic clothing – like he’d stepped out of an old-timey holonovel or something. She could only imagine how eccentric he must be and did not envy Keehani for having to work with him so regularly.
Hopper: ::Shrugging:: Whatever you say. ::Shaking her head, chuckling:: I’m just glad that I don’t have to deal with the press in my position. ::Looking around the bar:: Alright, where do you wanna sit – and more importantly, should I order us a large or an extra large basket of curly fries?
Keehani: Oh, definitely, extra-large. Oh, and ask for chicken salt on them.
Robin walked up to the bar, preparing to place the order, but paused at Keehani’s suggestion. She turned back to her companion with a quizzical expression.
Hopper: “Chicken salt?”
Keehani: Wil introduced me to it. It’s addictive. ::pointing:: I’ll meet you at that corner booth?
Robin gave a look that anyone, telepath or not, could read. oO Huh… Oo
Hopper: I mean… Hey, everything deserves at least a first try. ::To the Bartender:: Extra large basket of curly fries with a generous amount of – ::looking over her shoulder at Keehani:: “Chicken Salt”... Vegetarian, if that’s something that needs to be specified.
Even the bartender didn’t seem entirely sure what she was talking about, but he nodded all the same and made his way back towards the kitchen. Robin turned back to Keehani.
Hopper: Sometimes I forget you and Wil are cousins. You’re very different, you know. ::Chuckling:: The difference in accent, not the least of which. Anyways, why don’t you grab a table and I’ll be right over with the Ukinix Family Recipe fries?
Keehani: ::Smiling:: Alright then!
((Stage, Thirty-ish minutes later…))
Keehani: ::Singing:: They let you dream just watch them shatter, you’re just a step on the boss man’s ladder ::normal voice:: - what? - ::singing::, but you’ve got dreams he’ll never take awaaay- ::giggles, gives Robin a friendly elbow nudge::
Robin grinned as Keehani passed the song to her with a nudge, closing her eyes and doing her best to belt it out with even a fraction of the effortless charm of the great and timeless Dolly Parton.
Hopper: ::Singing:: In the same boat with a lot of your friends, waitin' for the day your ship'll come in… ::singing to Keehani:: And the tide's gonna turn and it's all gonna roll you away!
They both turned back to the audience, and the projected lyrics, in front of them.
Keehani: ::Singing:: Working nine-to-five, what a way to make a living - live-in, barely getting - get-in by, it’s all taking and no- :::normal voice:: I can’t not pronounce the “g”! ::laughs::
Robin leaned in so that Keehani could hear her over the gathered crowd clapping along with the music.
Hopper: ::Whispering, teasingly:: Don’t sweat it, baby, you just gotta find your country voice. ::Getting back into the song:: Oh, what a way to make a livin' – Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'...
Keehani: Uh.. ::Singing:: … and you never get the credit, it’s enough to drive you… craaaazy if you let it!... Nine to five, yeah, they got you where they want you… There’s a.. be-tter life, and and you think about it don’t you, it’s a… rich man’s game, ::normal voice, giggling:: this is definitely not a Betazoid song.
Hopper: ::Giggling, shaking her head:: No matter what they call it. And you spend your life, putting money in his wallet…
And for the big finisher, she wrapped an arm around Keehani and thrust the other, with her microphone in hand, into the air.
Hopper: Nine to five!!!
Keehani: Response
As they stood, soaking in the applause, for a moment, and catching their breaths, Robin turned to Keehani with a sparkle in her eyes that hadn’t shown itself in months. She’d been avoiding that stage ever since… things had gone sideways for her the last time she’d taken to it. It had worked out fine in the end, better than she could have expected, really… but something about it had kept her from coming back. Until now.
((A few minutes after that))
With their song finished, and an unfamiliar Vulcan taking the stage to perform a particularly unique take on Klingon death metal, the pair of young women returned to their booth, exhilarated by their duet. Keehani clapped.
Keehani: That was fun! I’m so sorry I’m not a good singer.
