[open] dancing queen young and sweet

[dancingmd]

who: Beverly Crusher, as a teenager
what: Flower-swap that leads to a deaged Beverly
when: April 9
where: Riverview Central Park
warnings: n/a


i. blossom picnic

[All of this is... weird, to say the least, waking up on a strange planet with no memory of how she got here, with only the word of a very concerned-looking older woman clutching a bunch of blue flowers (Nana would know what they were, surely, but it doesn't look like anything they grow on Caldos) that she's safe. She can't say why exactly, but she does trust this woman implicitly, as if she's known her all her life. So when Lucretia (the woman's name - she really is very nice) tells her she's actually thirty years older and that a magic flower turned her back into a teenager she accepts it much more readily than she ought to or normally would.

And now she's here, at a picnic, wondering if there's anyone else here that she's forgotten, anyone else who knows her as Dr. Crusher (which is cool as hell, by the way - and she's in Starfleet!!!), not plain old Beverly Howard. It's an uncomfortable thought but ice cream always makes everything better, right?

She stands staring at the menu, taking an impossibly long time to decide.]

I don't know which one I should get...

ii. dances

[Once she starts feeling more comfortable with this whole situation, she can't help but be drawn to all the dancing going on, especially out on the streets. And while adult Beverly is an excellent dancer, teenage Beverly is simply phenomenal (After all, it isn't that long ago that she won several big championships). Pretty soon, she's got a little crowd watching her tap dance on the sidewalk, her feet going at a frantic pace and her grin as big as they come.

Or perhaps later you might see her outside a jazz club arguing with a bouncer.]

Come on, I'm seventeen, that's practically the same thing! [Sorry, kid, but he remains firm. She huffs.] Yeah well... your music probably sucks anyway!

[Great comeback, A+]

iii. wildcard

[Got another prompt in mind? hmu!]

Comments

[dancingmd]

(Kittens are always a good solution!

She nods quietly.)

Thank you.

[scholiast]

Of course.

(They start to walk; they're really not that far from Beverly's place at all.)

What were you up to before this happened?

[dancingmd]

(She frowns. Her memory is a little fuzzy when it comes to that.)

I think I was in the garden. With Nana.

[scholiast]

(Lucretia can understand the timeline after a moment's pause. She nods, unable to help smiling.)

How is she?

[dancingmd]

She's fine.

(She glances at her sidelong, not suspicious exactly but at least curious. Seems like a weird thing to ask if she doesn't know Nana.)

Why do you ask?

[scholiast]

You've spoken to me about her before, that's all.

(Not in great detail, but enough for Lucretia to naturally want to ask after her.)

[dancingmd]

We must be pretty good friends, huh?

(She smiles softly.)

But yeah, she's doing well.

[scholiast]

(She nods. It's not a lie, it's just an omission of truth??)

Good, I'm glad to hear it. Are you involved with Starfleet yet?

[dancingmd]

Yet?

(Despite everything, that does get a smile out of her.)

I get in, then?

[scholiast]

Oh, oops.

(But she's smiling too.)

Yes, you certainly do.

[dancingmd]

I just applied to the academy and I have been so nervous! It takes months for them to get back to you!

[scholiast]

I know the feeling! When I applied to the IPRE I had to wait out an acceptance letter too. It was torture. I drove my mother crazy sitting in the window and watching for the mail every day.

[dancingmd]

(Beverly is trying to imagine Lucretia as a teenager and finds it difficult. She's just so... dignified and put together. Not at all the gangly mess Beverly so often is.)

Nana says I'm going to give myself an ulcer if I don't quit worrying.

[scholiast]

(She's even such a worrier at seventeen!)

Well you don't have to worry about it, now: you get in.

[dancingmd]

And you have no idea what a relief that is! I've wanted to be a doctor in Starfleet since...

(She falls quiet for a second.)

Did she... did I ever tell you about Arvada III?

[scholiast]

No, I don't think so?

What is it?

(They've reached the right apartment building; she holds the door open for Beverly.)

[dancingmd]

(She pauses outside the door with a frown.)

Is it okay if we wait until we're inside?

[scholiast]

(Lucretia only looks confused for a moment before she smooths it over.)

Of course. It's just a couple floors up.

[dancingmd]

Thanks.

(There's a pit building in her stomach as they walk up. She's never actually had to tell anyone about this before. Everyone at home just knows. If you say you're from Arvada, that's enough. They've seen the news and you get a sympathetic and uncomfortable look. People don't know what to say so they'll quickly change the subject.

When they reach her apartment, the kittens come trotting up with expectant and hungry mews, only to stop when they see her. Christie, true to form, runs to hide under the coffee table. Agatha approaches cautiously to sniff Beverly's shoe. Apparently, she passes inspection because Agatha then proceeds to butt her head against Beverly's leg. Beverly is more than happy to oblige the kitten, scooping her up to cuddle. It's hard to be too sad with a kitting purring against your chest.)

She's so little!

[scholiast]

(She can tell something's off by Beverly's silence, but she won't press until they're safely in the apartment. Even when they finally make it over the threshold and Beverly is instantly distracted by the kittens she doesn't mind; it's good, as always, to see her smile.

For a silly moment she tries to coax Christie out from under the coffee table to come say hello, but she gives that up pretty quick when she's resolutely ignored. At least Agatha is an attention seeker.)

They're both very new still. The one you have is Agatha; Christie is skulking under the table, there.

[dancingmd]

Wow. Future-me is kind of a nerd, huh?

(Sorry to break it to you, kid, it's kind of a requisite for Starfleet. Beverly makes her way over to the couch and nuzzles Agatha, who purrs loudly, like the engine of a starship. For a moment, she just sits, not sure where to begin. So:)

Arvada was the planet I grew up on.

(It's a start at least.)

[scholiast]

(Lucretia laughs, and chooses the armchair to sit in, looking instinctively into the air for Junior. Hmm. It must be in its tank.) A little, yes.

(The tone of the conversation takes a more serious turn then, and Lucretia links her hands contemplatively in her lap, nodding.)

You've mentioned the name before.

[dancingmd]

(She nods. It's not entirely surprising her older self hasn't said much more about it than that. She certainly doesn't like talking about it either.)

It was a really small colony, way out in the middle of nowhere. Even at Warp Nine, it took three weeks to get from there to Earth. Only a few other families had settled it before Nana brought us there.

(Agatha rubs her face over Beverly's hands, demanding more pets.)

Nana's really good with plants. She was supposed to help them start their greenhouses and farms.

[scholiast]

Mmm.

(She watches Agatha vying for attention as Beverly speaks, because it's a little hard to look directly at her. She seems upset, and she's only a teenager; it's sad that something happened to her at such a young age. As much as Lucretia very much wants to know whatever story she's leading up to, she's aware that this is an effort to talk about, so she clears her throat when Beverly pauses.)

You... don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to, Beverly. Please don't push yourself to talk about it for my sake. I can always ask about it later.

(Or not at all. It's not like she isn't holding a few things back from Beverly too.)

[dancingmd]

It's okay. I think... it'll be good to um... talk about it with someone besides Nana. And the therapist.

(She gently strokes Agatha's ears, lulling the kitten into a calmer state.)

Besides, she... that is, me, the older me... You must care about her a lot too, don't you?

(Why else would she be taking so much time with a teenager?)