See part 1 for disclaimers.
Archive only with permission of author.
MISchief Part 9
(story 3 in the MIScommunication Series aka It Sucks To Be You Series)
By cnrocks/CaseyROCKS
Pookie's Piercings & Body Art
Greenwich Village
Sunday 5:40pm
The booth was a twelve by twelve room with three solid walls and a three-quarter wall on the last side. It was more of a partition than a wall. It semi- muffled voices on the other side and provided some privacy but that was about it. Artists could hand stuff over the wall to other artists if they stretched up. Casey watched as Dite readied the equipment. They had already picked out a basic design, which Dite was going to personalize a bit. She was amazed at the methodical way that Dite did everything. It was like she had her own internal checklist. Casey realized she probably did and it was in the keeping things completely sterile and as safe as possible. She grinned as the box of neon pink rubber gloves hit the counter.
"You've been doin' this awhile, huh?"
"Years." She replied while she continued her chores. "I got my first tattoo from Pookie and it was all down hill from there." She laughed.
"Yours are gorgeous; very u-nique. Especially that one..." Casey's voice trailed off as Dite interrupted.
"The armband? Those are my kids."
Casey's eyes widened. Dite didn't even need to look up - the dead silence told her.
"Oh, don't look surprised. You didn't think a tat artist could be married with children?"
"No... yes... I guess... I mean... ummm... I think I'll jus' stop now."
Dite laughed. "It's okay; I get that all the time."
"Ack-tually, all your art is quite cool and I noticed that all the tattoos are shades of blue and green? Any special reason?"
Dite turned to Casey. "What color are your eyes?"
"Green."
"And what color is your...?" She hesitated hoping that Casey would fill in the blank.
"Olivia's are brown."
"Oh, well, then. I guess that's real life for you. In fanfic they are always blue and green."
"What?"
"Nevermind," she muttered softly, then added louder. "I just liked the colors. Do you have favorite colors?"
"Oh. Not exactly," Casey scratched her nose. "Ummmm, I'm kinda known for lime green an' purple."
"Whoa, o-kay. Odd combination there." Dite rubbed the back of her neck. "So, you want me to add your initials to it, right?"
"Yeah. Can you do it?"
"Sure, give me a few minutes to redraw the image for you with your changes and we'll get started. This is your first, right? So, where do you want the tat?"
Casey pointed to the spot.
Dite's eyes widened in surprise, "You sure? It's gonna hurt. And it's gonna be there forever."
"Yeah, I'm sure. She already is." Casey smiled.
"Well, all righty then. Let me do my thing and then we'll do yours."
Casey took a few minutes to study the artist as she watched her working on the image on the light box. Dite was shorter than Casey with short brownish hair with slight red streaks. It was cut similar to Liv's. She was surprised that she didn't have multiple piercings or at least a nose ring considering the business. Guess I shouldn't make any more assumptions. Killer tan too, dammit, Casey thought. I go straight from pale to peeling lobster red and then freckle like a Dalmatian. She internally sighed. "You're Southern, right? Is Dite short for somethin'?" Casey asked just to break the silence.
"Uh huh," she answered not looking up from her work. "It's short for Aphrodite."
"The goddess of love?"
"That be the one," she replied. "I know," she then looked up at Casey. "Y'all expect a blonde with that name, right?"
Casey grinned. "And for some reason, a valley girl accent - not a Southern one."
Dite leaned closer to Casey and whispered, "On the inside... the blonde is on the inside. I can totally like, do the valley speak though."
Casey smirked and replied, "Bitchin' dudette.'"
Dite shook her head and grinned. She and Casey high-fived. Dite then returned to working on the image. A self-satisfied nod a few moments later indicated she was done.
"How's this?" She held up the image. "Right size?"
Casey looked it over. "Perfect."
"Cool. Do you want it in full color?"
"Yes, red an' light green an' then blue an' purple for the initials. Can you do that?"
Just then a loud groan was heard. It startled Casey but Dite took it all in stride. She banged on the wall behind her.
"Y'all keep it down or I'm gonna get out the fire hose." She paused. "Again." She turned her attention back to Casey. "This happens every time Lizzie comes in. I swear, those two..." Her voice trailed off.
"Liz an' Jake?" Casey grinned madly. "Does Liz come... uhh... visit Jake a lot?"
"At least once a month." Dite made some last minute adjustments in her equipment and she took out the appropriate color ink pots. "She's a very hands-on..." Just then they heard another set of moans. She grinned, "... not so silent partner." She snapped some gloves on and picked up the alcohol bottle. "Okay, Casey - take your shirt off and let's get down to business."
DOINK DOINK
