OOM

[obligatoryass]

Logan checked the door one last time, just to make sure it would continue to open to Neptune. How embarrassing would it be if it didn't open? Or worse, opened somewhere boring, like Indiana.

Fortunately, the Neptune Grand is right on the other side, and he leaves the door open a crack, just in case Bar should decide to play a cruel, cruel trick on them both. But it seems the trip is likely to go off as planned.

He turns as he hears a knock on the door and goes to answer it.

Comments

[kitchen_maid]

"Do I strike you as a person whose overly concerned about clothes or jewelry?" she says, amused. "I like the onion stall -- Mr. Vidalia is charming, and Daddy insists that a member of the family do all royal table onion purchases."

Onions are a hobby of her father's.

[obligatoryass]

"No," he says, amused. "Sadly, there are no onions at the mall, but we can hit the grocery store on the way home. There are lots of onions there. Or we can continue our anthropological survey of wildlife at the mall."

[kitchen_maid]

"I think I'm good on onions, thank you. It's more that I enjoy talking to Mr. Vidalia than that I'm excessively fond of root vegetables."

[obligatoryass]

"I see," Logan says.

This is a foreign concept. And yet, for Amy, he'll see what he can manage. "Well, I need a few things - a new watch, for starters. How about we start there?"

[kitchen_maid]

"That's fine," she says.

Her vision of watches involve chains and pockets, so this should prove interesting.

[obligatoryass]

Logan steers them to the nearest department store - it happens to be Nordstroms - but before they're halfway there, a voice calls Logan's name.

He turns, and who does he see but a brown-haired Madison Sinclair. Raising an eyebrow, he says, "Oh, goody. This should just take a minute, okay?" as the annoying 09er walks toward them.

[kitchen_maid]

"Of course," says Amy. "Is she a friend of yours?"

[obligatoryass]

"Not exactly," he muttered, as Madison reaches earshot.

"Logan!" she exclaims. "I'm SO sorry about your dad! That's really sad. I didn't get to go to the funeral because I was in Mexico with my boyfriend, but I TOTALLY donated to the Hurricane Relief Fund. Anyway, I just wanted to offer my condolences."

[kitchen_maid]

Amy's smile slips from genuine to Court. This girl is . . . loud. And oddly dramatic.

[obligatoryass]

Logan, when he manages to get a word in edgewise, says, "Thanks, Madison."

His mannerisms have also gone stiff and oddly formal. It's public-face, rather than Court, but much the same.

"This is my friend Amy," he says. "She's an exchange student. From Europe."

Madison glances at the Ordinary, plainly dressed girl. "Hi," she says, taking in little more than that. "I love Europe, but Daddy says it isn't safe right now, after all those bombings or whatever. So I go to Cabo instead, or like, Hawaii, if we're taking longer trips."

She promptly dismisses the strange girl and turns back to Logan. "Anyway, I haven't seen you much this summer. Are you like, hiding out and stuff, or are you just saving up all that partying for your first semester at college? I heard you're looking at Hearst - I guess it's good enough. I'm going to UCLA, which is totally awesome. I think I'm going to be a cheerleader, isn't that great?"

Logan really, really wishes Madison had an off switch.

[kitchen_maid]

Same expression, different names. And now more Court than ever.

"It's lovely to meet you--I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," says Amy, stiffly and properly polite, but there's a slight undertone that implies she'd have caught the other girl's name if it had mattered in the slightest.

[obligatoryass]

"Madison," the girl says, now looking a bit harder at Amy. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Amy's expression and tone are making her think of someone. Probably someone from one of the royal households of Europe.

[kitchen_maid]

"Oh, I don't think so," says Amy, pleasantly if rather disinterestly. "I'm sure if we'd met before, you'd remember."

What? Just because she doesn't usually choose to act like a princess doesn't mean she doesn't know how.

[obligatoryass]

Madison opens her mouth to respond.

Then she closes it again.

She turns to Logan. "Anyway, it was nice seeing you, Logan. If you need anything, you just let me know, okay?"

Logan has never heard a less sincere offer of help, but he smiles rigidly back. "Thanks, Madison," he says. "I'll see you."

And with that, he steers Amy away from the annoying girl.

[kitchen_maid]

Amy shudders slightly as they walk away.

"Is she always that . . . rude?"

[obligatoryass]

"Always," Logan says ruefully. "When she's not talking incessantly, she's making what she thinks are biting comments. It's not her fault, mostly - she's spoiled rotten and dumb as a box of rocks - but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with."

He gives her a sidelong look. "No one's quite that rude back home, huh?"

[kitchen_maid]

"Not that openly rude," she says. "At least," she adds, with a smile, "not to me."

[obligatoryass]

"They never were with me," he says, a little sadly. "At least, not before this year. You get accused of murder and suddenly it's like you were never Neptune's social king."

They reach the store, and Logan makes a beeline for the watch counter.

[kitchen_maid]

"As opposed to its antisocial king?"

Amy follows, looking curiously around. With the counters and stands and assorted cashiers, this actually looks much more like the marketplace she's used to than the mall in general.

[obligatoryass]

"Exactly," Logan says, beaming. "It's not a title I've worked for, but I've found some small satisfaction in my outcast status. After all, it's not like it kept people from coming to my parties."

And being suspected of murdering a PCHer probably only made him go up in some people's books.

Logan greets the clerk, a perky (and polite) blonde by the name of Addison.

[kitchen_maid]

"Well, a royal party is basically a command appearance, isn't it?" Amy asks.

She smiles a bit at Addison. This part of the store is very . . . shiny.

[obligatoryass]

Logan points at a watch that looks quite complicated. "What can you tell me about that one?" he asks, smiling charmingly.

"Oh!" Addison says brightly, removing it from the case. "Well, it's croc-embossed, water resistant, and tells you the time in three different zones. It's pretty cool. We sell a lot of these."

[kitchen_maid]

Again, Amy is going to have to go with shiny. Because she has no idea what Addison is going on about.

"Very nice," she says.

[obligatoryass]

"See anything you like?" Logan asks Amy. "I'm usually open to advice."

[kitchen_maid]

Even the most Ordinary of princesses is usually a good person to ask for advice about jewelry, as a general rule.

Amy dismisses anything that could even remotely be described as a "sports watch" out of hand. There's a pocket watch in one corner, but only one, which means that while it looks normal to her, it can't be for here, so that is passed over as well.

She studies the rest silently and thoughtfully for a long moment (which clearly unnerves Addison a bit), and then points. "That one, I think. The silver-colored one, but that's not silver." Stainless steel hasn't really made it to Phantasmoranian jewelry yet.

The watch is simply, heavy, understated, but quality. Expensive, yes, but not . . . showy.