Black Friday's a Nemesis plot!?

[Cadence Calloway]

((Just for fun, and totally open to anybody who wants to jump into the thread.))

It was the day after Thanksgiving, a day which had been dubbed Black Friday by somebody somewhere. And why oh why had it been called Black Friday? With all the holiday sales going on, shouldn’t a more cheerful name be given to the mother of all shopping days? Perhaps we should get on with this tale before its author begins to make a fail-filled step towards waxing poetic on the matter...

Paragon City was cold and wet today. Fat drops of rain soaked the streets and those out and about on the streets. Thankfully there wasn’t much of a wind, just a faint breeze now and again. This didn’t stop determined shoppers from flocking to the various retail stores and malls throughout paragon though. Cadence was glad for the coat Kyle had given her last year, and she drew it close around her in an attempt to keep the chill from soaking any further into her bones. She kept a tight grip on her umbrella as she hurried over to the main entrance to the Plaza Mall in Steel Canyon. She’d spent Thanksgiving Day with Samantha Noelani, her guardian and the owner of the Ohana House for Gifted Youths, and it had been interesting. She’d eaten way too much, played with some of the younger kids that were living in the boarding house, and had promised Flora to deliver the pictures she’d drawn of Lorne, Trev, Bronka and Laura. The crayon colored masterpieces were tucked safely away in the pocket lining the inside of her coat even now. Since she was meeting some of the other Westbrook students today, it would be a perfect opportunity to make good on that promise.

Cadence folded her umbrella down as she reached the safety of the overhang above the plexiglass doors, shaking the excess moisture off outside before tucking it away into its watertight cover. She was debating calling Kyle back to have him meet her here…but she decided against it for what had to be the umpteenth time that morning. She planned to do her Christmas shopping today, and it would be difficult to find her boyfriend a present if he was there with her. Besides, he was likely with Andie, Liz, and Sarah doing Christmas shopping of his own. The teen took a seat on a bench just beyond the doors, sitting down next to an ancient looking old man. He rubbed his gnarled hands, muttering about the cold rain and his arthritis. She bit her lip, then closed her eyes and focused a moment. Within a moment or two, the air around the two had warmed up to a much more comfortable temperature. The man smiled, unsure just what was going on, but happy that his aching joints were finding some measure of relief.

She opened her eyes just as someone familiar entered the mall.

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Lorne ran in huddled under a thick heavy rain coat. He threw the hood back and his hair poofed out. He did his best to smooth it down but to no avail. He looked over and noticed Cadence sitting there, "Hey, Cadie!" He took his coat off and shook it a few times letting the water fall off of it. He folded it up and threw it over his arm and plopped down next to her.

He looked over at her again, "I'm hitting Game Stop, Barnes and Noble, Radio Shack, Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond. You got your list of places you're wanting to hit? Also where is everyone else?"

[Cadence Calloway]

She smiled as Lorne took a seat.

"Not so sure. This is the first time in awhile that I've got some money to burn. I know I'll be hitting Penney's to pick up a scarf and gloves for Etienne, maybe a sweater too since he's always saying he's cold. I need to pick up something for Kyle, but I'm running out of ideas as to what to get him this year."

She frowned a little as she leaned back. She'd been dating Kyle for so long now...picking out a gift should have been easy. Instead, she found it to be stressful. What if he didn't really like what she picked out? Or worse, what if he didn't like it but pretended that he did?

"Not sure where the others are. I got here a little early, but I guess there's always the chance that someone got here before I did."