2024-11-28 - They Have A Handshake

Jett is one of the more skilled game caretakers out here in that he knows how to beat the games and make patrons thinks it's as simple as his demonstrations make it out to be. He understands the fine balance between the secrets behind rigging the games to keep customers playing and the moments he lets people win so that it encourages other people to play. Big prizes tend to float out of his game stalls on average once every couple hours; the giant ones. Typically everything else floats out frequently enough that people take notice and want to come to play at his game too. He's not the most charming personality; he's got this emo kid aesthetic going on outside of the uniform (which for him is a teal shirt with purple details and white pants) and doesn't tend to smile all that often (despite being told he needs to smile more). Sometimes it's that cool swagger that draws in the patrons; Jett will half sit on the edge of his game and sweet talk the passers by. Typically it works because he has a nice face; or so he was told.

Right now he's on the ball toss game; people toss balls into a central area and try to land the ball in the yellow, red, or blue cups instead of all the white cups that make up the majority of the game. There's no real way to rig this one as it's pretty much a chance game. There aren't endless balls though like some other theme parks do; there's a five balls at once rule so that people can't blockade up all the white balls and land on red. Either way he doesn't have any takers at the moment is is just simply doing the one arm lean on the pillar of his booth and hopping a ball up and down in the other hand.

When Jett first came to the theme park he was literally living out of a rucksack. Elmo probably knows Jett came from the foster care system at this point (and was never adopted or placed with a family), so the signs of trying to survive on his own showed, such that he worn out shoes and would eat every meal that passed him by like he wasn't sure when the next one would come. He has his issues; like five fingering anything that's left lying around. But, generally he's a hard worker. The money from the job has turned him around. He has nice shoes now and knows where his next meal is coming from, which puts a little brighter expression on his emo face.

He will up nod in Elmo's direction given the chance.

Elmo would have recognized the signs of someone looking to survive right away; someone who grew up with survival on the mind in ways unfamiliar to most others. He was a foster kid, too, and was likewise never adopted. Not officially, at least. This he would have shared with Jett over their time working the midway together, even if he hasn’t done so with anyone else. There’s something like kinship there.

Today, he has a good half hour before his shift at the arcade starts, the lights and sounds of which are close enough to be part of the background noise here at the colored ball game. “Hey, man,” he grunts on the walk up, echoing the upnod with one of his own. He wears some heavy boots and a jean jacket over his own uniform polo. From one of the pockets is the familiar head and front paws of his rat, The Freak.

“Happy Thanksgiving and all that.” He stops a couple feet away and looks up and down the midway. “Thought it might be busier.”

There was definitely some kinship established between the two over the situations they both grew up in; at the very least an understanding that gets them through. Jett doesn't openly like to discuss where he came from either but he's not as tight lipped about it if someone is curious enough to ask. Either way it was something that endeared Elmo to Jett a bit more; the university kids and the middle class kids and everyone who been born with a privilege of family didn't quite understand what it felt like on holidays. Jett was one of those guys who would sign up to work every Holiday, even Christmas, so it's likely why he's working this shift too. He'd even cover for those who wanted to take the holiday's off.

"Elmo, my man," he shifts off his game pillar lean and extends a hand to Elmo to greet him in the secret handshake of gamer bros way! Or something. They've probably establish some sort of handshake CODE. It's a thing, right? Maybe not a thing? It can be a thing! Jett looks toward the head of the rat poking out, "Heeeey it's Freaky the Squeaky. How's the ride in there little man?"

Jett clicks his tongue at the celebratory greeting, "You know how it is. I'm looking forward to the grub tonight though. No lies." He looks up and down the alley too and shrugs, "Commission won't be great today." He likely gets a cut of what people spend in the booth above the minimum wage, "You up for some hoops later or something? Yanno, to" air quotes, "celebrate."

Elmo extends his hand to meet Jett’s in that secret handshake of theirs; it’s just the right ratio of elaborate to lazy to be considered cool and maybe even unapproachable. That is, of course, the Elmo likes it most days.

There’s a squeak from his pocket and he looks down to say, “It’s warm in there. Apparently he poked himself with the wrong end of a paper clip, though.” He shrugs, as if to say who hasn’t? “Where’s the grub? You cooking?” His brow furrows suspiciously, though he still nods his head about the hoops. “I’m down for whatever. Might get off late, though.”

