Monday - Jersey City

[slothbabyproductions]

Kamala had left the island early Sunday morning so she could attend services at the mosque and also spend father's day with her family. Yusuf had been thrilled of the portrait that Kamala had drawn of him, Aamir and Kamala dressed for Eid and had immediately hung it over the fireplace much to her mother's disagreement. But that was her father's problem, not Kamala's.

But today was Monday. And this was the day she was looking forward to most.

The Eid al-Adha celebration at the street fair was filled with vibrant colors and lively sounds. The streets of Jersey City near Kamala’s mosque were adorned with strings of lights, and colorful banners fluttered in the warm breeze. Booths line the sidewalks, each one offering your typical carnival like atmosphere. Face painting, carnival games and balloon animals were everywhere.

Children darted between the stalls clutching brightly colored balloons and eating all the sweet treats they could get their hands on. Henna artists sat at small tables, their hands deftly moving to create intricate patterns on children and adults alike. In the center of the fair, a large stage hosted a variety of performances. Dancers, clad in shimmering costumes, twirled and leaped to the rhythm of the drums and the melody of the sitar. The audience clapped along, their faces smiling and laughter everywhere.

Kamala stood at the corner, dressed in her new outfit and waiting for the Portalocity portal to show up with her friends. She watched as families strolled through the fair, dressed in their finest traditional attire. Women wore elegant abayas and intricately embroidered hijabs, while men wore crisp shalwar kameez and kufis. The air was filled with the tantalizing aroma of kebabs, fragrant biryanis, and sweet baklava. Vendors call out, inviting passersby to sample but none was louder than Najaf the owner of the Gyro King, who truly did have the best gyros in Jersey City. (No matter how many Halal Boys gyro shops had opened up)

As much as Kamala loved Fandom, coming home to Jersey City and reuniting with friends and family reminded her of just how much she had missed this place. What made the day even more special was being able to introduce her new friends to the hometown she cherished.

[For a certain few. NFB due to distance]

Comments

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor had been a little surprised, when Kamala extended an invitation to her to come with a handful of friends with her to visit her home during this celebration. Delighted and pleased and flattered, too, but definitely surprised, and, if she was honest, most of all, nervous. She didn't make friends easily (or at all, really), and the last (and only) person to ask her to come and visit her home had been Lucy, and...

....well. The less she thought about what happened with Lucy, the better.

So, with the trepidation more in line with some sort of pet toy poodle rather than the wolves of her bloodline, she went through the portal with the others and reassured herself that it was fine, she could do this, it might even be really good for her!

[slothbabyproductions]

Look there was a lack of stairs around here! Okay! Everything is fine!

"Eleanor!" Kamala said, with a wide grin. "Eid Mubarak! Welcome to Jersey City. Are you hungry? Najaf has the best gyros you probably ever had."

[what_big_teeth]

"Kamala!" Yes, she invited them, but Eleanor felt an incredible rush of relief to see her. "Hi. Um, thank you. Eid Mubarak to you, too?"

She sounded very uncertain about that, which was why she was quick to move on, with a bit of a wry smile.

"And I'm always hungry. What's a gyro?"

She might not be from as quite far back of some of Kamala's other guests, but she was sheltered enough that she may as well have been, sometimes, it felt...

[slothbabyproductions]

"Oh my gosh, you haven't had a gyro yet?"

Kamala immediately reached out to take Eleanor by the arm, if she allowed it, and guide her to the Gyro King stand.

"Okay, let me break it down for you! A gyro is like this epic sandwich, but way more than just a sandwich. It starts with this soft, warm pita bread, and then they pile on juicy, spiced meat—usually lamb or chicken—that's been cooked on a vertical rotisserie. It's got this amazing char and flavor. And then they add fresh veggies like tomatoes, onions, and sometimes lettuce, which give it a nice crunch. But the best part? The tzatziki sauce! It's this creamy, tangy yogurt sauce with cucumber and garlic that just ties everything together perfectly. Seriously, it's like a flavor explosion in your mouth. You need to try one, like, right now!"

[what_big_teeth]

Even if she hadn't been too startled to object, Eleanor was very easily guided in that respect, feeling her face start to get that odd mottled green look to it that it got when her discolored blood rushed to her face. But all of that faded quickly once she got a good whiff of the food, and if the aromas hadn't convinced her, Kamala's description would have, pretty much right at the get-go.

"Yes," she said, mouth already watering, eyes a little wide, which probably didn't help in looking as much thr fisj out of water as she felt, "please. That sounds amazing."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Clad in a midnight blue ankarli, Arden gave Eleanor a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you're coming with us," she said. "I keep meaning to ask if you wanna hang out more, but then...time."

Linear time was a curse and should really not be allowed.

"So I'm really glad Kamala stepped up, you know?"

