Full Focus (Drake)

[umika kavitha aislin]

Outfit. Bands on left arm, anklet on right leg, barefoot

Umika's condo layout; Its on the fifth, top, floor of her building

Welcome to this week's episode of A State of Trance, with Armin van Buuren

Umika sat on her balcony, watching the ocean below. Well, to be more exact, Umika sat on the railing of her balcony, watching the ocean below. Loud trance music drifted out through her open balcony door and windows and Umika was nodding her head in time with the beats. A breeze rolled in off the ocean, blowing her hair back. It would be a perfect afternoon to stalk the pier or the shore but alas, it was almost five o'clock.

Umika closed her eyes for a moment and lost herself the music. Dinner was simmering on the stove, her condo was clean, and Drake would be over shortly to help her go over her financial documents. Umika let out a sign of contentment and leaned backwards slightly. She spread out her arms and allowed herself to fall back off the railing, landing on a pile of cushions. Umika wanted to just lie there, enjoying the music and letting the sun warm her but she still needed to set the table.

Umika stuck her tongue out at the sky then rolled over. She stood and danced her way back inside. Her Betta fish watched silently, as Umika drifted into the kitchen. She made sure to keep her movements in time with the beat as she stacked bowls, plates, and silverware and brought them to the table. "We're going to have company tonight." Umika said, returning to her fish. "And no, its not Aunt Logan." She tossed a couple flakes into each bowl, then returned to the table.

Once everything was set up, Umika stopped dancing and surveyed the condo. It was a good home. Comfortable. Pictures of her family and the numerous locations they had visited adorned the walls. She had cleaned and dusted her couch and tv, arranged her DVDs and small collection of old video games so they weren't strewn all over the living room. She had even lit some candles so the breeze would carry a nice scent of lavender, chamomile, and mint. Umika nodded and smiled to herself; the beat picked up and her dance continued.

[drake raphael elliot]

Drake was uncomfortable. While there were more things that violated his comfort zone than not, Drake was not at this level of discomfort very often. For the most part, he ignored everything that he didn't like and was able to live life with his unamused face and lack of humor. Now, however, he was about to do two different things that made him uncomfortable all at once--visit a stranger and eat a stranger's cooking. He didn't care what Logan or anyone else said--it was weird and he was not going to like it. Period.

To console himself, he was wearing his stiffest, most uncomfortable suit. Despite its crispness and lack of moveability, it made him look his most professional and this comforted Drake on a level that the comfortable clothes could never hope to achieve. He was carrying his briefcase, a brown leather bag that, despite its age, still looked pristine. That was how most of Drake's possessions were anyway.

Despite the fact that Drake had an excellent sense of direction, he was a little worried that he wouldn't be able to find Umwhatever's condo. He knew where it was, for the most part, and had printed the map and directions that he'd mapquested, but his nerves were screwing around with his talents. The fact that he was unprepared to sit in a stranger's house and eat her food was making him feel self-conscious about things that he would never have felt self-conscious about under normal circumstances, namely the fact that he always knew where he was going.

Perhaps he could call her, he thought as he made his way down the street the internet had told him to go on. He could call and say that he had come down with pneumonia and suggest that she leave all of her documents with someone trustworthy, like Lawrence. Maybe if that happened, she and Lawrence would meet and fall in love and everyone would hail him as the supreme matchmaker and stop bothering him. This was an excellent plan.

At least, it was excellent until he found himself approaching the condo on his map. If she saw him, his cover would be totally ruined. He did not take into account the fact that she had no idea what he looked like, mostly because he was too nervous to even think about it. He loosened his collar as he approached the door because it suddenly felt too tight. This was a terrible idea. Terrible. He was probably going to make a fool of himself.

He raised his fist and rapped three times on the door.

[umika kavitha aislin]

You say its dangerous, you don't wanna be exposed, but I know you're like a mess, and you're not gonna let it go

Umika loved this song. Armin was on fire tonight. Too bad the episode would be interrupted by dinner and her audit. Oh well, Umika would just download the episode and listen to the rest later. She sang along, stirring the Pulusu and dancing in place.

But its a sweet sensation thinking of all that hot temptation, I can't stop, you know its going right where you want

Umika turned the stove off and balanced the ladle on top of the pot and glided to her sink to wash her hands. Suddenly, there was a counter beat to the melody. It jarred Umika from her trance induced...trance and her eyes flew open. Her head cocked to the side and a puzzled look crossed her face. "What was that?" Alas, her Betta had no answer. Whatever it had been was gone now. Umika shrugged and began to wash her hands. Then something occurred to her. "Eep!"

