Mermaids Would Sing • •

[cressida taylor cartier]

If anyone was to look at Sid right in the current moment, they would never in a million years believe that the woman had once been a pageant queen. She had dried mud on her jeans and puffer jacket, not to mention beneath her chipped burgundy nails. Her long blonde braids were matted, frizzes of hair having escaped while they still could. And yet she was sitting in the small glass fronted building that was the base for the Adventure tour business she ran with some of her closest friends. Adventour was still a name she laughed at, but it was simple enough and eye-catching on the brochures they piled into every New York hotel and information centre. She was rarely ever in the office unless she was collecting a group from there with Sam, the minibus driver that worked for them. She had friends in the group who ran most of the ‘in-house’ business and made sure they were staying afloat. Sid was the one who got messy, who laughed crassly and who was the first to dive into something new and unknown.

However, there was always something she was neglecting to do. In this specific incident it was forgetting to upload months of reviews and comments from those who had used their company while in the city. They needed the responses so that they knew where to improve or if it was a good idea to change any of the prices. Sid had kept all the handwritten slips, but they had been in her apartment, tossed into a deep bowl that was probably once intended for fruit. She had it on the reception desk, sitting there while her co-workers and friends went and grabbed a quick lunch break. If anyone were to come in now they’d be greeted by a very enthusiastic but very dirty blonde. She didn’t bring spare clothes when she only had one booking in. It had been a morning escape to just outside of the city limits. They had a centre there where people could climb walls and scaffolding that was designed to offer a challenge. Some companies used it for team building exercises, which was exactly what Cressida had overseen that morning. A chilly 8am start and a lot of people desperate for hot coffee by the end of the three hours. She had ended up half caked in mud after offering to help the team clamber up the tower rungs, which was supposed to be a group effort with people climbing on each other and using support and the ropes to make it to the top. Alas, Sid had found herself on her ass plenty of times trying to guide them through it all. She was used to it though; it was a difficult climb for a reason. So far only a college football team had done it without too many disasters.

Sid wasn’t a computer kind of person. She had a laptop at home which was only used for online shopping when she needed something. If she was sick she might use it in bed for Netflix, but most of the time it was on the bottom of the coffee table. Sitting at the desk now, trying to type up all the reviews and file them properly in the spreadsheet system that had been designed for efficiency, Sid could feel her soul leaving her body. It wanted an adventure, not a glaringly bright screen. Being outside was where Sid thrived, but put her in an office and she could feel a darkness creeping in. Thankfully she was rarely ever sitting here. She heard the click of the door and looked up with a polite smile. That smile turned into a loud groan when she recognised that it was just Shelby approaching the desk. “What would I have to do to get you to input all these scraps of paper?” She shook the bowl like it was a raffle barrel. “Please?” It was no secret that she hated the idea of office work or anything that came remotely close to it; even if it was for her own business.

• • •

TAGGED! Shelby Montgomery Creek
WORDS! 691!
LYRICS! Never Never Land - - - Stephanie J Block
NOTES! <3

[Shelby Montgomery Creek]

Shelby had lived a life of adventure, constantly doing something wild and outlandish as a child and teenager. He lived for the rush of adrenaline that ran through his veins when he did something crazy. He was fearless and loved every second of it. That's probably why he couldn't sit around and do nothing. Being in the hospital had just about killed him, never mind the horrendous accident he'd been in. But then, he'd been so drugged up that he couldn't even tell you how long he was in the hospital from his own knowledge, just what everyone else told him. After he'd healed up, he'd been a little apprehensive to return to the slopes but really, who wouldn't be? He did it because the itch to be flying down that powdered hill had been too much to resist. He'd needed a board under his feet. Bunny hill, smaller slopes, slowly working towards the hills that had been his favourites. Shelby would never snowboard competitively ever again but he could enjoy an afternoon on a mountain once in a while.

Every waking part of his day for most of his life had been dedicated for snowboarding, with a couple of hours here and there for homework and house chores. The summers gave him more chances to spend a little time with his friends and reminding people he was still actually a teenager and needed to let out some steam. But people still expected a little bit more from him because he was a bit of a local sports hero. After his accident, Shelby had needed to find other things to keep him busy because he wasn't on the slopes or in the gym all hours of the day and night. He'd been a teenager during the highest highs of his life and still so young when he'd been told he would probably never snowboard again, that even the simple task of walking would be a difficult one. Shelby had always been a stubborn boy growing up and had only turned into a stubborn man. He would walk again just as well as anyone else, with the exception of a few twinges here and there when the weather was about to turn bad. It had ultimately taken a very long recovery and a move across the country to really lift Shelby out of the funk he'd been in. He hated how people would whisper around him and just wanted to go somewhere he wasn't instantly recognisable. New York seemed to be the place to get lost in a crowd, so it was the city he'd picked out of a hat to venture to.