[what_big_teeth]

Knowing she could at least chalk it up to her nerves, Eleanor gave Arden a somewhat weak smile back. Blame it on all those lingering thoughts of Lucy rolling around in her head, but all she could think was that Arden really didn't need to have to justify not wanting to hang out with her, but she guessed it was kind of nice of her to have tried, anyway.

"It was really nice of her to think of me," she said. And it was stirring up all sorts of things that Eleanor was going to have to deal with later; right now, she was just going to try to push it all down (good thing there was plenty of room inside to shove things!) and try to have fun. "I'll have to make sure her next snake plant from the shop is definitely the best one we've got."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Oh no, Eleanor. Arden would be crushed to know that was what she thought. She wouldn't be able to blame her, since Arden hadn't been doing a very good job of reaching out and changing than assumption either.

"I mean, are you sure you want it to be the next one?" Arden said, with a fond smile and a shake of her head. "Maybe one or two more for a little extra practice. Oh! I keep meaning to stop in and ask you but it's like I don't exist on Thursdays, weird, does the store carry any air plants?"

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor didn't know how to do friends, Arden! And the one time she thought she had had gone so spectacularly terrible...

...well, no, perhaps the two times. And Arthur had been even worse...

"Air plants?" asked Eleanor, her head tilting, as she tried to think back through her meticulous studying of all the plants, and then she seemed to find them as if in some catalogue of her brain, and she nodded. "I think we have a few. And I could always have Nell order some for you if you're interested. Are you thinking of getting one?"

[mustbeawitch]

Lydia was a bit nervous, as she would have been going anywhere off the island in the twenty-first century, but this was ultimately a sort of party, and if there was one thing Lydia Bennet did love, it was a party, so she quickly found herself looking around trying to see everything at once.

[slothbabyproductions]

"Heeeey, Miss Bennet," Kamala said, giving her a big grin. "Welcome to Jersey City!"

She gestured at the street fair going on. "I know this might be a lot for you so if there's anything I can do to make it easier for you, let me know."

[mustbeawitch]

"Lydia," Lydia corrected, "please! And it is a lot, yes, but it's very festive, isn't it? It looks like quite a lot of fun! I don't know where to begin."

[slothbabyproductions]

"Well that depends on your mood," Kamala replied. "Are you hungry? Do you want to play some games? Maybe get a henna tattoo?"

[mustbeawitch]

"A tattoo?" Lydia asked. "I'm hardly in the navy!" Because those were the only people she could think of who had tattoos.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Lydia! Is this your first time off the island?" Arden asked, wearing a lovely dark blue ankarli.

[mustbeawitch]

Lydia was wearing a sage green outfit, herself. She wasn't sure about the pants part but when in Rome, etc.

"Oh, no," she assured Arden. "I've been on 'field trips' and such. Just last week the class on cats went to a big cat sanctuary! The cats were very large. But this is very...busy, isn't it? I don't think there were so many people in all of Meryton!"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Yeah, this is a good-sized city," Arden said, giving Lydia's outfit an admiring glance, pants and all. "And a lot of crowds. But you'll feel right at home right away, I bet." She chuckled. "You're, like, the most effortlessly social person I know."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Kamala!" Arden said once she stepped out of the portal. "Eid Mubarak! Goddess, you look so beautiful! And--" She looked around at all the color and excitement and the scent of food lingering in the air, face wreathed with smiles. "Oh, everything here looks amazing. Thank you for inviting me." She wrapped her friend in a tight hug of appreciation.

[slothbabyproductions]

"Khair Mubarak!" Kamala replied and returned the hug. "I'm so glad you came! I can't wait for you to meet the fam. How was paintball? Did the Dean bite it again?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"The Dean actually came in first!" Arden said. "We were in giant hamster balls and we had to run through a minefield--" a very normal conversation "--and he's, like, shockingly good at it, which raises questions about his personal life I'm not equipped to answer. But!" And oh the grin. "You wanna know who came in last?"

[slothbabyproductions]

"Judging by the look on your face, I'm guessing it wasn't you," Kamala laughed. "Have you picked out a place for dinner yet? The Gyro King is a place I can definitely recommend."

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal wasn't going to let a little thing like public humiliation stop him from a promised outing, especially when he already had an outfit and everything. He was just taking everything in for the moment, enjoying all the colors and music and happiness.

[slothbabyproductions]

"Cal! You made it!" Kamala said with a cheerful greeting. "I'm surprised you showed up after such a humiliating loss today."

Yep. Arden already told her.

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Hi Kamala, it's nice to see you too," Cal said flatly. "I was hoping the festivities would help my bruised ego, or are we celebrating my loss?"

[slothbabyproductions]

“We are celebrating a Muslim holiday,” Kamala said, giving Cal a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “And I promise that’s the last you’ll hear about it. At least from me.”