Umika switched off the sink and ran to her door, waving her hands to dry them off. Without bothering to look through the peep hole, something which Logan was always reprimanding her about, Umika unlocked and pulled the door open.

"Shubh sandhya!" Umika cocked her head and smiled. "Good evening! Hello! You must be Drake. Or if not, you must be confused." Umika realized she was shouting so her voice would carry over the music. She laughed to herself and reached over her shoulder and down the back of her dress. Her hand came back with a remote, and without looking, Umika turned her stereo down and switched the station to a classical music station. "Sorry about that. You look very professional. I feel under dressed. Ah well."

Umika returned the remote to her dress and came back with her cell phone. She held it upside down and looked at the screen. "And right on time. Which is good since dinner is ready. Please come in." Umika cocked her head again, thinking. "Actually, wait there a second." Without asking permission, she snapped a photo of Drake with her phone. "Ok, now you can come in." Umika twirled around and made a sweeping gesture. "Welcome to my humble abode. Can I get you something to drink?" Giving Drake a friendly smile, Umika walked to her kitchen. "I was going to have wine, red, if you're interested."

[drake raphael elliot]

It was so like talkative people to make their guests wait at the door. They were all the same--rude, flighty, useless. She probably didn't even remember that he was supposed to be coming. Perhaps she wasn't home, although that was ruled out by the fact that he was certain he could make out the strains of music behind the door. Whatever, if she didn't come to the door soon, he would just leave and call her and engage in his Plan to Get Lawrence a Girlfriend Accidentally.

Unfortunately, just as he was thinking it was taking too long, the door swung open to reveal a woman that was much prettier than Drake had been expecting. He still had no desire to spend any time with her and her bright blue dress deterred him that much more. The trance music playing in the background made him cringe inwardly, but he didn't say anything, despite the fact that he wanted to.

Of course, after all that, she started speaking gibberish. This was the worst first impression ever, Drake thought, as he stared at her blankly. Luckily for him, she corrected herself. As with most talkative people, Drake found himself only paying a cursory amount of attention. He latched onto what he could and responded to that. Or, he would have, had she not started whipping things out of her dress willy-nilly. What the hell was going on?

"Drake," he said, when the music had been changed and he had finished being disturbed. "Yes. I'm Drake." He had a moment of fleeting smugness when she noticed that he was professional and she was not, but that dissipated as she removed yet another object from her dress. She was like a magical hat. He managed, mid-marvel, to realize that she was talking and snap out of his state of confusion. "Yes. I like to be on time," he said, a bit stiffly, running a finger along his collar.

He was about to follow her but, ever the gentleman [usually], he decided to listen to her. He instantly wished he hadn't. The picture she stole of him likely ended up wide-eyed and horrified looking, if Drake's face reflected anything that he was feeling. As soon as she turned, Drake casually slipped his phone out of his pocket, certain that the next object out of the back of her dress would be a meat cleaver.

"No thank you," he managed at her question. He wasn't going to drink anything that she offered unless she tasted it herself first. "I prefer not to drink and work." There. That sounded sensible and logical.

[umika kavitha aislin]

"Your loss. This is a particularly good year..." Umika wandered to her cabinets and pulled a wine glass and a normal glass out. "What can I get you instead? I have water, unsweetened ice tea, cranberry juice, or orange juice." Umika reached into her fridege and pulled the bottle of wine out. She began the process of uncorking the bottle.

"Please come in, have a seat." Umika reiterated. Her dining room table was clearly visible from the doorway so Umika didn't bother making a gesture towards it. "Bathroom is to your left if you want to wash up or anything first. Grr..." That last noise was made in annoyance towards the wine cork. Due in part to her height, or lack there of, Umika occasionally had problems getting enough leverage to uncork the bottle.

"Come on, there's a good cork..." Umika spoke under her breath to the cork, which eventually came lose. Obviously it listened to Umika. Smiling in success, Umika poured herself a glass.

Umika raised her voice again so Drake would, hopefully, know she was talking to him. "Don't mind me, I'm going to flit back and forth for a bit getting everything set." She proceeded to do just that. It felt a little odd to be preparing a meal without her normal music, but Umika suspected Drake was not a fan of trance music. Instead, she let the slower piano led melody move her. After putting some ice in Drake's glass, she brought the glasses to the table.

