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Turquoise Avenue 31<br>
Residents: Lillian and Myrtle Ballard (and sometimes Vivienne).
<br><br>

Building Size and Status: Good-sized house.<br>
<br><br>

<ul>
<li><b>Living Room. </b> First room you'll see upon entering. It's both a living room and a study, so it's fairly crowded. There is a small bookshelf along one wall, and a desk just next to it. This is where Myrtle does her homework. A medium-sized television is in the middle of the room, in front of a coffee table and a comfortable couch. When Vivienne stays here, she sleeps on the couch.
<br><br></li>


<li><b>Kitchen.</b> The kitchen is one of the best-looking rooms in the house. They have a nice-sized refrigerator, plus a pot, oven, knife set, and frying pan. There's also a sink. Their dishes are in a fancy cabinet with glass doors that sites against one empty wall on the side of the kitchen. There is also a small dining table squeezed into here, with just enough space for three people to sit.
<br><br></li>


<li>Bathroom. It's a...bathroom. Equipped with a toilet, sink, and shower.
<br><br></li>

<li><b>Lillian's bedroom.</b> Lillian imported all the furniture that she had back at her father's house: a full-sized bed, dresser with attached mirror, two nightstands (one for each side of the bed), a desk with a sewing machine atop it, a bookshelf, and a small television on a small entertainment stand. The walls are white, as are the curtains, and with no rugs on the floor or any other decoration, the room is very plain and utilitarian.<br><br></li>


<li><b>Myrtle's Bedroom.</b> All Myrtle's furniture was imported from her former house, too. She's got a single bed (decked out with a bright flowery bedspread), a white dresser, and a matching desk and bookshelf. She also has tons of toys and isn't good about picking up after herself, so her room is usually a mess. Lillian has tried to train her to pick up after herself, but she's not good at it. Therefore, Lillian is usually the one who has to pick up! <br><br></li>

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<img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/11kyt4y.jpg"><br>
<b>Lillian Ballard</b><br>
[<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/akie_images/OoS/outfit-lillian1.png" target="_blank">outfit</a>]
<br><br>

<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2wcn23d.jpg"><br>
<b>Vivienne Ballard</b><br>
[<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/akie_images/OoS/outfit-vivi-16.png" target="_blank">outfit</a>]
<br><br>
<i><b>Monday, Spring 2nd, Year 09</b><br>
Around 2:00 PM</i>
<br><br>
"Almost, packed Vivi?"
<br><br>

"Yep, jest a lil' more ta go~! Ooooh." Vivienne stood up and stretched, ready to take a break. She had just a few more books to toss in there―but the books appeared to be lost in the boxes and boxes of things that had yet to be unpacked. If she didn't find them soon, she'd have to look for them during one of her weekends home...if you could call this "home." "Golly, if Ah doan find 'em soon, Ah'm gonna hafta come back soon an' look for 'em when Ah've got more time!"
<br><br>

"Have. When you have more time," Lillian corrected her in an absent-minded tone as she worked on straightening the canisters for flour, sugar and salt in the nearby kitchen.
<br><br>

"Ah still cain't believe that ya went all-out an' bought a new house!" Vivi said as she flopped down on the couch. <i>And now this couch is my bed. Very nice of you, Lillie. Are you trying to tell me something?</i>
<br><br>

"It's smaller, easier to clean, easier to manage, and we have no crops to care for."Lillie finished what she was doing and joined Vivi in the living room, taking a seat next to her on the couch. "I don't think I could have managed the old place, even with Nguyet's help."
<br><br>

"Yeah. But... Why only two bedrooms?" Vivi asked, her tone and facial expression both unusually serious. "You expect me ta share a room with you er Myrtie? Or am Ah jest gonna keep sleepin' out here on the couch like a visitor?"
<br><br>

"Why not? You won't be here very often."
<br><br>

"But in the summer?"
<br><br>

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Lillie assured her. "You may want your own apartment or something. You can afford it, I'm sure. Or perhaps you'll want to spend the summer with a friend."
<br><br>

"Yeah, but..."
<br><br>

"You're an adult," Lillie said, quickly and rather severely. "Or, legally, you are. You may not look it or act it or even think that you are, but, Vivienne! You are twenty-one years old! You've been on your own for years! You can handle it!"
<br><br>

"Hmmph, like you've handled, it, huh?" Vivi asked with a scowl. "You've been livin' with Daddy up until really recently, while Ah've been over here, takin' care o' the farm an' managing the museum an'--"
<br><br>

"Stop, stop it!" Lillian shook her head held up her hands―a common Ballard way of showing annoyance.
<br><br>

"...Whut?"
<br><br>

"I know what you've been up to. I just... can't get used to that accent of yours is all." It was a lie, and both Lillie and Vivi knew it, but it was an excuse that Lillie had long used when trying to cut Vivienne's speech short.
<br><br>

Vivi laughed. "Yeah, well, mine was always heavier 'n yours."
<br><br>

"Enunciate, Vivienne. For goodness' sake..."
<br><br>

Vivi cocked her head, now giving her sister a puzzled expression. "Ah'm doin' mah best?"
<br><br>