He'd been lucky to find a building that called to him, lucky to have skills beyond snowboarding that he could use to make money and keep himself busy. So many were so unlucky in that aspect that he was very grateful his parents had loved cars so damn much; and that his little sister had such a brilliant mind. Without the cars, and later the bar, Shelby would have been a shell of his former self. Although, he had made friends who enjoyed adventure trips that didn't include flying down a hill going faster than you ever reached in New York traffic. Those trips were the very reason Shelby was walking through the door to the Adventour office. The grin that split his face was filled with understanding at the groan that came from Sid. He hated the office stuff that he had to do to keep his and his sister's businesses running; which was why he usually let Mitchie do all that junk and he worked on the cars or behind one of the numerous bars scattered through the Museum building. "A hot kiss and a cold beer." He said instantly, not even taking a second to think about his answer. He was usually good for a quick quip like that so it wouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary.

♦ ♦ ♦

TAG; cressida taylor cartier
WORDS; 664
LYRICS; Whoa --Chase Rice
NOTES; <3

[cressida taylor cartier]

Sid was happy with dirt on her face and a few minor scrapes on her palms. Her complaints about bruises or slight injuries always came with a grin. Even if she had to go to hospital – like the time ziplining had broken her collarbone – she was still laughing in the hospital bed. If she hurt herself having a good time then at least there was a fun story to tell. Sure, some tour groups looked a little wary if their guide showed up with a bandage or a wrist splint, but Sid was often being cautious after a niggling feeling. Often, they would embrace her passion for adventure sports after they saw her energetic approach to it all. She was already looking at ways to add more options to their brochure. They had plenty, and it changed with the seasons, but Sid tried so many things outside of work that she wanted to bring them into the business. The only snag was the paperwork that came with it. She was happy enough to add more instructor training to her repertoire, but then there was health and safety to consider, the purchasing of any new equipment, and other legal barriers they sometimes had to push against. It was all doable, but Sid was oftentimes impatient, and thankfully most of that stuff wasn’t put on her shoulders. In fact, she heavily suspected that one of her friends who ran the company with her deliberately kept her away from meetings with the lawyers. It was probably a wise choice since Sid would likely have opened her mouth and told a tale she shouldn’t have. Her college degree was in Travel and Tourism – not business.

The very thought of being in an office, confined in office wear, made Sid shudder. She came through that door in leggings and hoodies, her hiking boots or sneakers often covered in dirt that needed cleaning up once she left again. Sid needed the outdoors. There was a time years ago when she would have scoffed at that very thought, but she had come a long way from being the hometown beauty queen who had expensive make-up brands and salon treated hair. If she walked into her old salon now, they’d be horrified at the state of her. However, Sid swore that mud was just as good for the hair as it was for the skin. Sure, it got knotty and wild at the end of a busy day, but a good comb and conditioner sorted most of that out if she was heading out for a night on the town – which she was often eager to do. It was a different kind of celebration and she loved snagging the pool table for the night, or grabbing pizza and drinks with friends. It was all fun, just wrapped up in a different bow.

The bowl of little papers didn’t seem to be emptying any – and Sid was a fast typist. Everything was digital these days, and she wasn’t the type to be left behind while everyone else raced ahead; it didn’t matter what the topic was. But this was dull and tedious, and since she was alone, she couldn’t put headphones in without coming across as rude to any prospective customers who came through the door. Thankfully, Shelby was a familiar face and she had no problem letting him know how much she hated doing all of this admin work. Leaning back in her seat, she pretended to think his offer over for a moment. “Depending on how hot you want that kiss, I could do that here and now. As for the beer, I can buy you one after you’re done or run now and grab you a six pack.” She offered, with just a hint of a smile. This distraction was a welcome one, and they’d only shared a few short words.

• • •

TAGGED! Shelby Montgomery Creek
WORDS! 647!
LYRICS! Never Never Land - - - Stephanie J Block
NOTES! <3