Next was the food. Umika returned to the kitchen and opened the oven. She removed a pan of various biscuits and rolls. "I forgot to ask what kind of pastry you prefer, so I made a medley." She transferred the breads to a basket and covered them with a clean towel to keep them warm. Next came the pulusu. Umika pulled a large serving bowl out of a cabinet and carefully poured the stew like dish into it.

"Logan warned me that you probably have no idea what this is." Umika returned the pot back to the stove. "Its called pulusu. Its like a stew. It contains fish, chicken, onions, tomatoes, chillis, various other vegetables, and curry leaves for a kick. I would advise avoiding those if you don't usually eat spicy foods."

Pulusu successfully transferred to the table, Umika returned to the kitchen and grabbed the last dish out of the microwave: steamed rice. She uncovered the dish and brought it to the table. "We usually serve the pulusu over rice." Food set, Umika stood next to her chair, waiting to see if Drake needed anything before eating. "Would you like anything else right away? Please dig in. If you don't like it, let me know and I'll order a pizza. I promise I won't be offended."

[drake raphael elliot]

"Alas," he managed to choke out as he followed her into the condo. He wished, for a fleeting second, that Will was actually there with him so that someone else would have to do all of the conversing and he could just sit in the background and crunch numbers. That would be infinitely preferable to following a possible murderer deeper into her 'abode' to meet his possible death by poison.

Despite his better judgment, he did follow her and was glad to find nothing suspicious lying around where he could see. If he didn't think about the fact that she seemed to be able to pull items out of thin air, her condo was pretty cozy. It even had a nice view of the ocean, which Drake was surprised to find that he enjoyed. Not that he didn't like the ocean, he had just never really thought about it. When he finally made it to the kitchen behind her, he considered offering his help with the wine bottle, but by the time he'd run through whether or not it would be rude to de-cork a bottle that he wasn't intending to drink, she'd gotten it.

"I'll just...sit down, then?" he said, uncertain, scooting toward the dining room. He was glad because this gave him a chance to text under the table. He somehow acquired water [>>] when he remembered that she had asked him what he wanted to drink. He figured it would be the easiest place to detect something suspicious. That settled, he chose a chair and sat stiffly in it, texting Will as sneakily as he could while he did.

In even the best situations, he would have been uncomfortable having a strange woman make dinner for him. In situations where the woman in question was suspicious and the food was unusual, Drake was ready to bolt at the slightest sign of issue. He really wished that he could have done the numbers first instead of eating dinner, but she seemed determine to feed him, so he figured he'd best suck it up.

"She warned me, too," he said and then instantly regretted it. What if Umwhatever was offended by the fact that he and Logan had discussed their meeting? Whatever happened, though, nothing really prepared him for being presented with the amount of food with which he was presented, especially since she wasn't even sitting to eat yet. Wide eyed, he looked up at her. Not only was he uncomfortable just digging in, but he also felt incredibly rude even thinking about doing so while she was just standing there, tiny and subserviant.

"Ah...you can...sit," he said, trying not to shrink away. He was a Man. He needed to act like it. Besides, he didn't want her to tell Logan that he had wimped out. He didn't want to die at anyone else's hand either, after all.

[umika kavitha aislin]

"Alrighty then." Umika tilted her head slightly to the right a smiled at Drake. Guest's comfort seen to, Umika took her seat and unconsciously smoothed out her dress. She paused for a moment, waiting to see if Drake would take the first serving. Then it occurred to her that he might be intimidated by the new food and she should probably go first. Who knows, he might even think it was poisoned, although that would be silly. Umika had bought the meat and vegetables earlier in the day, so there was no way they could have gone bad in that short amount of time.

Umika grabbed the rice bowl and spooned a pile into her bowl. Giving Drake another smile, she slid the bowl towards him and picked up the pulusu bowl. She gave it a quick stir before ladling the stew over her rice. She made sure to grab some of the fish and chicken, as well as a couple of the curry leaves. Umika pushed the pulusu bowl towards Drake, then unfolded her napkin and put it on her lap.

"Please, take as much as you would like and help yourself to the breads." She fished a curry leaf onto her spoon and took a bite. Umika wanted to make sure to taste them before Drake had a chance. A smile crossed her face, "Ah good, the leaves are just right. They didn't absorb a lot of the spices, taste similar to lemongrass." Umika nodded to herself then took a sip of wine. "Could you pass the breads please?"

Umika tried her best not to stare while she waited for Drake to try the food. Aside from Logan's occasional visits or teacher potlucks, Umika didn't get to cook for guests very often. This was a shame since she was fairly good at it and had picked up numerous recipes on her travels. "So Logan tells me you're fairly new to Meringue Mountain. Are you enjoying it so far?"