He glances to the arcade, where he can spy a decent crowd. Still, while the park will likely be packed on the other days of the long weekend, today might be relatively chill. At least, he can hope.

Rad. They have a handshake. Best mates already! Totally cool. Jett will never openly remark how cool it is that he has a handshake with someone! Jett is all laid back ease with the right amount of soft curl to the one side of his lip to leave an impish impression on his expression.

"Watch out for those paper clips little bruh, they'll get you every time!" Jett flicks his eyes back up at Elmo at the question where the grub is and scoffs at the idea of cooking, "I mean I should learn how to cook one of these days manno but there's no point when the grub is all there for the taking." He gestures over his shoulder as if that was pointing the way to the employee island place, "The dining hall is putting something on for those of us staying behind and not leaping onto a ferry." He then tosses the ball he had in his hand this whole time with an elaborate spin to it and watches as it bounces over all the white cups and ... lands on a white cup. Not impressive but that's the game. "Yeah that's okay. If it's too dark out for hoops I can let you shark me for the 1000th time at pool, but I suspect you are bored of that one." Jett totally sucks at pool.

Nope, they don’t talk about how cool the handshake is; that’s for other people to do. With a quick smirk, Elmo reaches into his pocket to pull out The Freak and sit him on his shoulder. Then, he fishes out the offending piece of bent metal and flicks it away. “Later, you bastard,” he calls after the thing.

Then, he’s peering into the distance where the dining hall is, grumbling something about having heard about that, yeah, sure, of course, he remembers. “Guess I’ll see you there, then,” he says as the rat moves across him to find a comfortable spot to chill. “But after?” he wags a finger at Jett, who knows what he likes. “Not so bored, yet.”

The game with the cups gets a look as the ball bounces around a bit. “What are you thinking for holiday dec?” Since they all have to hang back to help decorate the park, he’s been thinking of something to make a mark.

Jett watches the bent metal and he blinks at Elmo, "Oh shit you were serious!" His one eyebrow pops up and his one hand goes to his side, elbow out, "You know I could have done something with that." Now the scrap of paper clip is somewhere scattered to the pavement, useless.

"If you don't get off shift until later I could bring you by a plate," Jett offers without thinking twice about it. If he actually remembers not to eat the food on the way back he might actually be good for it too! It's likely he's not good for it. Food just happens to disappear around him. And trash.... weirdly. His eyes crinkle with determination then when Elmo suggests he wasn't bored of the losing streak Jett's been on. "Great!" His one hand fists up, "Because I'm going to let you have it this time! I've been practicing," Jett says with too much confidence to cover up the reality that he's probably just not going to do well at all. Dare to dream right?! Dare to dream.

"Uh... Lights I guess?" He looks a little sheepish, then shrugs, "Maybe shiny balls." So expressive. "You got any big plans for the arcade?"

Elmo fishes around in his pockets, but only had the one paper clip, seems like. “I’ll find you another one,” he says, vaguely curious about how Jett would use it. That curiosity may be what forces him to follow through on it, too.

“Please, man. I starve through these night shifts,” he says, which of course is an exaggeration, and one that they both may feel something for given past experiences. The act of bringing a plate all the way here is a meaningful one.

“I bet you have. Actually, this guy from the Boo’d Walk beat me the other day. Pretty good, he was.” That is to say, it’s possible. “Maybe tinsel,” he says about the arcade. “Or me in a Santa hat. We already have enough lights and shiny balls.”

Jett rolls his face to the side with that 'forget about it' look, swiping a hand through his hair and exposing all the weird rings and bracelet bits he has by doing so; half of them are hand made and look like some recycled scrap metal but fashioned in a way to be presentable. There's no glittery diamonds or anything, at best, a lifted piece of costume jewelry.

"I can do that," Jett announces as he turns back to Elmo, "Night shifts kind of linger on man. I don't mind it when the park is full but like tonight, what a drag." He is mindful of the crowds that are drifting around, thin as they are, and naturally picks up one of the other plastic balls with a billion holes in it, bouncing it between his hands as if to curry some interest from passers by.

"Oh yeah? No shit. What's his name?" he leans in a little, lips curling, "Or did you let him beat you so the next time you can make him put some money on it?" Teeth show a little as if he suspects that's the whole story. And then he laughs at the idea of a Santa's hat, doing an up and down look over, "Eh you're white enough but your not fat enough. Unless you're trying to do one of those calendar santa's I heard the girls talk about." He twists around so the ball is behind his back and throws it up over his shoulder so the ball lands back in the platform of cups. He pivots back around with a cheeky, "There's never enough shiny balls. Ask Freak, he'd agree with me."

