first { video

[gleans]

[ The communicator comes on in the middle of some confused button-pressing, so don't be alarmed when it goes from video to audio, then back to video. Have a nice view of Galen's face at an awkward angle. ]

-- ou mean, new home? What the hell does that mean? Hello? Jesse?

[ The angle gets a little less weird as he lifts the communicator to eye level and peers at it under his glasses. He then drops them back onto his nose and moves his arm back a few inches from his face, showing the ajar front door of one of the houses (number sixteen, actually) behind him. ]

Hello? Can anyone hear this? What the fuck just happened to me? [ He swallows anxiously and looks around the area outside the house. ] ... Hello?

Comments

[porcelainpride]

I'm in the Glee club at my school. I want to go to New York after graduation.

[gleans]

Yeah? Julliard, I'm just... assuming. [ He turns the mug over in his hands, glances over at the kettle. ]

[porcelainpride]

Unfortunately no. There's no musical theater program there. [As if on cue, the kettle starts whistling.] What kind of tea?

[gleans]

Green? I really don't care, I'll drink anything at this point. [ A small smile. Then -- ] So where in New York is it that you want to go?

[porcelainpride]

Green it is. I prefer Earl Grey, myself. There's enough to make cupcakes, too. [He pours the hot water, then glances over his shoulder, eyebrow arched.] You have to ask?

[Cue striking a pose and saying dramatically --] Broadway, darling~

[gleans]

[ Galen snorts, but in a good-natured way. It's good to see a kid who knows what he wants and is apparently totally unashamed about it. ]

Oh, well, see, I thought you meant for school. Straight to broadway, huh? [ Eyebrow raise. ] I'm gonna have to get you to sing for me.

[porcelainpride]

Well, I'm still deciding on schools. But naturally if someone recognizes my talent and offers to cast me in a genderswapped version of "Wicked", I won't say no.

[He'll stack the mugs, some sugar and honey and even a few stale cookies on a tray and bring it over to the table.] You're saying it like it'll be hard. I'd be happy to sing.

[gleans]

[ He grins and saunters over to the table. ] Cool. Best of luck with the broadway thing, man, you seem like you really want it.

[porcelainpride]

This is all assuming that I make it out of here alive. [Heaviest of heavy sighs.]

[gleans]

[ He frowns and sits. ... And hopes that's just Kurt being melodramatic. ] Sure you will. It already looks like you've got a pretty tight community here, we'll be fine. [ He reaches for his mug. ]

[porcelainpride]

[Kurt? Melodramatic? Perish the thought! He'll sit and squeze a lot o honey into his mug and sigh.] Everyone here is very nice, true. But that's no guarantee we're making it out of here.

[gleans]

[ Galen makes a slight face and adds some honey to his, too. ] Not with that attitude. There's no way I'm not getting out of here. Maybe I don't know how the hell it's gonna happen, yet, but. It's gonna happen.

[porcelainpride]

...well, it's good to have some optimism around here, I guess. [He'll stir his tea, then take a polite sip.]

[gleans]

[ A little laugh, and he takes a sip. ] Yeah, optimism and stubbornness. I have a career and a relationship to get home to. ... Not that you don't, but.

[porcelainpride]

Oh? You have a special someone waiting for you?

[gleans]

Yup. [ He hides his little smile behind his mug, trying to focus on that instead of what happens if he doesn't get home soon. ] Aaaaand he's probably gonna shit a brick in a few hours.

[porcelainpride]

Uh-oh. [There's a pause while he stirs his tea.] ...maybe we're in another dimension and time doesn't pass back home?

[gleans]

That's, uh -- that's kind of a stretch, but I'll take it.

[porcelainpride]

Nothing's a stretch anymore, for me. I'll choose the theories that don't result in my dad having another heart attack when he realizes I'm gone.

[gleans]

[ Erg, he feels that. ] Yeaaah, I'll go with you on that one. Road of least freakouts. [ A sip of tea. ] That's probably the last thing my dad needs, too.

[porcelainpride]

Mmm, mine already doesn't take very good care of himself. [Soft sigh as he stirs his tea.] What's yours like?

[gleans]

Mm, that's not good. [ He taps at his mug with a finger. ] Uh, he's cool. Doing pretty well for his age, but I guess embalming people has a weird way of keeping you young. [ ... Maybe that's only funny to him. Okay. ] He still lives in Yonkers, and I live in Manhattan, so we don't see each other a whole lot, but.

[porcelainpride]

Oh. He's an...embalmer? Embalmist? [What's the correct term anyways.]

[gleans]

Embalmer. Mortician, actually. That's embalming and cremating and funeral directing. Now that's a glamorous job. [ A small grin. ]

[porcelainpride]

Oh. My dad's a mechanic. A little less...gory.