DANNY CANNOT POSSIBLY BEGIN TO FATHOM how this kid and his friends ( who he reckons must be around the same age, right ? ) could have possibly wound up in boston in the middle of winter without a coat. he can’t really be the one to talk, though, considering the number of times he used to travel around with little layers ( he didn’t have a choice ; he just hopes that at least these kids have just a little more of one, hopes that they at least have a safe place to stay the night ).
aren’t you could, too ?
“ i ain’t out heah wit’ shawt sleeves, ” he answers, pokes fun. he won’t add that he’s been out in this weather in less.
it makes him think, though, that perhaps these guys would look much worse off if they were in nearly as unfortunate a position as he once was, a decade and a half ago. at the very least, they must have come from someplace warm recently enough.
i, er ------ didn’t think i’d be out here ?
where the hell did they think they’d be ? did they think this place had some secret indoor tunnels when it got too cold out ?
“ jus’ wheah you guys fruhm, anyways ? ” can’t possibly be from around here, they definitely don’t strike him as locals ------ or students, for that matter. the one that isn’t costumed looks far too young to be one of the college kids. “ wheah’s yah gahdians ? ”
costumes ?!
the kid in the donald costume looks impressively big - mad about the remark, which confuses danny, because he doesn’t think he’s said anything insulting. they must be really into their characters. it seems real disney fans are dedicated even in the wake of a nor’easter.
------------ except, now danny’s real confused, because the three of them have all just huddled up as if they’re talking some kind of game plan. is this something the kids do these days, or are these kids part of some disney cult that’s been taking hold of the city while he’s been gone ? it reminds him of when he first enlisted --- left home, left his kids, and when he came back for shore leave, they were already getting older and he’d missed their very first day of school and the dunkin’ that was in that plaza off brighton avenue had turned into one of those blue bottle joints.
they’ve spun back around, and danny’s got his arms crossed, the look on his face reading absolutely perplexed. he knows it looks like something absolutely fishy is going on ------ but he also knows that kids can be weird like that, sometimes.
then again, every time atarah acted like this, she really was hiding something from him. then - again then again, the first time she pulled that stunt on him, she was five.
then - again then - again then again, she hasn’t really stopped pulling said stunts on him. and she’s definitely older than this kid is.
uh - huh ! we, uh ------ ‘ got lost. ’
maybe they needed to determine whether or not to trust a grown man covered in tattoos, a pierced nose, and massive arms. fair, and valid. maybe they needed to huddle up to determine whether or not this was the ‘ lie ’ they were deciding to go with.
my name’s sora, since you already know donald and goof.
well --- danny can’t imagine those guys were actually donald and goofy by name, but he’s heard about these types of people on the extranet. whatever floats their boat.
“ not puhsonally, anyways. but --- big fan o’ the costumes. fuh real. i grew up on disney sh-tuff, too. wanna hear my sick donald impression ? ” no ? unfortunate. he clears his throat, tongue presses to the roof of his mouth, and he hopes he’s not too rusty. “ what’s the big idea, ya big palooka ?! ”
still got it.
could you ... tell us where we are ?
lying or not, these kids seem like good kids. this ‘ sora ’ kid does, anyway. he still can’t get a read on these donald and goofy larpers. if they’re lying because they’re in some sort of bad trouble ------ well, danny might as well be the guy they run into. danny knows what kind of bad trouble kids can get into. and if he can try to help these kids out ---
“ ‘cawse. this is coolidge cawnuh, in brookline. i was abaht ta go get some groceries. my boyfriend wants ta do italian fah suppah. y’know, s’abaht t’ snow soon. yous guys got some place t’ stay ? ” @kidblader / from here !
