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o p e n

CHARACTERS: Anne Cunningham
LOCATION: the kitchens
WARNINGS: Anne cursing like a sailor
SUMMARY: Anne attempts to make a sandwich, which is obviously not going to end well.
NOTES: In case you wondered, this is basically Anne cooking.

In the kitchens, there is the sound of loud, superfluous cursing. It's been going on for quite a while at this point, and the sound of it reverberates on the walls of the large kitchen. There are sandwich fixins set up around Anne, and she is attempting to put them onto bread, but keeps spilling everything everywhere. Each time she makes a mistake, she curses loudly and knocks something else over, which just leads to more cursing. It's an endless, painful cycle which doesn't seem to have any sort of happy conclusion in sight.

"God dammit," she hisses at the mayonnaise as she accidentally splatters some on the counter, and she grabs an eggs from the bowl beside her and smashes it over the pathetic attempt at a sandwich. Taking one long, defeated look at the sandwich, she scowls and smashes another egg on it.

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He raises an eyebrow just at the mention of the foods he recognizes. He of all people can understand that sometimes money just doesn't allow for proper nutrition, but it's a sorry thing if cooking skills are the only barrier. "That doesn't sound too healthy, you know."

Hoping that perhaps the other item she mentioned is something better, he adds: "And what's a tv dinner?" Televisions haven't even come out yet in his time, so the term isn't familiar. Premade packaged foods aren't too common either.

Oh. Right. Different universes. When Anne realizes this, it makes more sense. Especially since for several moments before that she was standing there wondering how he could possibly not know what a tv dinner is.

"A tv dinner is a premade meal in a little tray that you can just heat up. They come with just about any kind of food you can think of so it's pretty easy to have variety. But yeah it's... probably not all that healthy now that I think about it."

Firo blinks as he envisions that. It's really amazing what technology can do. "I don't think there's anything like that where I come from. It sounds really convenient--you don't have a lotta time on your hands?" The nature of his job usually allows him time to loiter at Alveare or cook for himself, but he knows not everybody has that.

She gives a small nod. "Not a lot of time at all. I was a prison guard back home, and that doesn't leave a lot of time for cooking. Not that I would cook anyway, but you get the point."

His mouth falls open, and he quickly looks at the sandwich as he tries to hide his surprise under the guise of making sure it's not burning. "A prison guard? Really?" In his time, he's pretty sure most if not all prison guards are guys, but that's not what's bothering him. While obviously the laws back at home have no sway here, Firo doesn't know how kindly someone on the other side of the law would treat him if his criminal activity came to light. He's a little disappointed to find out that someone who seemed pretty nice turned out to be a cop.

He forces a sarcastic laugh, "That must be a fun job."

Anne sees that barely-hidden surprise, but she's used to it from back home. It doesn't really phase her anymore. She's not used to it on the Tranquility, where there are much stranger things than prison guards running around. So his obvious shock makes her do a double take.

"Yes. Really. My father was one, and I wanted to be just like him, so..." she shakes her head. She can tell how forced the laugh is, and it at least makes her feel like she can be straight with him.

"'Fun' isn't really the word for it. I liked it. It was something I was good at. I got into it to protect the inmates. From each other. But it turns out half the job is protecting them from the other guards. There's a hell of a lot of corruption. My dad was different, so I didn't realize it until I actually got into the work but... prison guards are horrible people. It seems like a lot of them don't even see criminals as human beings and they get into the job to take advantage of the power they get. It's shitty as hell is what it is. I knew this one guard who..."

No. She really doesn't need to be getting into the Sewell end of this topic. So instead she just shakes her head.

"So no. It wasn't fun. I loved it, but there was too much shit for it to be fun. The person I'm with now was one of the inmates, so I at least owe the job that much. But that's all."

And then she pauses.

"Fuck. I went off on a tangent, didn't I? I'm sorry..." with a heavy sigh, she runs a hand over her hair. She really did that, didn't she? She talked about something personal. It was apparently a sign of the apocalypse. "Apparently you're easy to talk to. Anyone ever tell you that?" and several silent moments of looking at the sandwich abomination. "What did you do for a job? Back home."

Having spent some time in prison himself, Firo really can't argue with the need to protect inmates from each other. He saw a few prisoners inflict some brutal injuries and even considered beating the snot out of someone himself.

What does surprise him is that she'd even care. There was a warden back on Alcatraz who chatted with him a few times, but for the most part his experiences with law enforcement have taught him that they don't care what happens to criminals.

He's quiet for a moment after she stops talking, still surprised but now somewhat relieved. She actually sounds like a nice person. Finally, he smiles and shakes his head. "Nah, don't be, it's fine. I asked, didn't I?" He laughs and shakes his head, slightly embarrassed to hear that. "Um, no, but thanks."

The smile wavers a moment later; he was worried this question would come up. If he lies, he could get caught in it considering he's already mentioned his real occupation to someone on board. But she did say she was with an inmate now... So maybe the less horrible crimes don't bother her so much? Hesitantly, he replies, "Me? ...I manage a casino."