Elmo gets a look at the jewelry and thinks a paperclip could make a fine one, should the right person fashion it. Damn, it would also make a nice earring. Anyway, it’s to the wind now, and he’s not about to get on his hands and knees to look for it.

“Seriously, thanks.” He gives Jett a meaningful look, his grey-blue eyes searching for the other man’s to make a quick connection. He may not be the most affectionate friend, but he means what he says.

“Guy named Lennox. He’s a bartender over there.” Regardless of how the game was actually decided, Elmo thinks Jett’s version is a good one, and so he bares his teeth at the man like a shark would. “Maybe I did,” he says, chomping down with a click-clack of teeth. The Freak chitters about something that may or may not touch on the need for shiny balls. Elmo, however, looks down at himself. “I think I’m going for sexy Santa this year.”

Paperclips are exactly part of his tooling, somewhere on his person is a paperclip used as a fashion accessory. But for one singular paper clip busted on a rat's butt, well that's not worth leaping over the booth and hunting on the ground for it. Such a pity. Next time!

Jett's eyes are dark brown and they can look black, very black, when he's tapped into his magic. Right now, they're normal and connecting with the searching grey-blue. A thumbs ups secures the deal. Food delivery incoming!

The bared teeth are impressive enough to Jett that he smirks back and crosses his arms over his chest, "I knew it." Maybe because Jett is an Elmo fan, no way this Lennox guy could beat him. Jett's gaze floats to the chitter box Freak over there and he nods his head in agreement to Freak, "As I thought, as I thought." He has no idea what Freak was saying, none what so ever - he doesn't have those kind of powers so all this is just showmanship. "Maybe Santa will get lucky eh?" He confesses, "I could see it. Extra Christmas bonuses coming your way."

At least Elmo has an idea for Jett’s holiday present now. The man likes office supplies, noted! Since they end up staring at each other, the thumbs up is binding, and his following fingergun is all the more meaningful. My man.

He doesn’t do anything to translate for The Freak or for Jett, preferring the two of them to hash out communication on their own. Or not, what does it matter? A low chuckle spurts out of him, and he lowers his gaze to his feet. “Yeah, yeah. Wouldn’t say no to a bonus right about now.” When he looks back up, he nods to the game and says, “Lemme have a go?”

Jett has to follow through now!! He got finger gunned at! It's as solid as a written contract. Food delivery will happen! Jett will bring it by after sometime mid-shift for Elmo and it will still be hot! And not eaten. Surprisingly it will not even have a few nibbles in it. Nope! Elmo will receive a sealed hot plate Thanskgiving day care package alla Jett, no additional saliva included.

Jett puts his hands on his sides and leans back, "I know right? I hope we get some kind of bonus. Twenty five bucks would even help." Jett is so bad with money; he'll be a lifer! Paycheck to paycheck this man, but at least that's security for Spellbound not to lose a good employee?! Something like that. Jett looks over at the game and then back to Elmo, arching a brow, with a soft amusement humped out, "Yeah. Let me set you up." He turns to the table full of cups and surrounded by plastic so the balls have less of a chance of bouncing out but ... maybe that's for optics only. He jams his fingers in five balls, the holes allowing him to hook all five at once and deposits them on the booth top designed to keep the balls stationed between slats of wood. The prizes of the day are a few mascot looking stuffies, bears, unicorns, dragons.. the usual. He wings his arm wide and steps out of the way with his hip resting against the booth counter top. "Have at it!"

And now Elmo has something to look forward to: a hot, untouched plate of food. It’s a long way from the dining area to the arcade, though, so he wouldn’t shame Jett if a piece of pie went missing, or a roasted baby potato. These things still are (and always will be) a luxury, and thus something he will appreciate but never consider a given.

“I’d take it if they gave it,” he agrees. Twenty-five bucks can buy some things! A beer and some food at Lucky’s, which is never a bad thing. That really cheap rice cooker he’s had an eye on. A t-shirt. “Okay, okay, let’s go.” He claps his hands together and rubs them, then reaches for a ball. Rolling it around between his palms, Elmo looks at Jett and crouches into a ready position. “Watch and learn, okay?”

He swings his hips side to side, eyes one of the colored cups, and lets the ball fly. It bounces a couple times, then sinks into a yellow cup. “Hell yeah!”

