Wonder Which Saint (Joan) (Open) (INACTIVE)

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

Joan pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders as she huddled in the doorway. Though the sky was blue and the sun was out, she was freezing. Her stomach cramped and she glanced up and down the streets, hoping to spot a passerby. She shifted her position, nudging the tiny coffee cup out in front of her. It had a picture of St. Michael on it. Joan wasn't sure how the saint felt about his image being used for advertising, she hadn't asked him, but she doubted he'd mind her using the cup. At least if he did, he hadn't said anything. And he always told her when he was displeased with her so...Joan figured she was safe.

The rattling of change made her look up. An older woman dropped a handful of coins into the cup.
"Merci," Joan whispered, ducking her head. She hated begging this way, but it was her only choice. She couldn't starve and she refused to steal. The woman smiled, nodded, and walked away. Joan picked up the cup and stared into it. Dumping the coins onto the sidewalk, she counted, using her fingers. Math was never her thing. She had a few dollars so far. Not enough to get breakfast.

Sighing, she dropped the coins back into the bucket. She slumped back against the doorway, watching the people. Her gaze traveled up to the building behind her. She hoped that the owner hadn't noticed her presence. She was finally somewhat comfortable and she didn't want to have to run for it again. Joan had been chased off three times already this morning. She hugged her knees, resting her head against the doorjamb. Perhaps her Saints would smile on her and send her someone to talk to. Though she wasn't a terribly social person, she was getting desperate for the sound of a fresh voice.

[PENELOPE LAFONTAINE]

Penelope was walking along. Just walking. She was restless at home so decided she'd walk around town and get some air. As she was turning a corner, she came across a woman - girl more like it - begging for money, holding out a cofee mug for people to drop change into. Smiling, she watched the girl look up as change was tossed into the mug with a noisy clang.

She heard a whispered "Merci" and her smile grew wider. "Hey, you're not French-Canadian are you?" She asked as she dropped a ten-dolalr bill into the girl's mug. "My parents were from Montreal, but I grew up in Toronto. It sures feels weird living in a country without public healthcare. My name's Penelope by the way." ...

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

Joan lifted her head at the woman's voice. "N-no," she stammered, "My parents were French. I'm from Iowa." She tried to smile but her heart was racing. This...Penelope was from Toronto. She was one of them. A Canadian. Suppose she was a spy, sent by the government to find Joan? What if she was supposed to capture her or worse?

Joan stumbled to her feet, leaning against the wall. She couldn't just run away. That would look suspicious. Besides, the woman might have useful information. And maybe she wasn't after Joan . Maybe she was just an innocent bystander. "Nah,. She has to have come here for a reason. Maybe she knows what her government is going to do and wants to help me stop it!' If that was the case, then Joan definitely wanted to befriend this girl. "So..so...how did you end up in New York?

[PENELOPE LAFONTAINE]

Penelope smiled at the nervous girl, hoping it would calm her a little.

"Oh, I came here for university. I was going to head right back home, but I ended up landing a great job here, so I stayed," She raised her arms up in an all-encompassing gesture "And so here I am. I don't know how long I'll stay though. The healthcare system here is rather painful to deal with when you're so used to getting pretty much everything for free. And I miss my family. I don't like being so far away from them."

Penelope looked at the girl, and began to laugh lightly. "But what would you care? I'm sorry you had to listen to me blabber on like that. I hope you have good luck today." She smiled again and was about head on her way, when a sense of courtesy stopped her. She turned around, back to the girl. "By the way, I never did get your name. I'm Penelope, if you didn't catch it before." She said, as the girl leaned against the wall...

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

"Joan." She held out her hand, surprised by her own gesture. Well, she told herself, she did want to find out about this girl. "And it's ok. I don't get many people who stand and talk to me." Joan shuffled her feet. Actually, no one stood around and talked to her. Most people just dropped money into her cup and left. Some didn't even do that. They just hurried by as if she didn't exist.

But this girl who was supposed to be the enemy, stood and visited with her, as if she was a normal human being, instead of a delusional freak. Joan shook her head. Of course, not all Canadians were bad, she reminded herself. Just the ones coming to take over the country. and even those she felt sorry for. Maybe she could convince them to leave, when the time came.

She flicked her gaze away from Penelope. "I miss my family, too." The words flew from her mouth before she could stop them. "They're back in Iowa and I...I haven't seen them in a really long time." She toyed with her necklace. "anyway, you probably have stuff to do so...I'll see you around." She waved at the girl. "And...and thanks. For the money. And talking to me. It was nice."

