Apartment Stoop

[Administrator]

Hang out, have a cigarette--Paulie can be found here, pestering you about keeping your apartment in well working order.

[lorenzo]

*New Day*

His mother was crying upstairs while his two younger sisters played carelessly in the back of the tenement. The sobbing was a little more than he could bear. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately and it was starting to show, both at work and home. He seemed to float around rather than walk and his lethargy was making him clumsy. Not only that, but he had lost his color and was starting to lose weight. A diet of cigarettes and coffee would do that to anybody.

Lorenzo didn't enjoy the short breaks he had in between his two jobs. It left him idle and his mind wandered to things he'd rather not think about. If he could, he'd pick up a third, but his mother was very much against it. She thought he worked too hard as it was, which was true. He didn't even have a goal for saving up all the money he had been. He worked for lack of anything better to do and would probably do it for free.

[cameo]

Cameo walked lazily, munching on the large, soft-pretzel she'd just purchased and taking in the sights of Webster Avenue. There was a small notebook tucked under her arm and a pencil behind her ear, both showing evidence of being recently used: wrinkled pages and a dull tip. Pelham Bay Park had been hosting a "Music on the Greene" for some high-toned and fancy to-do..-ers and it'd been her job to cover the event. It had been boring and not worth writing about, but Cameo was grateful The World was beginning to use her writing skills instead of just her arrangement skills. "At least it was something..." she reminded herself.

As she walked Cameo noticed a boy sitting on the stoop of one of the buildings ahead. He looked worn and pale, drawn and sad--as if he was worrying too much and sleeping too little. Her soft heart went out to him and, as she drew closer, stopped her munching and walking to look at him more closely. "You okay, honey?"

[lorenzo]

Lorenzo noticed the girl before he noticed she was talking to him. There were two more guys higher on the stood that retreated back into the apartments when she stopped in front of them, so he figured she had to be talking to him. Great. Nine out of the ten conversations he had monthly always started with the person asking, in some way, if he was okay and no matter how he was feeling the answer was always the same. "I'm fine."

[cameo]

Cameo frowned at his hardened tone. No one should be this tough at the age of sixteen, damn New York streets... Breaking her pretzel in half, she sat down on the stoop and offered it to him. "Want some? I can't eat this whole thing by my self." She knew there was a very good chance he would just get up and leave, but her conscious wouldn't let her leave without trying to reach him. "I'm Hermione, by the way. Some people call me Cameo, but it's up to you." Taking another bite of her half of the pretzel, she chewed and waited for a response--whatever it may be.

[lorenzo]

His brain and stomach sent two different messages. He wasn't hungry, but his stomach grumbled when the smell of the pretzel entered his nose. He took the pretzel earnestly and watched as she sat next to him. "Thanks." He didn't think he'd be able to keep it down, so he took little bites. Realizing just how hungry he was when he swallowed the first piece, he devoured the rest of the pretzel in two bites. "Cameo," he said more to himself, not looking at her. "Why do they call you that if that's not your name?"

[cameo]

Cameo chuckled as he wolfed down his half and wordlessly handed him the rest of hers. She wasn't even really hungry, she just bought it because it looked tasty and because she liked to munch. Dusting her hands off on her skirt, she pulled her necklace out from under her blouse and showed it to him. "Because I collect cameos. This one is my favorite so I wear it the most, but I have quite a few now." She looked down at the trinket and shrugged, "It's kind of silly I suppose, but I enjoy it so..." Cameo shrugged again and tucked the necklace away. "How bout you? You have a name or nickname of some kind?"

[lorenzo]

Lorenzo shook his head at her offer of the other half of the pretzel. True, he was hungry and could probably eat it in one swallow, but he never liked to appear too needy. He looked at her necklace, brows furrowed. He had never heard of a cameo before. He'd seen them, but never knew the name. "I like Hermoine," he stated plainly, "More syllables."

Lorenzo's eyes shifted up and down the street as his sisters ran from the back into the front in a game of tag. "Lorenzo. Nobody calls me nothin' else." He suddenly stood and as if a part of the same sentenced he yelled at his younger siblings who were almost completely out of view, "Alessandra! Milana!" The two small figures made their way back toward the stoop, continuing their game as if nothing happened.

"Except Shakes," he continued as he started to sit back down, "but that's hardly anyone."

[cameo]

She was disappointed he hadn’t accepted the other half of her pretzel as it was obvious he could use it, but wasn’t going to push the matter. Shrugging, Cameo smiled at him, "Like I said, I go by whichever." As Lorenzo introduced himself and then yelled to his younger sisters, Cameo started, surprised by the sudden raise in volume. She chuckled a little, embarrassed at how jumpy she still was even after a few months in Manhattan.

"Except Shakes, but that's hardly anyone."

Beginning her munching again, she looked at him confusedly. “Why ‘Shakes’? You don’t seem like someone who’s scared too easily…”

[lorenzo]

Lorenzo shrugged. "Just something someone made up. 'Caused they say I look nervous."He paused and looked at Hermoine, something of a smile playing on his lips, but just as quickly as it came it was gone. "Don't I look nervous to you?"

He never got his nickname. He was the first to admit he needed to cut out a good portion of the stress in his life, but nervous was something he was not.