FloatingAroundSpace
Three Thousand Club
Insaf Kassab
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Location: In the middle of Town Square
Interacting with: Elizabeth Kassab, Amaris Abel Blake (NPCs)
Mood: Unsettled
Insaf glanced up as the mayor wrapped up some kind of pseudo-speech. She attempted to give applause though the silence intensified her hands and she glanced around as everyone's eyes rotated to her. Elizabeth was trying very hard not to look embarrassed by her mother's actions and Insaf could tell that the silence was drawing more of her daughter's attention. Her neck craned through the crowd, her lips tugging into a deeper frown than her usual resting face, looking confused. Of the manners Insaf had tried to teach Elizabeth, only a few had stuck. The first was to take one's hat off when they came inside and also always wipe their feet. The other was that it was always polite to clap, no matter how terrible the speech unless the subject matter and opinions of the speaker were really disagreeable. Elizabeth offered a soft golf-clap herself, though Insaf could tell she was doing it reluctantly and out of habit more than anything. One individual turned and seemed to growl at them, their upper-lip curling and a faint rumbling coming from their direction. Elizabeth and Insaf both turned to look. Elizabeth scowled even harder and the person turned away.
As soon as they were set free to eat food, Elizabeth made a bee-line towards the table and buffet, seizing a can of cold soda and bumping aside someone else who gave Elizabeth a distasteful glare. Insaf winced and followed after her daughter, taking a cold water herself and taking a plate. Elizabeth was already halfway down the line, loading up her plate with fatty foods like hamburgers and fries. If Elizabeth was any younger (or at least shorter than her), Insaf would clutch her hand and instead give her pasta and salad. But her daughter had grown up and was her own person now, darting for whatever she wanted, regardless of her mother.
Insaf moved slower down the line, taking up a plate of healthier options like corn on the cob, skewers that had roasted vegetables, a jacketed potato, alongside a helping of pasta seasoned lightly with Parmesan cheese. She found Elizabeth at the end of the table, arguing with a rather gruff and sturdy looking man who had his arms folded over his chest. A woman stood by him, lips pursed and one arm wrapped around his.
As Insaf drew nearer, she heard a snippet of conversation.
"I'm sorry kid," the man said, peering at Elizabeth while the woman kept her lips closed, her eyes watching Elizabeth with the same distaste as some had glanced their way when they had been the sole people to clap, "but you just can't take that."
"And why not?" Elizabeth said indignantly and Insaf realized that he was gesturing to her plate, where it looked like Elizabeth had taken up a few slabs of meat that Insaf didn't recognize. She glanced cautiously at the couple as she approached Elizabeth, standing by her daughter.
"They're not for you," the man snapped.
"It's an open buffet and I don't see signs anywhere," Elizabeth shot back, looking angrier by the second.
"Listen kid-- hey, you her mother?" the man said, redirecting his attention to Insaf, who blinked.
"I am indeed Elizabeth's mother," Insaf said curtly, using her daughter's name forcefully.
"Tell her she can't just romp around and act like the place belongs to her. That meat isn't for you lot," the man said.
"Says who?" Elizabeth asked indignantly.
Insaf glanced at the pair before turning to Elizabeth, feeling slightly disturbed. "Sweetheart," she hissed, "just leave it and move on. We don't need anymore trouble after we've just got here."
Elizabeth looked tempted to argue but sagged at the last second, throwing the meat back onto it's plate (and it still looked strange to Insaf) before storming off. Insaf forced a smile to her lips but did not get one in return, telling her it was time to go elsewhere.
