Chapter Text
The local museum was one of the best spots in town to hang out in, Jem decided, as it seemed there were rarely many visitors interrupting her research.
In the early days of the exhibit she stood in, people would flock in droves to see the latest addition to a relatively small and empty building. Though, as time marched on, the initial excitement the place had on the town died down leaving it nearly empty most days of the week. Being able to see the skeletal remains of some of the earliest humans was only impressive the first few times, it seemed.
Jem looked down at her notebook, words printed all over the lined pages in perfect rows, just the way they should be, trying to decipher what exactly she was missing, when it hit her. A project like this wouldn’t be complete without a rough sketch of the display!
She flipped the page to a clean side and quickly got to work, only to be stopped by a holler coming from her right.
“Hell yeah! Lesbian cavewoman time!” A woman, who looked to be no older than 20, came barreling into the exhibit with a polaroid camera dangling around her neck. She wore a grotesque combination of a hawaiian shirt and shorts that looked to be 4 sizes too big, even for her not-so-lithe frame. It was an appalling display to say the least.
Jem looked down at her notebook again to notice a huge black streak running diagonally across the paper. Curse her and her preference for a calligraphy pen!!
Her eye twitched as she watched the petulant woman next to her take photos in rapid succession, not really seeming to grasp the fact that her camera would only be able to process one image at a time.
Jem set her stuff down on a nearby bench then cleared her throat, gaining the other woman's attention.
“Flash photography is prohibited in this exhibit." She gestured to a sign that said just that, leading the other woman to frown. Jem continued nonetheless. "And besides historians are saying they were just friends, just so you know.”
Jem smirked at the satisfaction of having brought down this nuisance, but unfortunately things couldn’t be that simple.
“Does that look friendly to you?” The woman rebutted.
“Uhhh yeah? Not every embrace is a romantic one.” Jem crossed her arms as the other woman scoffed.
“This one was.” She affirmed.
Jem's eyebrows furrowed. “What makes you say that?”
“I dunno I can just… feel it, y’know?” The woman's features softened as she turned back to the display, leaving Jem's scowl unnoticed.
“Ah yes a random teenager has figured out the answer to the hugging cave people question that no one was asking for on vibes alone.” She chuckled at that, patting herself a bit on the back for being so quick.
The woman turned back to face Jem, a smirk plastered on her own face, as she chuckled as well. At least she has a sense of humor, Jem thought. “Shut up, I’m serious.”
“Well, whatever you say…” Jem trailed off.
“Zazz. The name's Zazz.”
Though Jem never asked for the woman's name, nor was she really wanting to know it, something about it felt vaguely familiar. Perhaps she had met a Zazz before, she rationalized, as she moved to grab her stuff and get back to her sketch.