[VIDEO] She's only 15 and already on her own.

[strange_unusual]

[ The video starts with a close-up shot of her black shoes, shakes for a second as she fixes her grip on the video-phone and then lifts to show a super close-up on a some sort of sign. There's the sound of a frustrated sigh as the camera zooms back out and the image clears to show the Stone Ridge apartments. ]

It's been one week since I have entered into this unknown and ... strange world.

[ The camera swings around to show off the entire building, including the brick foundation that made up most of the structure. ]

And I've become rather attached to my new home. It's quite old, from the looks of it but at least it's not covered in polka-dot drapes.

[ She sighs and twists the camera to face her, or at least she hopes since she can't tell but the lens is aimed at her and she has pretty good aim. ]

I would really like to stay here but I'm kind of running out of money. Is there anyone out there that can help me find a job?

Comments

[betel_geuse]

Betelgeuse picked up his videophone, grinning.

"Hey, babes! Good to see you're settling in. What kinda work you looking for? There's want ads in the Saturday post and occasionally job fairs. I just made some pretty good money hunting down monsters, m'self."

[strange_unusual]

Even after seven days, she still wasn't used to seeing him. Not that she hadn't expected him to pop up because honestly, she was surprised he hadn't come and tried stealing her away on her first night. Why hadn't he?

"I-I don't know. I haven't had a real job before." She paused, adjusting the camera as she walked around her apartment building with no real direction. "Monsters?" She really didn't like the sound of that. "What sort of monsters?"

[betel_geuse]

"Oh, just these giant lizard things. Apparently, they're kind of a pest in Everglade," Betelgeuse told her. "You're sharp and got talent. I'm sure you'll find something. Maybe you can earn a buck taking pictures or something."

[strange_unusual]

This new world was definitely the most interesting place she had ever been but she wasn't so sure about these 'giant lizard things'. "Okay, what do you mean by giant? Big as a cat? A dog?"

The complement threw her off and she nearly dropped her camera. "That was almost ... supportive." It's horrible to think so little of someone but her first impression of Beetlejuice did set the bar of her expectations of him pretty low.

[betel_geuse]

"Nope. I mean about the size of a horse," Betelgeuse corrected, grinning. "Hey, babes, I call 'em, like I see 'em! Careful with your meal ticket."

[strange_unusual]

"A horse?!" Her eyes go the widest they have ever been. "Wait, do you maybe mean alligators?"

Her eyebrow quirks up. "And who here are you calling a meal ticket? Me?"

[betel_geuse]

"I know what an alligator is and isn't, Lyds," Betelgeuse said, a bit annoyed. He didn't mind her thinking he was a jerk or something, but he wouldn't let even her consider him stupid! "Alligators aren't as tall as these things. I think they're called biguanas or some such. They have the height and girth of horses."

He cackled loudly for a few moments at her last comment.

"Paranoid much, babes? Naw, I meant your camera: your--possessive usage--meal ticket! You went wobbly for a second."

[strange_unusual]

Well someone got a little snappy there. Lydia almost smiled but caught herself in keeping her face solemn as the grave. "Well how would I know? Maybe you've been dead for a long time and what you think are alligators are actually just dinosaurs." Even though her tone was light, her mind was a bit fixed on the image of these 'monsters'. An alligator as big as a horse? That sounded terrifying ... and she couldn't wait to see one.

"I did not go 'wobbly'," the camera DID shake a bit as she moved one hand to make a wide and dramatic gesture with it. It steadied as she grabbed it again. "You really think people would want my pictures? Because normal people don't usually go for my flare."

[betel_geuse]

"Well, sure, I have been dead a long time, but I've been dead six hundred years, babes, not six million or billion or whatever the number is. I mean, dinosaurs, really? Do I look like a caveman to you? You do know most of the big dinosaurs were extinct, before homo sapiens came along, right?" Betelgeuse rattled off, though he was calm and even chuckling a bit.

"Well, you looked wobbly from this side of things, even if it was the camera moving," he pointed out, smirking. "Yeah, sure, why not? Normal people can be stupid, babes, but I'm not sure anyone here actually is normal."

[strange_unusual]

She finally had to let a smile out. He was a little funny. "You do look pretty green to me." Maybe he was a dinosaur in his previous life. And she meant the green on his hair line that looked more like very old grass stains than fungus or mold.

He had the normal part right. She had yet to meet ANYONE who was actually normal here in Genessia. And that was saying a lot because, well, she had never been to a place with so many strange people! Was she sure she wasn't dreaming? Or dead? "What do YOU do here? For a job, I mean?"

[betel_geuse]

"Yeah, just a bit," Betelgeuse agreed. "Hey, I'm in pretty good shape for a dead guy! You should see some of the poor suckers who got hit by cars and stuff like that."

He shrugged, pulling out a cigarette.

"Odd jobs, mostly, I guess. I did the biguana hunting gig and, a couple of weeks ago, I did some busking with my violin. I'm not getting some nine to five job. It's not like I have to buy food or pay rent."

[strange_unusual]

"I've seen the videos in the driver's education. They're more sad than gruesome," she says matter-o-factly with a little bit of a dramatic sigh. It was an ugly way to go, that was for sure. But then that raised a question. Lydia raised an eyebrow. "How DID you die?"

She was about to make a comment on the cigarette but it wasn't like smoking was going to kill him. He was already dead. At least she didn't have to worry about the smoke. It always made her sneeze something fierce. "You play music?" Now there was something interesting! "What songs can you play?"

[betel_geuse]

"Yep," Betelgeuse agreed, before taking a long drag on his cigarette. He answered, but his voice was rough. Even after six centuries, it wasn't a pleasant memory. "Got buried alive."

"Sure. Being dead is boring, babes. Gotta do something to fill the time. I know a lot of songs and I do mean a LOT. What kind of music are you hoping for?"