Under A Blanket
Sep. 5th, 2022 03:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rix_scaedu
“All you have to do,” said Haneesha’s father in a reasonable tone, “is go out there with a blanket and wait for the suitors to approach you. Then decide whose sweet talk you’re going to listen to first.”
“That rather presupposes that there are any suitors waiting outside for me to make an appearance,” pointed out Haneesha tartly. “That approach may have worked for Mother, and my older sisters, and it will probably work for my younger sisters too, but you have noticed that people like them but don’t like me, haven’t you? I’m fairly unlikable,” she added. “It’s a well-known fact.”
“Perhaps if you made the first approach,” suggested her mother. “You do come over as a creature of sharp edges and a hard shell. Show a little vulnerability.”
“That hasn’t worked for me in the past,” commented Haneesha, “so why would it work now? Look, if I’m in the way here or getting in my sisters’ way, then I can get a job transfer to somewhere else. Get me out of your hair and solve your problem.”
Her father growled out, “Moving away is going to find you a life partner?”
“No,” corrected Haneesha gently, “moving away will take my complete lack of marriage prospects out of this community’s eye and everyone here will stop going on about how I should have a spouse by now.”
“We disagree on the problem, then,” observed her father.
“Isn’t there anyone that you like?” Her mother seemed on the verge of tears.
“I like plenty of people,” replied Haneesha. “I’m even attracted to some of them. The problem is that they don’t like me. So, no, I’m not going to take my blanket out there and make a fool of myself in front of the neighbours.”
Gerloin needed a technician. He asked his almost-friend Askel, “Why this one?”
“This one is the person most likely to be willing to move,” replied Askel. “Didn’t have many friends. Correction, didn’t have any friends in school because the queen bee in her class, who happens to be my little sister, decided she didn’t like her and made everyone else be mean to her. Back then she looked ratty, some sort of hair condition I think, and Kaisa never let her forget how bad she looked, even when she grew out of it. Got everyone else to do it too. Haneesha responded by getting sharp and prickly. She still doesn’t bother interacting with people, doesn’t go to community events or other festivals – but she does volunteer for shifts when those are on so other people can to them.”
Gerloin persisted, “Why do you think she would be open to my proposition? You said that she doesn’t bother interacting with people.”
“You’re not from around here so you’ve never hurt her or been associated with someone who hurt her. You’ve the best chance of anyone I know of getting close enough to help.” Askel smiled wryly and added, “And if it works you should absolutely both take some relationship classes.”
When Haneesha walked out of work at the end of her overnight shift, there was a man waiting with a blanket. He ignored the flirty looks from the popular girls on the incoming day shift and the friendly nods from the men. What he did do was look fixedly at Haneesha, buzz cut hair and all. Then he approached her, holding out the blanket. “Can we talk? I need.… I have a proposition and you were suggested, but…. Why didn’t he tell me I might think you were pretty?”
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 11:53 pm (UTC)I hope Haneesha accepts that proposition of Gerloin's. Sounds like everyone wins, whether or not there's romance in the future.