"I'd get myself a whole assed ice-cream cake," Jett of course would spend it on food, "All to myself. The entire thing." They're probably about fifteen to twenty five dollars worth. "Ooo or I would go to a movie and get the biggest popcorn they had," he considers the possibilities of twenty five dollars, "There's also this hoodie I was looking at. It's a bit more than twenty five though." SAD. "It's a Korn hoodie," he looks over to Elmo, "What kind of things would you splurge on?"

Then Elmo is getting all serious about the game and Jett's one brow goes up and he puts that cocky smirk on his face as his arms cross over his chest, "I'm watching but the jury is out if I'm learning." He takes notice of Elmo's form and the way he's swinging his hips side to side which makes Jett snicker softly. His eyes and face track the ball into the bin of cups and he notices where the first one goes; direct into a yellow cup! THE YELLOW CUP. Jett looks over at Elmo, "Man. If you would have paid to play you might've gotten the top prize with that one." His arm stretches up and the points to the various toys hanging, but then he bobs down and fishes out a dinky toy and tosses it at Elmo; it's a little green and black stripped tiger. "Here you go boss, for your efforts." He realizes there's four balls left but the man already got the best color, "You're a shoe in if you ever bring a date by. Easy way to impress them because maaaaan that was kind of impressive."

Elmo strikes a triumphant pose, one leg forward, both arms straight up in the air. “Yes! Eat that, yellow cup.” He laughs way more than he usually does, which is to say a bit, then breaks the stance to catch his prize. “One of these days, man. If I ever get one.”

He walks back over to where he was before, leaning against the game and reaching across to nudge his pal. “A whole ass ice cream cake? What are you five?” Even as he says this, he can picture it, though. “Actually, shit, that sounds pretty fucking good.” What would he use his on, though? “Rice cooker. Saw one on Amazon, I like me some rice.” It’s not a necessity, though, since he’s got a pot, but it could save a bit of effort, if not time. “Or a case of nice beer.”

Jett has to applaud the triumphant pose and not without a snort laugh, "Oh it ATE!" He hops his butt up on the booth counter and swings his legs over, side tilting his head as he considers Elmo, "Have you tried asking for one? That kind of seems to be the place to start." He chuckles, "Besides this island is full of choices that look finger licking good." He's so young, please excuse him, he's trying to sound like he knows things.

"Actually, yes," Jett sways gently from the nudge and answers to the mention of if he's five, "if that's the number you got to be to enjoy a whole 'assed' ice cream cake, then I am five." Jett flicks his head to sort out the bangs in his face, not that it does any good because five seconds later they're emo bending back into his face, "I know right? Stick with Jett, he will lead you to the kingdom of food and glory." The real answers as to what Elmo would use the money on has him nod, "Not going to lie, rice cooker sounds boring... and yet... I would probably still burn the rice with it." The last has him swatting at Elmo to get his attention, "And you'd share that beer with your best game operator buddy right?" Cause Jett is underage for drinking.

Elmo shakes his head and checks on The Freak, since it’s likely the rat was jostled during his moment of triumph. He’s fine, no careless bumping against the booth or anything like that. “It hasn’t come up,” he says with a bit of finality in his tone. “And dude, finger licking?” He gives Jett a hard look with a furrowed brow. He’ll excuse him but doesn’t want his young friend to go around telling other people that.

For as much as Elmo wants to tease Jett some more, he must admit, “Those cookie crumbles are really fucking good.” Still, you can’t go without rice. “Maybe it’s boring, but you’ll get it when you’re in double digits, kiddo,” he explains with a quick smirk. “Of course, I got you." He'd be happy to help out when it comes to beer.

Jett accepts and registers that tone of voice as not to pester it further. But the next look he gets his hands go up, "I mean they used it in a commercial for chicken..." he extends his dramatic pause a little, "...sooooo I take it that's not good to say then?"

"The cookie crumbles on the bed of fuddddge, that's lit!" he smacks his lips and gives a chef kiss. Then he scoffs at Elmo, "Shuuddd up," he laughs because it's hard not too when a pal is teasing, "One day I'll be swimming in ice cream cakes and the next, bam, I'll be so old that I'll be beaming over a glorified rice cooker. Man, I can't wait for those days." The lowkey hook up has Jett giving a gangster nod to Elmo, "You're a solid guy, Elm." He puts his fist out to give the other man a fist bump.