"You asked, but you didn't ask to hear my whole life story. I guess that was a little excessive." With a shake of her head, she picks up a plate, sliding the unattractive sandwich out of the pan and onto it. She casts it a despairing look.

Anne watches his smile waver, and she spends a moment focusing on reading his body language. She's nothing if not observant. "A casino? Well that's got to be a hell of a lot more interesting than my job."

He wants to tell her that it was reassuring to hear all that, but to do so would mean voicing his prejudices about people in her and her father's job. Normally he's not too shy about being blunt about such things, but she seems to have dealt with enough and doesn't need to hear it. "Hey, don't worry about it. It was interestin' to hear."

He glances at the sandwich uncertainly. "...It looks better than it did."

When she doesn't lash out--physically or verbally--he relaxes. "You think so? The people aren't always the best to be around and you kinda get used to it after a while so it's not always that interesting." He started out catching cheaters in the same place when he was a kid; the novelty's worn off by now. "I still like it, though. You can learn a lot in a place like that."

"I've got a million stories if you ever get bored," a rough little half-laugh. It's a hoarse one. She doesn't laugh much. "You see things in that job that would make most people throw up."

She follows his gaze to the sandwich. "Thanks...? Looks relatively edible, at least."

"Makes sense. I guess anything gets to feel routine after a while. Always good to have a job you like, though. I know there are people who stick with jobs they hate for years. It never made any damn sense to me."

He perks up at the prospect of stories, but bites his lip to try and keep from getting too enthusiastic. Her reaction just a few moments ago made it seem like she wasn't so fond of spilling personal stories, despite the offer. "Yeah? Well, I'll try not to ask too many questions." Yeah, that promise will last about five minutes. He's always been too nosy for his own good. "I'd imagine, bein' around a rough bunch a' people like that." Referring to both the inmates and some of the guards. Holding fast to his promise for the moment, he doesn't ask for details, even though he's curious what she's seen on her end.

He chuckles. "You'll never know until you try it."

There's a part of Firo that agrees with her, but he remembers being desperate enough that, had he been old enough, he would have taken whatever came his way. "Sometimes you gotta take what you can get, I guess. There're tons of people outta work back home who'd do anything right now."

"Ask all the questions you want. It doesn't matter," with a shrug and a nod, she considers that statement. "Yeah, there're some pretty rough people. Good people too, but not a lot of them. Looking for decent people in that prison is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, I guess you could say."

Setting the hot sandwich aside to cool, she leans her back heavily against the counter and gives it an uneasy look before turning her stare back to him. "I guess I never thought of it that way. I was thinking more of those people who have those miserable corporate level positions because they pay a lot, but they hate them. I guess we don't have a lot of that... desperation, in that world. You guys have a lot of unemployment, then?"

"Careful, I might take you up on that." He nods along to her observation. Aside from the one chatty warden and his friend Isaac, Firo can't say the people he met in prison were decent. Ladd turned out to be crazy and, though friendly, Dragon was a cannibal. And those two are the people Firo could stand to hang out with. "Yeah. Hate to say it, but maybe you're the one decent person were you work."

He tilts his head to the side. "People do that? That's stupid--who cares about all that money if you're miserable?" It's a strange thing for a camorrista to say, but Firo got into the business for his Family, not the money. So long as he's with them, he's happy. "Yeah, there's a lot. The stock market crashed a few years ago and things still haven't picked back up."

Something that looks remarkably like a smile flickers over her face and she just nods slightly. "I wouldn't mind too much. Work is something that I don't mind talking about." Even if occasionally it sometimes leads to topics she'd rather keep in the dark.

When he says that second thing, however, the smile fades somewhat. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. But I wouldn't say I'm a decent person. Let's just say there's a lot I'm not proud of." A shake of the head, and she dismisses it.

"Yeah, people do that. Back in the world I'm from people care about money a lot. Pretty materialistic and all that," she says, and then gives him a brief look of concern. "Stock market tends to do that. You're doing alright though, back home?"

Making a mental note to grill her for some good stories later, he nods and returns the smile.

He doesn't pursue the matter further, since it seems she wants to drop it. He does tend to rush into judging people, so he can't know for sure if she is that good of a person. But he can compare her to the law enforcement personnel he does know and judging from the motives she expressed, she comes out ahead.

"I'd say it's the same where I'm from. Some people are sayin' that's why the economy got so bad so quick--people just got caught up in all of it." He doesn't really know how to strictly define "all of it", but that's why he's not an economist. "Yeah, I'm fine. There're still some people who haven't been hit too hard and others... well, they want a distraction." Whether or not they have room in their budgets it; that's not Firo's problem.

"People are naturally greedy, I guess is what it is," she says, shaking her head. "It's our own damn fault when things go bad for us; we're always trying to get ahead and it ruins things for us in the process."

