Doreen & Julian: Comics, Applications and Cars

[x-squirrel.livejournal.com]

Doreen gets Julian to take her to the Comic Shop, only to attempt to get a job application. A short quiz later and it's hers! ((For the curious, yes, the old comic shop guy totally has Stan Lee for a PB. :D ))

Dori walked with a skip in her step. Today was Wednesday. And though that didn’t mean much to most of the population to her it was a shiny and amazing day. Today was New Comic Book day. And Julian was taking her. At least, he better be. Monkey Joe rode peacefully on her shoulder as they approached her unsuspecting friend, “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”

"Hey, Dori," Julian smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "Ready to head to Uncle Stan's?" It was nice to know that no matter who hated him, Dori would never be among that number. She was a real and true friend.

“Yes!” Doreen said, “Monkey Joe and I are totally ready to go,” she was bouncing with excitement, “Are we going to take your car? Can we take your car? Please?”

"Of course we can!" Julian chuckled, "It would have been pretty weird of me to buy a car and not use it." They started toward the garage, where his acid green baby was stored under a custom cover-slip. "Hope you don't mind us driving with the top up though, it's a little chilly today."

“Yeah, I don’t mind. I just want a chance to ride in it,” Doreen said cheerfully. The car was above and beyond what she was half-expecting, half praying for on her sixteenth birthday. The gift that had never come. Of course, Julian’s family was rich even by Beverly Hill’s standards.

"I'd let you barrow it to do your road test if the insurance covered other drivers, Dori," he said, holding open the door to the garage.

“It’s okay. I’ll take one of the other cars when I’m ready. I’m not sure I am yet, I mean, it’s kinda complicated,” Doreen said, “But it’s also really fun, so I don’t know.”

Pulling the cover off the car as a magician would pull the table cloth from beneath a five course dinner, Julian balled it up and dropped it behind his usual parking space. "How does Monkey Joe like it?"

“Wow,” Doreen said, and Monkey Joe also stared, “It’s really cool.”

"For a half-a-million dollars it better be cool," Julian opened the butterfly door upward for Dori and Monkey Joe. Once his friends were inside he closed it firmly and walked around to his side, the key fob in hand to start the engine up. Inside the car, "You have to see this, it's so awesome." Starting up the vehicle Julian grinned and spoke clearly, "Uncle Stan's Comic World."

A crisp female voice announced, "Charting Route."

"I've already got the voice command programmed."

“That’s so cool,” Doreen said, looking around, trying to find the computer, “The car should drive itself. Can it do that yet?”

Julian laughed, "Oh no, not if I have anything to say about it." Putting on the sunglasses he'd gotten with the vehicle, he quickly veered out of the garage and down the drive, kicking up a wake of leaf-litter.

“I suppose that would take a lot of the fun out of it,” Doreen said as they drove into town, “I can’t wait to get there!”

"Big comic book week?" Julian inquired, taking a turn well above the advised speed.

“They’re all big. I just want to see if they’re hiring at all,” Dori said happily. It’d be the perfect job.

The car swerved slightly though it was hardly noticeable. "Wait, you're getting a job...at the comic shop?"

“I want to,” Doreen said, “I mean, it’d make money for Christmas and it’d be a really fun job and I don’t think the guys there care I have a tail.”

"Isn't that kind of like getting a fox to guard the hen house...when the hell did I start talking in cliches?" Julian wasn't sure which he was more disturbed about. "If you're trying to get a job, we shouldn't have taken a less expensive car."

“I wanted to ride in this car though!” Doreen said, it accented with a click, “And I won’t spend all my money here because I’m sure they’ll let me read while I work and I’m going to be saving money. That way Mom and Grandpa don’t have to worry about having to get me things.”

A pang of guilt hit Julian and a wave of depression washed over him once more, "Sorry I can't get you things anymore, Dori." It was out of the blue and out of his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. "I mean...well, you know."

“I don’t care about that,” Doreen said, “Why would I ever care about that? I just want a job. Even if your parents weren’t jerks, I’d still want to get a job.”

Julian smirked, pressing the guilt and shame down below a wave of false-optimism. "Maybe once you start working for Uncle Stan, you can pay for one of the movies you're going to drag me too." He paused, "I'm not seeing New Moon with you, by the way."

“Ugh, why would I ever go see that?” Doreen said, with a shudder, “Twilight sucks so much. There’s way better vampire movies out there.”

