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Fic: Shoes, Hair and Spoons... Oh My!
Title: Shoes, Hair and Spoons... Oh My!
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters: Adora, the recruits, Ethan, the Captain and his wife and some other random OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: Adora's going to the ball, assuming she can survive the preparation.
Warning: pre-series *follows Saturday and leads right up to Frozen Reflections. For gatechic, who suffers through Steve's insanity. %]
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
What is This Feeling? | Perfect | Every Little Trait, However Small | Special Delivery | Friday Night Dinner | Intimidation | Saturday | Shoes, Hair and Spoons... Oh My! | Frozen Reflections | Relocation | Lost Boy
When the boys came back from dinner, Adora was sitting on her bunk with a notebook and a textbook open in front of her, expertly twirling a pencil between her fingers. She glanced up, giving them a polite nod, and Levi held out a hand, offering her a pastry. She took it with a smile and glanced back down to the book as Wyatt came in.
He forced a laugh at whatever Charlie and Billy were saying and grabbed his nightclothes before heading to the showers. The others were continuing a conversation from dinner as Levi opened his nightstand with a flourish. "Hey," he whispered, glancing sideways. Adora looked at him for a second and then glanced back to her book.
"What happened?" Adora shook her head. "What did he say?" Levi prodded.
"He didn't say anything," she replied, dropping her shoulders. Levi raised an eyebrow and tried to hold back a smile. Wyatt came into the cafeteria, stating that Adora was skipping dinner. His mood the rest of the evening gave Levi the impression that it wasn't that Adora wasn't hungry, but that something had been said and she didn't want to be around them.
"Good for you," he nodded and turned around, moving across the room to join in the conversation, before even seeing the look on Adora's face. It was about time she started dishing it back to Wyatt.
He wouldn't tell her, however, that the pastry was Wyatt's. Or that Wyatt suggested Levi give it to her.
----------
When Wyatt returned from the showers a while later, he rolled his uniform pants and shirt together and smiled, throwing a nod to Charlie and Billy, but not smiling because Charlie had just won the hand of cards.
He was smiling because Lieutenant Springer was working her way through the pastry while she studied.
The Officers' Ball started at six, but most guests wouldn't be arriving until at least seven. The catering staff arrived at eleven, in order to start setting up, while the florist started arranging bouquets after lunch. The secretarial staff was in charge of seating, check in and all the little last-minute details, and they were starting around three. Adora had offered her assistance, and was under orders from the ladies to be there at half-past four.
She'd attended parties before but, as this would be her first 'city' party, Adora was planning to use the time to observe and listen. There were protocols she didn't know about, other than what Ethan had told her. But, really, how bad could it be? All she had to do was show up, make polite conversation, laugh when everyone else did and remember to use the right fork; all while not drawing any attention to herself.
Before she could leave, however, Adora wanted to make sure she had everything she might need. The problem was that she didn't know what she needed. It was when Wyatt pulled his boots out that Adora realized there was another reason she had intended to go out the day before.
Levi glanced up as Adora cursed under her breath and he smiled. "All right there, Lieutenant?" he asked, throwing a look across the room to where Wyatt was shining his shoes and conversing with Porter and Jack. Adora dropped the lid of her trunk and closed her eyes. Opening her eyes again, Adora looked to the clock hanging over the door and cursed again.
"Hey," Levi said again, leaning toward her, "what's wrong?" Adora looked at him and nodded to the box sitting on the bed. He'd finally managed to get her to tell him that it was a dress, but Adora had refused to show it to him.
"I don't have shoes." It took everything Levi had to not laugh out loud. Shifting his weight, Levi turned so that his back was to the others and he leaned over to retie his boots.
"So, go buy some."
"It's Sunday," Adora replied, as if he should know better. His response was to nod to the boots she was wearing. She raised an eyebrow and he smirked then pointed to his own boots. Adora clenched her jaw shut and fought holding a smile back as he grinned.
"Those?" he mouthed, pointing to the boots she has worn to dinner on Friday. She hadn't put them back in the trunk yet, but had, instead, shoved them under the bed. She blinked, not remembering they were down there, and she leaned around the trunk. Glancing back up to Levi, who was shrugging, Adora shook her head and glanced at the box.
