☞ 013. (video)

[wouldnotkindly]

Hey. Uh.

[Off to a great start, Jack.]

I was wondering... I'm not really much of a conversationalist, but, uh. Does anyone know how I could...you know, get better at it? Talking to people, I mean.

I feel like it's something I need to work on.

Comments

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[thenormalsquint]

Start with what you know. Like, what do you do for a living?

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[wouldnotkindly]

Well... Here, I tend bar at the Blue Light. [Which could potentially make this embarrassing.] I never really had a job like that before I ended up in the City, though.

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[thenormalsquint]

Okay, so being a bartender makes things a whole lot easier. When people are drunk, they spill all their sorrows. All you have to do sometimes is follow their lead. If they start going on about how their wife has them in the dog house, just nod and say "That's rough, buddy." and maybe throw in a story or two of how your own wife did the same.

[A grin.]

No wife actually required, by the way.

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[wouldnotkindly]

Uh. [Can she tell he's not exactly a ladies' man that easily?] I don't know if I'm a good enough liar for that... I mean, when it comes to making up stories like that.

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[thenormalsquint]

Hopefully, the other guy is too drunk to notice or care about that. [From a mile away, honey.] You can always start with a hello and your name. That never hurts.

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[wouldnotkindly]

Maybe... [Erm.] I don't know. It never seems like people are all that interested in knowing my name.

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[thenormalsquint]

I would like to know your name. And to make things even more interesting, I'll give you mine first. Angela Montenegro.

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[wouldnotkindly]

Really? [He's honestly surprised by that.]

Uh— Mine's Jack. Jack Wynand. [He nods to her.] Nice meeting you, Miss Montenegro.

[rudeandginger]

Just figure out what people want to hear and tell them that. Unless it doesn't matter what they think of you, and then just say whatever you please.

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[thenormalsquint]

Nope. None of that Miss stuff. I'm not a full-time teacher and even then, everybody gets a choice of Angela, Angie, or Ange. Same goes for you.

[wouldnotkindly]

[Really.]

That doesn't sound very honest.

[rudeandginger]

The world isn't honest, why should you be?

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[wouldnotkindly]

Uh— If you insist. [He gives her a sheepish smile.] Angela.

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[thenormalsquint]

Okay so far we have your name and your job. Now you can start on where people are from, what they do, if they have kids, spouses, pets, what they like to do in their free time... The possibilities are endless.

[wouldnotkindly]

Because the world isn't honest. [He's not that naive.] That doesn't mean people aren't deserving of basic decency, which includes being honest.

[rudeandginger]

[Basic decency. Because he's been treated with a lot of that in his life.]

You sound just like Tegan.

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[wouldnotkindly]

Right... [It sounds like a lot to him, but Jack has never been one to back down from a challenge. Even if verbal challenges are much more daunting to him than the physical kind.]

So, uh... Where are you from?

[wouldnotkindly]

[Honestly, if Jack knew that, he'd make a point to treat him with more of it.]

Who's Tegan?

[rudeandginger]

[It's a vicious cycle.]

I traveled with her. She seemed to have this strange idea about tactlessness just being honesty.

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[thenormalsquint]

[There they go. Was that so hard?]

I was born in Baltimore, raised in Texas, moved around a bit, but before here I was settled in Washington D.C. What about you?

[wouldnotkindly]

I don't know if I'd really call those two the same thing. [Then again, depending on whatever this guy considers tactless...]

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[wouldnotkindly]

[It did take some warming up to it for him, so maybe.]

Born and raised in Kansas my whole life. I have some family in England, too, but I haven't exactly been there myself. [And he'd rather not talk about the other place, though for some reason something is nagging at him to do just the opposite.]

[rudeandginger]

Neither would I. And it just means she whines about not getting her way when saying the right thing could fix that from the beginning.

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[thenormalsquint]

I lived in England once. Many, many moons ago. Too many. [She laughs and turns back to the conversation.] What did you do in Kansas other than run from tornados?

[negativegate]

You open your mouth and start talking. What's so difficult about that?