[PENELOPE LAFONTAINE]

"Nice to meet you Joan. I hope I get to see you again. And I'm sorry for whatever happened that made you leave home and end up here. You're one of the nicer people I've met in this city. Go figure." Penelope laughed quietly, taking the homeless girl's hand.

As Penelope turned to leave again, a thought came to her mind. This girl ought to get some help. She seemed like a nice enough girl, and it was hard to imagine what drove her to the streets like this. She smiled at the girl onced more, and headed back to her apartment so she could do the laundry and water her little vegetable garden.....

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

"Thank you," Joan called out, watching the other girl go. When she had gone, Joan shook her head. Will wonders never cease, she thought. Here she was, homeless in New York, waiting for a sign from her Saints, and she'd met a Canadian. There had to be a reason for it, of course. The girl didn't seem to know what was going on though....perhaps Joan was supposed to recruit her? She sighed and slumped back down onto the sidewalk, putting her head in her hands. Right now, she was too tired and hungry to try to figure it out. Later, after she'd eaten, maybe it would make more sense. And maybe her Voices would come and explain. Leaning her head back against the wall, Joan closed her eyes and listened to the people passing by.

[eastsidesunset]

Chocolate milk, eggs, flour, hair grease. Chocolate milk, eggs, flour, hair grease. And a book from the library, I added to my mental checklist. Chocolate milk, eggs, flour, hair grease, book. Muttering the words under my breath so --I hoped-- I wouldn't end up forgetting something, I walked towards the nearest grocery shop. What else did Darry want me to get? Oh, right. Paper towels. I should've at least brought a bag or something to carry it all in. Too late now. I was a block away from the store.

Still muttering the list quietly, I slipped into the shop and found extra-large sizes of the cheapest brands of everything like we always did and put them into a shopping basket before heading over to the till. The guys hung out around at our house so much that this would all disappear within a week, I estimated. Darry grumbled about that sometimes but he'd never not let them take, eat, and use whatever they wanted.

I grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a couple chocolate bars last minute at the till, then rummaged in my pocket for some bills. One reason we always came to this shop was because they let anyone buy cigarettes as long as you had the money. I guess that was sorta illegal but heck, this shop wasn't what you'd call clean, either.

So I paid for the stuff and the cashier bagged it and I shouldered the door open, carrying everything kinda awkwardly since the paper towels were really bulky but light and the chocolate milk was heavy. Maybe I'd skip the trip to the library today, I decided.

That was when I walked right into someone sitting on the sidewalk. I stumbled with all the bags, but caught myself and was already muttering a string of "sorry"s before I even looked down to see who it was I'd tripped on.

It turned out to be a panhandling girl with a coffee cup with a picture of some guy on it. She was skinny, and looked young but it was hard to tell sometimes. I hadn't seen her around here before. Though it was true that more and more people were homeless in New York these days.

"Sorry," I repeated apologetically, "Wasn't looking where I was going."

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

Joan scrambled backwards, eying the stranger warily. She wasn't hurt, not really. But still. Suppose he meant to take her cup? Her gaze traveled down and she sighed in relief. Her little mug was still there, with its change. She moved it closer to her, glancing back up at the boy. He had apologized after all. "That's alright," she said, her voice low and hoarse. "I'm OK." She picked up a package of cigarettes. "I think these are yours." Holding them out, she waited for him to take them.

[eastsidesunset]

The girl looked at me distrustfully, pulling her mug closer to her like I'd take it or something, and I guess I couldn't blame her. I opened my mouth to say something like "I won't take your money" but I realized I was creating a bit of a roadblock and instead of saying something which would probably just sound stupid the moment it was out, I moved out of the way of passer-bys and pressed myself into the same wall the girl leaned against.

I hadn't even realized I'd dropped it when she handed me the slightly- squished pack of cigarettes. "Thanks," I said, awkwardly putting down one of the bags of stuff then stuffing the small box inside. "Uh, you want a chocolate bar? I mean, I'd give you actual money but I don't have much to start with. Sorry." I pulled out a Mars bar and offered it to her, smiling to myself a little at the idea of chocolate as a peace offering. Soda would appreciate the idea.

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

"Thanks." Joan took the bar and stuffed it into her pocket. She'd save it for later. "So...you shop at this store much? You don't think the owner minds me sitting out here, do you?" Heat rose to her cheeks the moment the words had left her mouth. Why had she asked him that? It wasn't as if he and the store owner knew each other personally. This kid couldn't tell her whether she'd get chased off or not.