She couldn't wear those boots with that dress. Those were the boots she worked the farm in, cleaned out the barn in... wore to a fancy restaurant two nights before.
Levi shrugged and pushed himself up from his bunk, stopping at her side for a moment. "No one will be looking at your shoes," he told her. Adora let out a snort.
----------
The ladies from the office were laughing over tea when Adora arrived. They cheered and smiled brightly, waving her in to the sitting room. One of the ladies took the box holding the dress, while another took her bag; two women led her to a chair and another poured a cup of tea.
The whole scene reminded Adora of the afternoons at home, when the ladies would leave the men to work the fields and the children to play. For a few minutes, Adora felt comfortable. Then one of the women opened the box.
"Oh, honey," she said as they gathered around the dress, "this needs to be hung up. Can't have a crease when you're waltzing around the dance floor." Adora gave her a guilty smile and she watched as the dress disappeared from view with two of the ladies. She had wanted to take it out of the box, but not with the boys around.
"What if it doesn't fit?" she asked, clinking her teacup to the saucer as the thought occurred to her. She hadn't tried the dress on. Other than taking the lid off in the lecture hall, this had been the most she'd seen of the dress. Adora barely remembered her mother as it was, let alone her size.
"It's not to worry, dear," one of the ladies replied.
"It will be fine," another offered, refilling her teacup.
"Now," one of the other ladies asked, stepping behind Adora, "are you wearing your hair up or down?" Adora blinked and shrugged.
"Um..." she started, glancing around the room, "Up?" She hadn't really thought about it.
"Down. Definitely down," someone replied.
"No, it should be up."
"Everyone's wearing it up. It should be down. It will set her apart."
"I don't need to be set apart," Adora managed to say, but she was shushed by most of them. She actually had to laugh. After about five more minutes of discussion, the ladies had decided on both. Two of the ladies pulled Adora to a chair and began twisting her hair up into some ornate design. When they finished, she was presented to the others.
None of the ladies had to voice their opinions; the looks they were giving her said plenty.
"Honestly, Sadie?" one of the ladies sighed, "that wasn't even fashionable when my grandmother wore it." The ladies laughed and Adora was led back to the chair for a second try.
----------
As Adora stared at herself, she was honestly shocked. She'd never really taken the time to look at her reflection, let alone in such a dress. What had her mother looked like wearing this dress? A hand on her arm brought Adora back and she smiled.
"You look lovely," Sadie told her with a smile. The chime of the clock drew everyone's attention and Adora took a deep breath. A second later, there was a knock on the door. Adora glanced up to see Amelia entering the room with a smile, stopping short when she saw Adora.
"Lizzie," Amelia whispered.
----------
Ethan and George were near the doorway of the ballroom when Ameila and Adora came out of the sitting room. Adora nodded at whatever Ameila had just told her and she glanced up to see the Captain and her grandfather smiling.
Adora gave Ethan a smile and a nod as she neared him and nodded to the Captain. "Sir," she said, noting that her grandfather had yet to look away. "I look like a fool," she told Ethan with a wide grin.
"You look beautiful," Ethan told her as he turned and led her into the ballroom. Adora could see a collection of guests already inside, as well as a group near the entrance, talking to the ladies from the office. "Go," Ethan told her, waving toward the room, "socialize."
Adora laughed and shook her head as Ethan stepped away, heading for a group of men waving him over. She turned and looked around the room, giving a polite nod to a couple near the window. By the time the rest of the Tin Men-in-training had arrived, Adora had met the wives of half the instructors, three of the wealthiest bachelors in the city and the six daughters of the head surgeon from Central City Hospital.
----------
Adora wondered how long she would have to stay at the party before she could bow out gracefully, but knew that, as a future Tin Man, she was probably expected to stay for the whole evening. She was thankful that no one had yet asked her to dance - she knew how to dance, of course, but the music they listened to at home most likely wouldn't be heard here in the city.
She walked past the dessert table, glancing at the various desserts and remembered that, other than the tea, she hadn't eaten all day. Adora considered snatching one of the small cakes when no one was looking, but no one else was eating. She wasn't about to be the first in line.