[drake raphael elliot]

Drake sat there while he waited for her, feeling awkward. He didn't really know what to do with anything and so was much happier to sit back and watch what Umwhatever did with everything first. When she finished, it was much more confidently that he started spooning rice onto his plate [less than her] and then the poowhatever [less less than her]. By the time he got around to the bread, he had a mountain of food about half the size of Umika's, but he was satisfied with it.

He waited for her to take the first bite before gingerly trying his own. He had a bite of chicken first, sans curry leaf, and it was not as spicy as he was expecting. It was, in fact, a pleasant tasting dish and Drake found himself eating at a normal speed rather than picking at it or shoveling it down just to make it go away. He avoided the leaves, as she had suggested before, and it all went down very nicely. Oh, and he passed the bread an age ago when she asked. >>

"I like it," he said, talking between chewing. "I lived in Providence for awhile, just graduated from Brown with my doctorate." It was nice that Logan had prepared her for conversation topics, even though it didn't seem like she really needed help. He was annoyed, though, that he hadn't been extended the same courtesy. She would hear it from him later.

"How about you?" he asked. "I was not similarly prepared." He tried to smile at this, to show that he was joking/being whimsical/what have you, but he was still a little too stiff and awkward to really get that across.

[umika kavitha aislin]

Umika was glad Drake seemed to be enjoying the meal. "I'm from Chicago myself. Well, more or less anyway." She dipped a biscuit into the pulusu then took a bite. "Got my masters from the Art Institute of Chicago, then..." Suddenly, the soft classical music was interrupted by a loud beep. Umika looked up from her food, an alarmed look on her face. Without explanation, she pushed her chair back, dropped her spoon, stood, and ran towards her bedroom. Her napkin fluttered to the ground behind her.

A couple seconds later, she came rushing back into the room. She was carrying a Nikon F6 and screwing an AF-S Nikkor zoom lens onto it without looking. Not stopping to acknowledge Drake, Umika ran out onto her balcony. In one fluid motion, she climbed onto the balcony railing, turned around, jumped, and, with her free hand, grabbed the edge of the roof above the balcony door. She reached up and carefully set the camera on the roof then pulled herself up after it.

Another beep sounded from Umika's stereo and she sprinted to the other side of the roof, kneeling on the edge. Umika raised the camera, increasing the zoom to full. A third beep sounded and her quarry entered her field of view. About half a mile off the coast, a fishing boat could be seen returning for a day at sea. In the span of about three minutes, Umika took a series of pictures from varying distances and foci. Satisfied with her shots for the day, Umika nodded and turned off her camera. She returned to the roof edge above her balcony then jumped down onto the pile of cushions, dress billowing around her.

When she reentered the dining room, she flashed Drake a smile as if nothing had happened. She placed the camera on a shelf just inside the door then walked to the kitchen to wash her hands. All clean, she returned to the table, pausing to stare at her napkin. A puzzled, 'how did that get there' look crossed her face and she shrugged, picking the napkin up and sliding into her chair.

"I got my Ph.D from Loyolla then came to work here." Umika took another spoonful of pulusu then a sip of wine. "I'm a photography teacher, by the way. I can't remember if I mentioned that and I'm sure Logan didn't bother." Umika finished her helping and smiled. She reached for the rice and began filling her bowl again. "Would you mind passing the pulusu back this way please? I'm glad you like it; Indian cuisine tends to be an acquired taste."

[drake raphael elliot]

Naturally, Drake was alarmed when his hostess suddenly got up and wandered off. He had thought that, now that they were sitting down, things would be a little more normal and then he could look at numbers and leave, but that was apparently not how the evening would be going. Again, since she wasn't even in the room, he snuck his phone out from under the table and started texting, all the while watching her with a mix of alarm and wariness.

He tried to eat while she was gone, but he was really too alarmed [and a little bit scared] to do so, so he waited until she was back at her place. Even then, he could really only stare at her, wondering if he was, perhaps, unconscious. It took until she started talking and eating again for him to actually pick his fork up and continue. At that point, he decided that it was best not to mention that whole fandango as it didn't seem to bother her at all. In fact, she was acting as though nothing strange had happened at all. So it was definitely a good idea to remain silent.

"That's...interesting," he said, still getting over the shock. At that point, he probably could have figured out that that she was a photography teacher, but he didn't want to say anything. "Logan didn't tell me nearly as much about you as she apparently told you about me," he said, passing the pulusu. "And...thank you for dinner. It's good."

