Rain rain go away

[Beth Ham]

Power out, explosion during the night and it was pouring rain? Life in pleasant little Bloomsdale was quickly going to you know where. Not having any power in her house was making life miserable. She couldn't stand it at home anymore...Beth needed to get out. "Mom I'm going out for a little." She threw on a jacket and grabbed her umbrella from the front hall closet. Beth opened the umbrella then stepped outside and pulled the door closed after her.

She made her way quickly into town and entered the Soda shop. Beth shook out the umbrella and pulled it closed. She glanced around the shop- which was also dark and made her way over to the counter. Beth set the umbrella on the ground, removed her jacket and sat down on the barstool.

[Harriet Sterling]

Harriet was perched on a chair the other end of the counter, sipping a soda and reading a book. She looked up as Beth came into the room, and gave her a smile. "Hullo." she said, in her incongruous accent, and looked back down to her book. She was a little soggy.

[Beth Ham]

Beth may have glanced around but she didn't really notice anyone. At the sound of someone else's voice she immediately looked in that direction. "Hello." The girl's accent was different and as the Mayor's daughter she knew almost everyone in Bloomsdale. This girl was someone she didn't know.

Beth ordered a Soda and looked down at the girl again. "Are you new in town?"

[Harriet Sterling]

Harriet slurped her soda, pulled a wry face and then looked back at Beth. "Sort of. I came to visit my uncle at Christmas, but sort of ended up staying. I'm Harriet."

[Violet Healey]

It could be said of Violet that she didn't look for places to go so much as wander into them, and so it was that she happened upon the soda shop that dreary day. "Hello, Beth," she smiled as she came in, and then glanced at the newcomer with some scrutiny. "I haven't met you before, I don't think," she started, somewhat warily.

[Beth Ham]

"Well its nice to meet you. I'm Beth." What a time for someone to come to Bloomsdale. So many wierd things had been going on recently. At that point the soda arrived and Beth paid for it then took a sip. She didn't want to intrude if the other young girl was enjoying her privacy.

At the sound of the door and another voice Beth smiled and looked towards the door. "Hey Vi. Hope your day is going better than the weather outside...'

[Harriet Sterling]

"I think I've seen you." Harriet said to Violet with a quick grin. "Nice to meet you, Beth, and you. Are either of you at Eleanor Roosevelt? I'm starting there after the summer." She turned back to her book long enough to put a bookmark in and then back to the other girls. "It's awfully rainy."

[Violet Healey]

"It's not normally this rainy," Violet assured Harriet with a small smile. "I go to Roosevelt, yeah. It's...okay, I suppose. I didn't know you'd seen me before, I'm sorry I didn't say hello sooner." She added to Beth, "I had to get away from the farm for a little while. It gets musty in my room when it rains and Christopher can't make deliveries so he's unhappy at being cooped up which makes me antsy, so I had to go for a walk and---." She stopped and inhaled. "Herman also says hello."

[Beth Ham]

She shook her head no at the mention of Eleanor Roosevelt. "No I finished there. I attend St. Hilda's." Beth grinned as Violet described the farm. "Oh say hello to Herman for me."

[Harriet Sterling]

"Really? Is it good? I'm Harriet, by the way, what is your name?" She shifted a seat closer to the other girls, and looked at Beth. "Gosh, you've finished? What are you doing now?"

[Violet Healey]

"I'd have brought Herman with me, but he really prefers coming out when it's nicer," Violet explained, taking up her own chair a little further from the two girls and sitting on it so it faced backwards. "My name's Violet, or Vi for short, sorry," she told Harriet a bit sheepishly, not realizing she'd gotten caught up in talking about other things for a moment. "I'm going into my last year at Roosevelt, and I guess I'm glad in some ways and a little nervous in others, to be honest."