Movement on her left caused Adora to turn and her arms went up automatically as one of the six daughters came toward her. The young redhead had her arms out as well, expecting to slam into the pudding as she missed the hand of her dancing partner and swung away.
"Are you all right?" Adora asked with a half-laugh.
"Goodness," the girl breathed, hand on her chest. "My thanks," she added, nodding to Adora. She spun back to her dance partner and her hand slammed into the table, destroying the spoon display and sending one to the floor. Adora knelt down to pick up the spoon, which had fallen next to her shoe, and looked up as the girl's father arrived at their side.
As Adora stood up, she stepped back as two of the other daughters joined the group and herded their sister out of the ballroom. Adora smiled as the young girl told them she was fine, but she was being ignored by her sisters. Adora looked around the room for a moment and found her grandfather, who was shaking his head slightly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, unsure of why he was looking at her like that. She turned back to the table, fearing that something had actually broken, but saw nothing. It took a second for her to realize Ethan was looking at the spoon still in her hand. The way it was sitting between her fingers was similar to the way she twirled pencils while studying.
'Great Gale, please tell me I wasn't-' she thought, squeezing her eyes shut. Opening one eye, she saw Ethan giving her a sympathetic nod. Adora stepped back and set the spoon down then moved away from the table. How else could she screw up the evening?
----------
Levi was the first of the group to enter the ballroom and he wanted to find Adora. It only took him two seconds, because his focus was on the floor. He didn't know what color her dress was, or how her hair would be done up, but he knew what her boots looked like. Spotting the grey boots, his eyes moved up and his mouth was stuck somewhere between half-open and a smirk.
"Look at that," he heard Wyatt say as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Not even in the door five seconds and he's already picked a target." The others laughed, except for Charlie, who had also seen Adora, and Wyatt and Porter moved into the crowd.
"We'll turn this farmer into a city boy in no time-" Wyatt laughed as he gave the room a quick look. His eyes moved less than an inch past Adora when he realized who he had just seen and his eyes widened as he froze.
_________________
And we're caught up! \O/
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters: Adora, the recruits, Ethan, the Captain and his wife and some other random OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: Adora's going to the ball, assuming she can survive the preparation.
Warning: pre-series *follows Saturday and leads right up to Frozen Reflections. For gatechic, who suffers through Steve's insanity. %]
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
What is This Feeling? | Perfect | Every Little Trait, However Small | Special Delivery | Friday Night Dinner | Intimidation | Saturday | Shoes, Hair and Spoons... Oh My! | Frozen Reflections | Relocation | Lost Boy
When the boys came back from dinner, Adora was sitting on her bunk with a notebook and a textbook open in front of her, expertly twirling a pencil between her fingers. She glanced up, giving them a polite nod, and Levi held out a hand, offering her a pastry. She took it with a smile and glanced back down to the book as Wyatt came in.
He forced a laugh at whatever Charlie and Billy were saying and grabbed his nightclothes before heading to the showers. The others were continuing a conversation from dinner as Levi opened his nightstand with a flourish. "Hey," he whispered, glancing sideways. Adora looked at him for a second and then glanced back to her book.
"What happened?" Adora shook her head. "What did he say?" Levi prodded.
"He didn't say anything," she replied, dropping her shoulders. Levi raised an eyebrow and tried to hold back a smile. Wyatt came into the cafeteria, stating that Adora was skipping dinner. His mood the rest of the evening gave Levi the impression that it wasn't that Adora wasn't hungry, but that something had been said and she didn't want to be around them.
"Good for you," he nodded and turned around, moving across the room to join in the conversation, before even seeing the look on Adora's face. It was about time she started dishing it back to Wyatt.
He wouldn't tell her, however, that the pastry was Wyatt's. Or that Wyatt suggested Levi give it to her.
----------
When Wyatt returned from the showers a while later, he rolled his uniform pants and shirt together and smiled, throwing a nod to Charlie and Billy, but not smiling because Charlie had just won the hand of cards.
He was smiling because Lieutenant Springer was working her way through the pastry while she studied.