“Everything is food with you,” Elmo says, shaking his head as if he’s disappointed. “These people aren’t food,” he says, gesturing the datable masses. “They’re not food, right?” With people sprouting strange abilities seemingly every day, he wouldn’t be surprised if someone suddenly got an urge.

Speaking of food, he huffs in laugher at the chef’s kiss. “Whatever, I’m not that old,” he eventually says while backhanding the empty space between them. “At least we’ll both still keep us honest then,” he says, extending his hand to bump fists with Jett. “You, too, bud,” he says, reticent to get too mushy out here in public.

"Wellllll....yessss..." Jett drawls on in a 'duh' kind of tone, "This is like food paradise man! Any thing you want you can find it here." And then he laughs against Elmo's disappointed expression, "Yeah yeah. People are friends not food!" He got that line from something, somewhere. He's on the same wave length there as Elmo, "Unless they become a walking ice cream sandwich... then what? Or what if they morph into a burger.... or like little tatter tots? I mean, are they still people then Elmo, are they? Arrrre they?"

"If I'm apparently five, you must be five zero-" he challenges Elmo to correct him with a playful sneer across his face. He snorts at the backhanded in the empty space. That he gets Elmo to fist bump him as him grin, proud. It's an accomplishment okay. So is making Elmo laugh. Then he folds his arms across his chest, "Yep." He considers Elmo, "How much time you got until your on shift?"

“Obviously not,” Elmo deadpans. “If there’s a tater tot walking around, I’d expect you to lay into it and chow down.” He’s holding Jett to that, because it sounds terrifying and not at all like something he’d wants to deal with. In this way, it’s win-win.

He lifts a brow at the guy and says, “If you mean undefeated, then you’re fucking right.” Boo-ya. Apparently, Jett’s got the right touch to get Elmo to loosen up a bit, even it makes The Freak do the equivalent of an eye-roll for a rat. His little paws slide down his face in embarrassment. “Um, I should probably head over there in a few minutes.” He makes a face, expression dour once again.

Jett snort laughs at Elmo, "Yer fucking right I would! I'd ..." he starts to demonstrate how he would grab it and chomp down on it like a corn cob, "totally pin it and tear into it." Jett is such a clown sometimes, which is absolutely not the motif of his style but that just shows never to judge a book by the cover.

Jett GROANS at the turn about! Fair play but GROAN. "Yeah yeah. I'll kick your ass in pool very soon! You'll see. It'll be all straight to the pockets no, no holds bar, no quota taken!" He laughs heartily though at their banter and it does seem that Elmo's interplay does get Jett to relax too. He snaps and then offers, "I don't have a phone yet bro," and it's probably going to be a hot minute until he has one, "but if you wanted to do the whole billiard thing, you know where to find me. Fox run numBA three-hundread." He talks for a minute like a stupid gangster punk and he's also clowning.

Elmo’s brows both go up as he watches Jett pantomime the violence he’d commit against a living tater tot. It might be frightening if he wasn’t so endeared to his friend. “You’re such a weirdo,” he says fondly.

Of course, he’s a bit of a weirdo, too, so it works out. “I’m just above you on the fourth floor,” he reminds with a smirk. “I’ll find you and drag you out with me.” It’ll be a thing, and they won’t need phones to make it happen. They’ve both handled things without phones enough before. “Anyway, I should jet and get set up. Don’t eat so much that you puke, okay?”

Jett puts his hands on his sides, elbows out as he gets called a weirdo; grinning like a lunatic for it too. "Takes one to know one," Jett reverts quickly to those childish rebuttals.

"Oh yeaaah. Duh," As if Jett didn't know that already. He gives a solid nod at the idea of being dragged out, "I'll hold you to it." Not dissimilar to the promise of food which Jett will absolutely follow through on.

"Hey that's my name, don't wear it out!" Jett laughs and salutes, "You know me too well!" He has absolutely done that, numerous times.

Elmo makes a childish face to go along with the childish rebuttal, opening and closing his mouth in an exaggerated mimicry of what Jett says. He even rolls his eyes in the back of his head for good measure. He can go on teasing and being teased for a while, but he really does need to head for work and likes to leave on a more serious note.

"Glad I do, bro." He gives a lazy salute to follow up Jett's and snorts a quick laugh. Taking two steps backward, he says, "Catch you tonight." And then he swivels on a heel and heads out, wending through the crowd with practiced ease. The arcade awaits!