[Beth Ham]

"I normally hate going out when the weather is bad too, but I needed to get out of the house for a little while." Beth took a few more sips of her soda. "Yes I'm done at Roosevelt. I have now moved on to further studies at St. Hilda's school. It is a school for young ladies here in Bloomsdale."

[Harriet Sterling]

"Oh, the college. Right." Harriet gave Beth a grin. "Is that fun? I suppose that I have to do something or other when I finish. I'll be going into the last year too, Violet. I hope it isn't too different to my school in England."

[Violet Healey]

"England?" Violet echoed, her eyes suddenly saucer-wide. "Oh, I've always wanted to go--their books and writing seem so much better than ours in some ways, especially some of the classics. Whereabouts are you from in England?" Her attentions were laser-focused on Harriet.

[Beth Ham]

"I love the school, but just like anything some days are better than others." Beth loved the school dearly, but hated the fact that there were only certain lessons they were taught. "England? That explains the accent." She backed off and let Violet fire off all the questions.

[Harriet Sterling]

"Well, yes. I'm surprised you didn't guess." Harriet looked slightly amused at Violet's sudden attention. "I'm from Shropshire, in the hills. My father oversees a reservoir, so we're right in the middle of the country." She paused. "I suppose we do have good writing, but I'm not sure that it's any better for being read in England."

[Violet Healey]

"We don't get too many people from other parts of the world here, this is a small town," Violet explained, then flushed. "I guess I sound like a hayseed, don't I? I guess there's something to be said of Keats and Robert Frost, but Shakespeare..." She trailed away. "Is it hard, adjusting to a new country?"

[Beth Ham]

"England has produced some pretty good writers through the ages." Beth smirked at the mention of Shakespeare. She loved Shakespeare. The poets that Violet mentioned were good as well, but Beth absolutely loved Shakespeare. "Are you going to stay in Bloomsdale or return to England?"

[Harriet Sterling]

"A hayseed?" Harriet asked, laughing. "It's hardest when you use words differently. And it's all very different. I can't really explain. I'm living with my uncle who is English, though, so it's not too bad. He runs the bookshop. We've had a pretty long time to produce them, it'd be terrible if we had none. I think I'm staying for another year at least."

[Violet Healey]

"Oh, um, that's somebody who isn't worldly," Violet coughed, feeling awkward. "I've only moved here from Boston, but America's such a big place, you feel like you've gone into another country just by moving a few states south. If your uncle has a bookshop, you'll probably see me again soon--I love things like that."

[Harriet Sterling]

"Right, thanks." Harriet grinned again. "It's the only one in town, so probably. I don't really know anybody here yet- when did you move here?" Harriet flicked her blonde plaits behind her and pushed her soda towards Violet. "You want it? I can't drink it."

[Violet Healey]

"Thanks! Well." Vi sipped the offered soda and paused. "My brother Christopher moved here first a little while ago while I finished up some school. My mom died when I was little, so it was just Daddy and I after Chrissy left and then I decided I didn't much care for school back home and came here. That's about all there is to it, really. Why did you decide to move here? I know you have family here, but there's got to be something more to it than that."

[Beth Ham]

Beth zoned out completely and focused on finishing her soda. As she got to the bottom of the cup she reached for her jacket and pulled it back on. "Sorry I really must get home. It was nice to meet you Harriet and I'm sure I'll see you around town." Beth picked up the umbrella and waved at Violet. "Hey Violet- take care and say hello to Herman for me." She grinned at Violet and then headed for the door.

Popping open the door she opened her umbrella and began to make a run towards her dark house.

(Off to bed- goodnight)

[Harriet Sterling]

"Goodbye, Beth!" Harriet called after the other girl. She glanced at Violet and then moved to sit next to her properly. "Well, Daddy was going away for some sort of conference, and I hadn't seen Uncle Ian for years, so it made sense for me to come here. But it was all a bit of a rush and we didn't set a date for me to go back, and Daddy started to think it might be good for me. I think he's very busy now, too."