The Officers' Ball started at six, but most guests wouldn't be arriving until at least seven. The catering staff arrived at eleven, in order to start setting up, while the florist started arranging bouquets after lunch. The secretarial staff was in charge of seating, check in and all the little last-minute details, and they were starting around three. Adora had offered her assistance, and was under orders from the ladies to be there at half-past four.
She'd attended parties before but, as this would be her first 'city' party, Adora was planning to use the time to observe and listen. There were protocols she didn't know about, other than what Ethan had told her. But, really, how bad could it be? All she had to do was show up, make polite conversation, laugh when everyone else did and remember to use the right fork; all while not drawing any attention to herself.
Before she could leave, however, Adora wanted to make sure she had everything she might need. The problem was that she didn't know what she needed. It was when Wyatt pulled his boots out that Adora realized there was another reason she had intended to go out the day before.
Levi glanced up as Adora cursed under her breath and he smiled. "All right there, Lieutenant?" he asked, throwing a look across the room to where Wyatt was shining his shoes and conversing with Porter and Jack. Adora dropped the lid of her trunk and closed her eyes. Opening her eyes again, Adora looked to the clock hanging over the door and cursed again.
"Hey," Levi said again, leaning toward her, "what's wrong?" Adora looked at him and nodded to the box sitting on the bed. He'd finally managed to get her to tell him that it was a dress, but Adora had refused to show it to him.
"I don't have shoes." It took everything Levi had to not laugh out loud. Shifting his weight, Levi turned so that his back was to the others and he leaned over to retie his boots.
"So, go buy some."
"It's Sunday," Adora replied, as if he should know better. His response was to nod to the boots she was wearing. She raised an eyebrow and he smirked then pointed to his own boots. Adora clenched her jaw shut and fought holding a smile back as he grinned.
"Those?" he mouthed, pointing to the boots she has worn to dinner on Friday. She hadn't put them back in the trunk yet, but had, instead, shoved them under the bed. She blinked, not remembering they were down there, and she leaned around the trunk. Glancing back up to Levi, who was shrugging, Adora shook her head and glanced at the box.
She couldn't wear those boots with that dress. Those were the boots she worked the farm in, cleaned out the barn in... wore to a fancy restaurant two nights before.
Levi shrugged and pushed himself up from his bunk, stopping at her side for a moment. "No one will be looking at your shoes," he told her. Adora let out a snort.
----------
The ladies from the office were laughing over tea when Adora arrived. They cheered and smiled brightly, waving her in to the sitting room. One of the ladies took the box holding the dress, while another took her bag; two women led her to a chair and another poured a cup of tea.
The whole scene reminded Adora of the afternoons at home, when the ladies would leave the men to work the fields and the children to play. For a few minutes, Adora felt comfortable. Then one of the women opened the box.
"Oh, honey," she said as they gathered around the dress, "this needs to be hung up. Can't have a crease when you're waltzing around the dance floor." Adora gave her a guilty smile and she watched as the dress disappeared from view with two of the ladies. She had wanted to take it out of the box, but not with the boys around.
"What if it doesn't fit?" she asked, clinking her teacup to the saucer as the thought occurred to her. She hadn't tried the dress on. Other than taking the lid off in the lecture hall, this had been the most she'd seen of the dress. Adora barely remembered her mother as it was, let alone her size.
"It's not to worry, dear," one of the ladies replied.
"It will be fine," another offered, refilling her teacup.
"Now," one of the other ladies asked, stepping behind Adora, "are you wearing your hair up or down?" Adora blinked and shrugged.
"Um..." she started, glancing around the room, "Up?" She hadn't really thought about it.
"Down. Definitely down," someone replied.
"No, it should be up."
"Everyone's wearing it up. It should be down. It will set her apart."
"I don't need to be set apart," Adora managed to say, but she was shushed by most of them. She actually had to laugh. After about five more minutes of discussion, the ladies had decided on both. Two of the ladies pulled Adora to a chair and began twisting her hair up into some ornate design. When they finished, she was presented to the others.
None of the ladies had to voice their opinions; the looks they were giving her said plenty.