"At least we have that in common," Julian smiled reaching over to tussle Dori's hair in an elder brother sort of fashion.

“Don’t ever accuse me of liking Twilight again,” Doreen said, sticking her tongue out at Julian, though she was giggling.

"Okay, okay," he mocked in reply. The ride into town seemed over before it even began and before they knew it, the trio was pulling into their usual parking space just up the block from Uncle Stan's Comic Shop. "So you going to ask about a job first or get some books before you do?"

“I don’t know… I figure I’d just ask. I mean, lots of places are hiring around Christmas, right?” Doreen asked, thinking about it.

"Alright, alright," Julian said as they entered the store. "Hey Shelly," he waved to the blond who nodded back while setting down the latest issue of vogue. Turning to Doreen, Julian smirked, "I'm going to go check-out the latest issue of Fables, good luck, kay?"

“Thanks,” Doreen said, to the wish of luck and then took a deep breath. There was always the chance that no matter how well they treated her when she shopped that they’d look right at her tail and the claws and laugh at the idea of actually hiring her. This was going to take a second of build up.

Stan closed the door to the basement with his foot, a stack of comics in his hands and a bottle of Coca-Cola waiting for him back at the counter. His doctor had advised him to switch to diet, but the crisp and rich taste in the classic glass bottle was just too tempting for the old man. He spotted one of his favorite customers from across the store and hurried toward the counter, passing several boys who were ogling Shelly from behind the racks of newer releases. "Careful boy," he'd say with a chuckle as he passed, "she's more dangerous than Black Widow Classic."

Setting the stack down on the counter he smiled and picked up his coke bottle. "Dori, what can we do for you today?"

“Uh…. I was… wondering, if I could maybe get an application? If that’s okay,” Doreen managed to say, not stumbling over the words nearly as much as she could have.

A little surprised, Stan raised a single white eyebrow over the top rim of his glasses, "Application? What are you applying for?"

“A job?” Doreen offered, her tail drooping a bit. Maybe they weren’t hiring and now she looked like a total idiot. It had happened before.

Stan stroked his white mustache and thought for a moment before blurting out, "What is Superman's real name?"

“Kal-El,” Doreen said, with a no-duh tone of voice, “His dad is named Jor-El. His fortress of solitude was grown out of crystals left with him when he was a baby and is at the North Pole.”
"Who wrote the Dark Knight Returns?" he said with a smile, surprised she hadn't answered Clark Kent to his previous question.

“Frank Miller,” Doreen said happily.

"What kind of pet does Hellboy keep?"

“Cats,” Doreen said, smiling, “Hellboy keeps cats.”

"Well, well, well, you know your stuff alright, but let's see if you get this one right." Stan smiled and crossed his arms over his chest, "Who's the most important man in comic books today?"

“Character wise? Batman. Totally Batman. Though you could argue Spider-Man or Superman. Iron Man maybe, because of the Avengers,” Doreen said after giving it a moment of thought, “But if you’re talking writer wise, Stan Lee will always be the most important man comic book wise. And if you’re talking about shop owners, totally you. Because this place is even cooler than the shop back home in L.A.”

"Good answer kiddo," he turned toward the blond girl who had been eves dropping. "Shelly, get this girl an application." Taking a drink, "Fill it out, talk to your parents and make sure everything is in the clear, then turn it back in and we'll talk about a job."

“Um,” Doreen paused, “My Mom is out in California, but it’s okay with her if I have a job. And I’m sixteen, so it should be all cool,” she pointed out, “I can get a note if you want. Or a note from my boarding school.”

"Talk to them then and make sure it's okay," he smiled in a fatherly way. "Just to be on the safe side, alright?"

“Oh, it’s totally okay. I’ll bring back a note with my application,” Doreen said, almost bouncing up and down, “I promise. I’ll be a really good employee if you hire me. I really will.”

Just then Julian approached, "Ready to go, Dori?"

Doreen bounced happily, “I’ve got an application. I just need a note from the school or something like that,” she said, her tail up happily.

"Hey, good news then, I didn't think Stan would shoot you down though. Did you want to check some stuff out before we head out?" Julian tried to ignore Shelly as she stared at him over her magazine.

Doreen giggled, “She’s checking you out,” she said, with a nod to Shelly.

Julian just rolled his eyes and started toward the door, maybe if Dori started working here, he could come in without worrying about getting ogled by the flatscans.