[Violet Healey]

Violet waved goodbye to Beth and scooted her chair over a bit to make room for Harriet. "It's good you'll be staying awhile, then," she smiled. "School was getting to be very dull without much of anyone to talk to, and maybe we can study together or something. If the light ever comes back on," she added, looking up at the silent and dark lights in the soda shop. "I think when I'm through with school, I'd like to go traveling, never mind what Daddy says about finding a man and getting married."

[Harriet Sterling]

Harriet's eyes widened. "Travelling would be awfully exciting." She said. "But then I do love it where I live. I don't think that anywhere else would be quite the same. If you do come to England you'll have to come and see me." She smiled. "I'm glad I met you."

[Violet Healey]

"It would be wonderful to come to England, even if only for a few days. You'd have to teach me all the different words they use there and show me around when I get there," Violet grinned, finishing off the last of her soda. "Maybe if he decides it's all right, I'll let you meet Herman, too. Just be warned, he's a little shy and doesn't like people he doesn't know at first."

((Paused here))

[Harriet Sterling]

"The words aren't too different. And they're hard to remember- I mean, when you don't just come across them or something." Harriet tried to think of some, but couldn't. "Is Herman your brother?"

[Violet Healey]

"No, Christopher's my brother," Violet explained with a small shake of her head. "But it makes someone sound terribly worldly when they know slang from another country, and I want to make sure I'm using it the correct way." There was a pause as she played with a strand of long, pale hair. "Herman's my lemon, actually."

[Harriet Sterling]

Harriet faltered for a second, and then laughed slightly nervously. "I thought you said your lemon." She paused. "I had to leave my pony back in England. I miss her dreadfully."

[Violet Healey]

"That's a shame, it's always hard to leave someone or something you love behind," Violet sighed, sitting back in her chair a little. "And I did say 'my lemon' since it's perfectly true, that's what he is. Although I guess I shouldn't call him 'mine' since that's a bit rude to him."

[Harriet Sterling]

"Your lemon?" Harriet frowned. "What do you mean? I don't think we use that term in England. It is, I only hope that Daddy is looking after her properly." She paused. "Not that she really needs looking after. She knows her way around the Stiperstones as well as I do."

[Violet Healey]

"I mean just that. He's a lemon I went to the grocery one day and rescued from all those horrid stalks of celery and broccoli florets. He's a great listener, not much of a talker," Violet explained, not exactly in tune with the other girl's discomfort. "I always wanted to see what it was like to ride a horse since back home it was too crowded to have one and here, well, I think they mostly raise crops on the farm."

[Harriet Sterling]

Harriet puckered her brow and looked at the other girl. "Won't he go rotten? Lemons- well." She looked severly confused. "Why did you name a lemon?"

[Violet Healey]

"He's getting a bit moldy, yeah, and he's not really pleased by it," Violet explained with a wry smile. "I told him these things happen and it's best to take it in stride, but he's holding fast this time and not listening to a word I try to say. Oh, and I didn't name him, he told me what his name was when I first met him. If you listen carefully, they all have names already. Herman's the closest I could get to saying his real name, actually."

[Harriet Sterling]

"Listen to what?" Harriet said, frowning. She began to wonder whether staying a year was a particuarly good plan. "They don't speak. You eat them. On pancakes." She shot Violet a worried glance. "Are you making stuff up?"

[Violet Healey]

A slightly horrified light came into Violet's eyes. "On pancakes?" she asked, a bit weakly, as though Harriet had suggested some kind of cannibalism. "They don't speak the way you and I do, but I can assure you, I'm not making things up."

[Harriet Sterling]

Harriet was at a loss for words, and was looking fairly uncomfortable. "Maybe the lemons at home are different." She said, quickly, trying to get off this subject. "What books did you read at school this year? I'm quite afraid that you'll have done all sorts of different things, and I'll have to slog like anything to catch up."

((pause again))