Pausing, Anne raises an eyebrow slightly, still smiling.

"And I'm guessing your job is part of that distraction?"

"Greedy? Definitely." He's seen enough selfishness and greed to fill a lifetime. "Nothin' wrong with gettin' ahead, if you do it the right way. I'm just not sure why gettin' to the very top is such a big deal." Did he want badly to become a capo? Of course he did. It's the people who work their way up and then decide to shoot the boss to take his spot that Firo doesn't understand.

He laughs. "Yeah. Just a little less popular than alcohol, I think." Now that the stuff's legal again, his family doesn't make money off of it, but its popularity is visible everywhere. Alcohol and gambling have always seemed to be the two big coping mechanisms where he's from.

"But so many people don't do it the right way. Sometimes people make me sick." With a sigh, she tries not to think back on all the examples of this she's seen in her years working at the prison.

"I guess alcohol is more popular because because can use it to completely check out of their lives for a while," she says, shaking her head. "It's sort of sad, really. I've known people who used it like that. Never pretty."

It's difficult not to remember that Murphy used to be one of them.

He nods. "True. Most of 'em are jerks, so what can you expect?"

"Yeah, you see that a lot where I'm from." He can't deny its bad effects, even if he personally enjoys a drink. He does have to wonder, though, if she's some sort of temperance advocate. "...You're not gonna go off about Prohibition, are you? 'Cause we tried that and it didn't work." Well, it worked for his Family. They'll never get another source of income as good as illegal alcohol.

"Most people are jerks in general. People are shitty."

At that Prohibition comment, Anne actually laughs. Just a bit, and it's more of a bark than a real laugh. But it's a rare occurrence and she's have to remember to thank him for it later. "No. I like my whiskey as much as the next person. Maybe more than I should." There are more instances than she'd like to remember that she went out with her prison guard buddies and ended up sloshed on one of their couches. "I guess it's just fucking depressing how many people use it to escape their problems. Don't get me wrong; I've been there. I'm not judging."

"The sooner you realize that the better, huh?" He laughs. There are some people he'd vehemently deny are 'shitty,' but in general people are.

He smiles, happy that he got her to laugh even if they're not on too nice a topic. "Glad to hear it. I can only take so much from those temperance types." Firo's fine with people who don't drink. But people who will talk his ear off about other people's drinking? No way. "I guess it is kinda sad. Either they can't do anything about it, or they won't."

He shrugs. "I guess the last one more makes me angry than depressed..."

"It's true. It sounds bitter and it sounds shitty in its own way but..." a shake of her head. "People are just that way. The sooner we deal with the reality, the better."

It's nice that he's smiling. People don't smile enough on the Tranquility, she thinks... not that she's not a terrible culprit in the 'not smiling' problem, but still...

"You're telling me. I don't run into a lot of them but..." she shakes her head again. "I'm guessing you have a lot in your world, from the way you talked about it?" and then a short pause. "Angry huh? Well, that sounds like you've got something to say. What is it?"

"Exactly. You can't ignore somethin' just because it's not all happiness and rainbows." What a sunshiney attitude these two share.

"Yeah, it does. Or maybe I just run into a lotta of 'em." He frequents some sketchy areas back home, and the Depression hasn't helped things.

He laughs sheepishly. "Something to say?" Starting a rant hadn't been his intention, but he's too opinionated to gracefully deny it and spare her his griping. "I guess I do. It's just hard to have sympathy for guys like that, you know? The ones who decide to wallow in their problems when they're perfectly able to fix 'em--especially if they've got people who depend on 'em. I see guys like that all the time." Ruining oneself is forgivable or at least dismissable, in Firo's book. Ruining one's family is another thing entirely.

"Exactly. It's not often I run into people I can agree with on this sort of shit." She offers him a small smile. It's nice not to have to listen to an overflow of why that kind of thinking is wrong. Not that she's all that much of a pessimist; to her, realism and pessimism are very different things. But she's never been the sort of person to believe that everything is as cheerful and sunny as some people like to believe.

Anne listens to what, all things considered, is a pretty small rant. And then she's nodding slowly, absentmindedly tapping the fingers on one hand against the flashlight tucked into her utility belt. "You're telling me. I ran into a lot of those kind of people in prison. People who just decide to give up and let everyone who needs them down because it's too hard. Life is hard. It's no excuse for just wallowing in their own misery."

He laughs. "That must be annoying." His friends don't complain to much about his views beyond the occasional gentle rebuke. "Glad we agree."

Firo thinks back to his experiences in prison. A good amount of the guys were different, determined in a way, but he chalks that up to them being crazy. Quite a few he observed were content to blame their troubles on the rest of the world and sit back doing nothing.

Of course, he's not going to bring that up lest he have to explain what he was doing there, so he merely nods. "I can imagine. It sure as hell is tough. But it's not like it's impossible either, so the sooner people deal with it, the better."

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