} 052 - [PUBLIC, VIDEO] - the (more awkward than) glorious return

[creatingalegacy]

[When the camera comes on, Amanda's room is visibly different; the bleak concrete warehouse space turned into a very small studio apartment between her departure and return. The apartment is pretty sparsely furnished, but it still looks much less stark and cold than her former setup.

Amanda herself looks fine, if a bit anxious. She feels incredibly out of place as a warden, but she's determined.]

So...

[There's slightly awkward pause.]

I'm back.

[Yet another, but shorter, pause.]

How long has it been since I left, in Barge-time? I spent two weeks in New York. Y'know, checking out what I left behind, setting things in order, that kind of shit. Getting closure.

[She resettles herself in the chair she's occupying, sitting up straighter and projecting an image of greater confidence. Even if she doesn't quite feel it, she wants everyone to think she does. Even her voice sounds more assured, bordering on her good ol' cocksure tone.]

I know I just got back and everything, but I'm all ready for the Admiral to give me an inmate. Can't start soon enough, as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, are there warden positions open in maintenance and repair or the engine room? Working with my hands helps me focus.

[She definitely has more detailed things to say about her trip, but right now, only to people she knows she can trust; at a later date, when it isn't all so fresh, she'll likely talk about it on a public filter.]

Comments

private (somehow this pairing grows better and better)

[surrenders]

Bet you could.

MIssed you while you were gone.

private (hell yes it does xD)

[creatingalegacy]

[She looks a little touched. Even after graduating, she's not used to having people around who'd miss her, and she still doesn't exactly know the right thing to say in reply.]

Would you believe Jill paid for a burial plot in the same cemetery where she buried John and their son? Not too far away, either--just a few steps from the three of them. I saw it when I went to pay my respects.

I didn't have any biological family, or friends. The city should have cremated and disposed of my body like every other unclaimed corpse, but Jill...

[She starts to choke up.]

I need to save them, Lua.

private

[surrenders]

[ oh no now she wants to cry ]

They loved you. It's what you do.

[ She could mean a lot of things. ]

private

[creatingalegacy]

That's why I know I can do this, even though it means they won't remember me and my time with them will have never happened. I know that in another reality, they loved me when nobody else did. It was all twisted up into something hurtful, but they did, even if it fucked me up.

They deserve to be happy. I'm gonna give that to them.

private

[surrenders]

[ She wishes she knew how to do that, but isn't about to say that, not even to someone she trusts. ]

Then give it to them. Give them the life you think they should have had.

You're going to do this, Amanda, promise.

private

[creatingalegacy]

I hope so. I really do.

Thank you, Lua.

Re: private

[surrenders]

[ She shakes her head; no need for compliments. ] You do what you start out to, that's something I knew even before I met you.