Hopper: ::Rolling laugh:: Hahaha – look, we’re all second rate when compared to Dolly. She’s one of Earth’s greatest treasures. But I thought you did great.
Keehani: Oh, no, no, you seem to have a better talent for it than I do.
Hopper: Pssshhh. It’s not talent, Keehani. I just practiced that song a million times in front of my mirror with a hair brush when I was a kid. Next time we’ll do one from Betazed and we’ll see who has trouble nailing the accent.
She stuck her tongue out just a little, then reached for her moscow mule, the ice having melted a little and ‘filled up the glass’ a bit since they took to the stage. She clinked it against Keehani’s lime and soda water, and took a healthy sip from the little copper straw.
Keehani: This job, sometimes, it’s all consuming. I just feel like I’ve cleared my mind, it was wonderful. ::Smiling:: Thank you.
Hopper: Totally. I know what you mean. It’s why I always say “work hard, play hard.” If you don’t make an effort to blow off steam, you’re likely to explode at some point, ya know?
Keehani: Hey, can I ask you something?
Robin smiled, resting a hand on the table in front of her and leaning in.
Hopper: ::Earnestly:: Yeah. Of course. Anything.
Keehani looked around with a smile, piquing Robin’s interest, before looking back at her.
Keehani: Last year – and this is none of my business by the way, but Betazoids love absolute truth, and you can tell me to stop – but last year, I could sense, you know, tension. Between you and someone. Another… colleague.
Robin felt her pulse quicken. oO Aaaaah!!! Oo It was this place, surely. Maybe it had conjured up some sort of memory in her, and Keehani had sensed it… oO Don’t be silly Robin. It’s just a question. Oo
Her eyes found their way down to the table, looking at the glistening streaks of water across its polished surface. She shook her head and smiled, ironically.
Hopper: I wouldn’t read too much into any of that. I guess I’m sort of like you. ::Looking back up at Keehani:: I just wear my heart on my sleeve. I think I’m easy to read…
Keehani: I’m just wondering… ::small shrug, smile:: tell me about Robin Hopper. Are you seeing someone, are you single and happy, or somewhere in between.
Hopper: ::Stifled sarcastic laugh:: Hahh! ::Rolling her eyes:: How about ‘single and hating it’?
Keehani: I’m fairly confident I could find a noble from another house and arrange a marriage for you. ::Chuckles::
Robin practically screamed – but managed to keep it to a whispered exclamation.
Hopper: ::Shocked:: KEEHANI!!! ::Laughing raucously:: Noooo… No, that is so not what I meant! God, the last thing I want to do is get tied down like that.
She left it unstated that her last attempt to have a simple no-strings-attached fling had wound her up much closer to the scenario Keehani was proposing than the Daughter of the Ninth House realized, opting instead to move on from that line of thinking and answer her question as clearly as she could.
Hopper: ::Shaking her head:: Maybe this is more than you wanted to know, but like, when I transferred to Amity I was freshly single and I thought “this is my chance” – you know, to have a little fun? Avoid anything too serious, or messy…
Keehani: Response
Robin pointed at Keehani, nodding emphatically.
Hopper: Exactly. You get it. We’re both focused on our careers – on our professional development. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for ::stirring her straw absent-mindedly:: serious relationships. Besides, I’m a Starfleet Officer. I could be transferred half-way across the galaxy at a moment’s notice.
Keehani: Response
Hopper: But, for whatever reason, I’ve just hit a bunch of dead ends. Who knew everyone on this station was an old fashioned romantic? You know, I’d like to meet one person who isn’t looking to get seriously involved. Is that asking too much?
Keehani: Response
She looked across at Keehani and sighed, resting her cheek in the plam of her hand, her elbow on the table. She wondered if perhaps Keehani, working in the civilian sector with an entirely different array of connections, might have had more luck.
Hopper: What about you, then? Anyone striking your fancy?
Keehani: Response
TBC