"Sorry, I know that was a stupid question. I don't think sometimes..." Her voice trailed off and she ducked her head. 'Way to be brilliant, Joan.' She chewed her lip. Her habit of blurting out the first thing that came into her head was getting worse.

"Look, you should probably go. I"m sure whoever sent you out here to get groceries is expecting you, and they probably wouldn't like you talking to someone like me. Thanks, again, for the chocolate." Joan smiled up at him and glanced away.

It was for his own good, she told herself. Really. as much as she liked having someone to talk to, she didn't want him getting into trouble because of her. And he would. She could feel it. Most grownups didn't want their children talking to beggars. Most adults didn't want to talk to beggars. She licked her lips. "I'm fine, really. You don't have to stay and talk to me. Besides, you look like you're gonna drop all that stuff. And don't worry, about the money. Free food's better." She smiled again, crookedly.

[eastsidesunset]

"So...you shop at this store much? You don't think the owner minds me sitting out here, do you?"

I shrugged. "Probably not, I mean, he pretty much lets you do whatever s'long as you're not chasing his customers away or nothing. You might've noticed, not a ton of people come here. They prefer the big shopping center over there." I pointed to a few blocks down, where the massive three-story building could be easily seen even from here. Even now, people were swarming in clusters towards it, and you could tell this dirty little shop was as invisible to them as we were.

"Sorry, I know that was a stupid question. I don't think sometimes..."

I grinned, and told her, "Don't worry, I do that a lot too. And boy do people let me know it. She was still looking edgy, but there wasn't a lot more I could do about it. I'd tried. I mean, normally I wouldn't even say this much to some random person on the street. There was a moment of silence then she spoke again, telling me I should go home and thanking me for the chocolate. Saying I didn't have to stay and talk to her.

I stopped for a moment, wondering if she really just wanted to be alone and was too polite to say so or if she did want company, but my kind. Either way, though, one thing was certain: she wanted me gone. Blunt, but probably the truth. It made sense, I reasoned with myself, but somehow I was a bit disappointed.

"Well, alright then, I'll get going," I mumbled, straightening up carefully. Honestly... I wasn't even sure why I felt so isolated all of a sudden. From the whole world of people who just didn't give a damn whether I tried or not. Sheesh. Talk about an overreaction.

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

"You don't have to," Joan blurted, reaching for his arm. She ducked her head, heat leaping into her face. "i..I mean, you can stay if you want. I...I just thought that maybe...you know...your family wouldn't want...wouldn't want you to..to talk to someone like me." She chewed her lip. "But...but if you want to stay, it...it's ok." She shifted on the stoop to make room for him. Those bags looked heavy. "So...so do you...do you live around here?" She wracked her brain for something to say, studying him all the while.

She hoped he didn't think she was pathetic, or crazy. Besides he seemed as lonely as she did, and almost disappointed that she'd asked him to go. Perhaps he was as lonely as she was. Maybe he just wanted a friend, too. Joan smiled at the thought. Two potential friends in one day. The Lord had truly blessed her, and she said a silent prayer of thanks.

[eastsidesunset]

I nodded, put the bags down by my feet and sat next to her, pulling my knees towards my chest and wrapping my arms around them. "Yeah, I live a few blocks down over in Windrixville. And don't worry about the family thing, my brothers won't mind," I reassured her. "They're kinda used to me taking ages to get back home from errands anyway."

I glanced around quickly for bored cops that might be around, then lit a cigarette, taking a deep puff of it. Smoking was really just comforting more than anything else."You have a bit of an accent," I noted curiously after a few seconds of silence, looking at the girl with my head slightly tilted, "Where're ya from?" She sounded a bit like Meg, I thought. Which wouldn't be that rare in a city as big as New York, but still.

A raindrop landed on my arm, and I looked up at the darkening sky in surprise. People on the streets were starting to quicken their footsteps, probably hoping to get wherever they were going fast and outrun the weather. A small gust of wind blew a few more raindrops towards us, and I took a last drag on my smoke before I stamped it out. Now what?

[JEHANNE MARIE D'ARC]

Joan smiled up at him. "I'm from France, originally, a little town called Domremy. We moved to the United States when I was ten." She settled back against the building. "Thank you for staying and talking to me. Most people don't." She jumped as a raindrop landed on her head and sighed. "I think it is starting to rain again. She glanced up and down the street, racking her brain. Where would she go if the weather got worse? She couldn't very well go into the store, she didn't have enough money to buy anything. But she couldn't risk staying out here. If she got sick, the authorities would know where she was and she would end up in another institution. Glancing back up at the boy, she asked, "Do you know somewhere I could go? To get out of the rain?"