"Was that a statement or a question?" Lillie narrowed her eyes.
<br><br>

"Ugh." Vivi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yer always in teacher mode! Ah feel so sorry fer Myrtie, havin' ta put up with ya all the time!"
<br><br>

Lillie shook her head. "I do worry about her, yes. But I worry more about you. You're so...small. And naïve."
<br><br>

Vivi frowned. "Yeah...?"
<br><br>

"Can't you be a little more ladylike? Or at least, keep your words inside your head long enough to think about them and decide whether or not they're really worth saying!?" Lillian's tone was louder and harsher than she meant it to be, but she quickly toned it down. However, she was unable to keep her voice from shaking. "I know you're finally getting the education you've always wanted, but what good is it if you can't take care of yourself?"
<br><br>

"Well, Ah do work two jobs an'--"
<br><br>

"I don't mean that! What I mean is, you can't do many of the duties expected of women. Cleaning, cooking, taking care of children, those things. You can't care for a house or a household. You only managed it while I was gone because you had help."
<br><br>

"...But, that, that! Yer jest crustin' me!" Vivi sputtered, trying to find more words but also discovering that her jaw was tense and wasn't allowing her to speak as freely as she would like. Truthfully, it seemed extremely ironic that Lillie would accuse her of not being "ladylike" while Vivi was dressed in pink and purple and wearing a skirt, while Lillie was wearing a masculine-looking shirt and jeans. How exactly did that work!? "Ah could survive without, without knowin' how ta cook a, a... a ham er somethin'! Ah doan plan ta ever marry er have kids. So, why would I need ta learn those things!? Yer jest sayin' that 'cuz yer a home ec teacher. Not <i>every</i> girl hasta be like that!"
<br><br>

"Mother was," Lillie pointed out. "Dad always wanted us to be like her." <i>"Crusting?" What on earth does that girl mean?</i>
<br><br>

"...Yer not like her, either. Yer stubborn, like Daddy."
<br><br>

Lillie rolled her eyes. "Well, look who's talking. It's a shame you didn't turn out like Mother. You look just like her."
<br><br>

Vivienne opened her mouth, a retort right on the tip of her tongue, but it seemed to jump off without being verbalised. "Well, for the most part, anyway," Lillie continued. "Mother was more sensible with her fashions and never let her hair hang loose and unkempt."
<br><br>

"...Ah brush it," was all Vivi could say, though now she was beginning to shake.
<br><br>

"That's not the same as managing it," Lillie said. "If you're going to just let it hang loose, at least cut it short. It would look so much better."
<br><br>

"..Ah like it long."
<br><br>

Lillie shrugged. "I can only make suggestions."
<br><br>

"Yer suggestion―opinion―has been duly noted, then," Vivi mumbled, allowing herself to go more or less limp so she could settle into the couch more comfortably. She was...not feeling well.
<br><br>

"Another thing. You wish to be taken seriously, don't you?"
<br><br>

"...Yeah."
<br><br>

"Then speak the part," Lillie said quickly.
<br><br>

"...Whaddya mean?"
<br><br>

"Enunciate. Your grammar isn't so bad, but you sound like...like nails on chalkboard. Oh, no, not that bad," Lillie assured her when she saw Vivi's shocked expression, "But, you sound very...unrefined."
<br><br>

"'Cuz Ah'm from the south?" she asked, scowling.
<br><br>

Lillie sighed and closed her eyes. "Vivi, honey, I've lived Texas longer than you have. And my accent isn't nearly as heavy as yours."
<br><br>

"...Ah have a speech defect! You know that. Ah..." Vivi touched her cheek, her jaw beginning to get sore due to this conversation. "Ah still 'ave problems eatin' crunchy food an' all that. Ah cain't enunciate properly. Plus, Ah think mah accent makes me unique, ya know? Ah haven't heard anyone else with an accent quite like this!"
<br><br>

"There you go again with wanting to be 'different,'" Lillie muttered. "Being 'different' isn't always a good thing. In this case...definitely not."
<br><br>

"That's jest yer opinion!" Vivi exclaimed. "Ya've always wanted to differ from--"
<br><br>

"I know, I know, it is just my opinion, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that."
<br><br>

"Hmmph." Vivi went silent for a few moments, apparently lost in thought, but then gathered herself and stood up. "Ah think Ah'll make one last look fer those books."
<br><br>

"Okay."
<br><br>

She began to walk toward Myrtle's bedroom, but then turned around to face Lillie again, her expression blank. "...Lillie, d'ya really think...?" She trailed off, hesitating.
<br><br>

"...What? Don't mumble, Vivi."
<br><br>

"...D'ya really think Mother would be disappointed in me?"
<br><br>

"...Probably. I think she'd be."
<br><br>

Vivi's eyes narrowed. "Well, yer a real pill, aren'tcha?"
<br><br>

"Hey, you're the one who asked, silly."
<br><br>

"Stop talkin' down ta me. 'Honey.' 'Silly.' Ah doan like that."
<br><br>

"Then grow up and stop acting like a child!"
<br><br>

"Ah will if Ah want to," Vivi huffed as she finally left for her younger sister's room, slamming the door behind her.
<br><br>

Lillie sighed and shook her head. "That girl. I am so glad Myrtle isn't here right now," she muttered as she got up to resume her kitchen duties. "I don't know what it'll take to get through to her..."

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