"Honestly, Sadie?" one of the ladies sighed, "that wasn't even fashionable when my grandmother wore it." The ladies laughed and Adora was led back to the chair for a second try.
----------
As Adora stared at herself, she was honestly shocked. She'd never really taken the time to look at her reflection, let alone in such a dress. What had her mother looked like wearing this dress? A hand on her arm brought Adora back and she smiled.
"You look lovely," Sadie told her with a smile. The chime of the clock drew everyone's attention and Adora took a deep breath. A second later, there was a knock on the door. Adora glanced up to see Amelia entering the room with a smile, stopping short when she saw Adora.
"Lizzie," Amelia whispered.
----------
Ethan and George were near the doorway of the ballroom when Ameila and Adora came out of the sitting room. Adora nodded at whatever Ameila had just told her and she glanced up to see the Captain and her grandfather smiling.
Adora gave Ethan a smile and a nod as she neared him and nodded to the Captain. "Sir," she said, noting that her grandfather had yet to look away. "I look like a fool," she told Ethan with a wide grin.
"You look beautiful," Ethan told her as he turned and led her into the ballroom. Adora could see a collection of guests already inside, as well as a group near the entrance, talking to the ladies from the office. "Go," Ethan told her, waving toward the room, "socialize."
Adora laughed and shook her head as Ethan stepped away, heading for a group of men waving him over. She turned and looked around the room, giving a polite nod to a couple near the window. By the time the rest of the Tin Men-in-training had arrived, Adora had met the wives of half the instructors, three of the wealthiest bachelors in the city and the six daughters of the head surgeon from Central City Hospital.
----------
Adora wondered how long she would have to stay at the party before she could bow out gracefully, but knew that, as a future Tin Man, she was probably expected to stay for the whole evening. She was thankful that no one had yet asked her to dance - she knew how to dance, of course, but the music they listened to at home most likely wouldn't be heard here in the city.
She walked past the dessert table, glancing at the various desserts and remembered that, other than the tea, she hadn't eaten all day. Adora considered snatching one of the small cakes when no one was looking, but no one else was eating. She wasn't about to be the first in line.
Movement on her left caused Adora to turn and her arms went up automatically as one of the six daughters came toward her. The young redhead had her arms out as well, expecting to slam into the pudding as she missed the hand of her dancing partner and swung away.
"Are you all right?" Adora asked with a half-laugh.
"Goodness," the girl breathed, hand on her chest. "My thanks," she added, nodding to Adora. She spun back to her dance partner and her hand slammed into the table, destroying the spoon display and sending one to the floor. Adora knelt down to pick up the spoon, which had fallen next to her shoe, and looked up as the girl's father arrived at their side.
As Adora stood up, she stepped back as two of the other daughters joined the group and herded their sister out of the ballroom. Adora smiled as the young girl told them she was fine, but she was being ignored by her sisters. Adora looked around the room for a moment and found her grandfather, who was shaking his head slightly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, unsure of why he was looking at her like that. She turned back to the table, fearing that something had actually broken, but saw nothing. It took a second for her to realize Ethan was looking at the spoon still in her hand. The way it was sitting between her fingers was similar to the way she twirled pencils while studying.
'Great Gale, please tell me I wasn't-' she thought, squeezing her eyes shut. Opening one eye, she saw Ethan giving her a sympathetic nod. Adora stepped back and set the spoon down then moved away from the table. How else could she screw up the evening?
----------
Levi was the first of the group to enter the ballroom and he wanted to find Adora. It only took him two seconds, because his focus was on the floor. He didn't know what color her dress was, or how her hair would be done up, but he knew what her boots looked like. Spotting the grey boots, his eyes moved up and his mouth was stuck somewhere between half-open and a smirk.
"Look at that," he heard Wyatt say as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Not even in the door five seconds and he's already picked a target." The others laughed, except for Charlie, who had also seen Adora, and Wyatt and Porter moved into the crowd.
"We'll turn this farmer into a city boy in no time-" Wyatt laughed as he gave the room a quick look. His eyes moved less than an inch past Adora when he realized who he had just seen and his eyes widened as he froze.
_________________
And we're caught up! \O/