[umika kavitha aislin]

Umika took another couple bites of pulusu before responding. She wiped her mouth and grinned at Drake, "Glad you like it. I don't get many guests so this was a nice change of pace. Usually I just eat pizza or yogurt or salad." Umika finished off her wine, glancing at Drake's glass to see if he needed a refill. She stood and walked back to the wine bottle.

"Logan isn't very forthcoming with information unless she has something to gain." Umika poured herself another glass. "Or you ask her. Sometimes it just doesn't occur to her to inform people. That's what I did." She nodded to herself then returned the bottle to the counter. "Oh!" she exclaimed, eyes falling on her Bettas, who stared back at her. "How rude of me, I forgot to introduce you to my roommates." Umika pointed to the left Betta. "This is Cat," then she pointed to the right Betta, "and this is Dog. They don't talk much alas."

Umika gestured, trying to get the fish to turn around and face Drake. They either didn't comprehend her gestures or were being belligerent and didn't turn. Sighing, Umika stuck her tongue out at the fish, then returned to the table. "So how did you wind up here if you don't mind my asking? An art school seems an odd choice for a math teacher. Kinda like an English teacher at an engineering school."

Umika finished off her second bowl. She grabbed another biscuit and began using it to soak up the bits of stew that were left. "Please feel free to eat more, there's plenty; or not if you're full. I'm done, but I'm a fast eater. I'm also more than happy enough to continue drinking slash sitting before we get to the numbers so please, take your time."

[drake raphael elliot]

He chuckled, though he could not entirely relate. He would never be caught dead replacing a meal with something snackish, like yogurt. He continued to eat, not wanting to be left behind by her fast-pace, and managed to finish while she was looking for wine. By the time she came back, he was sitting back in his chair, hands folded in his lap, back straight up and stiff.

"I know," he said, rolling his eyes. "She had plenty of opportunity, but all she did was tell me what..." He looked at the food, trying to come up with the right combination of 'u' and consonants. "...that was," he finally finished, nodding. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice, or if she did, she would just leave it be. Drake preferred not to have people realize when he didn't know something.

It didn't seem to matter though as soon she was up again, pointing at fish. Drake hated fish. They were the most useless pet in the entire world. But since she had made him dinner and was paying him, he tried to act interested. "That's..interesting," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly. He decided to make no mention of their ridiculous names--after all, he did not want to start conflict and he had promised Will that he wouldn't be rude.

"Well, every school needs a math teacher," he said, clearing his throat again. "And I was in Providence for the last few years and now my sister is an undergrad here, so it seemed like a good idea." At the time. Before he realized that arts schools sucked. But he wasn't about to say that. "How did you end up here from Chicago?"

[umika kavitha aislin]

Umika finished off her biscuit and picked up her wine glass again. She swirled it slightly, watching the liquid slosh around. "Actually, I went to school here as an undergrad. Fell in love with the area, the school, the slower pace of life. The people in the town are usually very friendly, even the police." Umika smiled, remembering some of the hijinks involving officers of the law she had gotten into as an undergrad...and last week now that she thought about it. "Chicago will always be home to me, but here..." Umika pondered for a moment, taking a sip of wine, "I just feel more alive." She shrugged and smiled. "So it seemed like the natural choice after I finished my doctorate. Took me a while to realize that, but I'm glad I did sooner rather than later."

Umika continued to sip her wine; her gaze was a tad unfocused and shifted around the room, not quite fixing on anything. After a moment she snapped herself out of it and drained her glass. She noted that Drake hadn't gotten any more food. Umika was quite full as well; normally she would only have had one helping but running along rooftops tends to make one hungrier than usual. "Well, it seems like we're done eating. I'm afraid I don't have anything for dessert. I rarely eat dessert and it didn't occur to me to make anything. I have some fruit if you would like"

Without thinking about it, Umika picked her napkin up off or her lap and folded it into a triangular design. She set the folded napkin on the table and pushed her chair back. "I'll take care of the cleanup and what not if you want to get started on the fun stuff. My records are all in the den, I can show you."

[drake raphael elliot]

Drake always found it difficult to wrap his mind around people who did not plan every second of their lives out as he did, so he listened to what Umika was saying but didn't really follow. Theoretical discussions about "feeling alive" also made no sense to him and he nodded along as though he understood until she stopped talking. Then, he sat quietly and waited for her to do whatever else she intended to do.

"Are you sure you don't want help?" he asked, feeling even more awkward. He didn't need to be taken care of. Blah blah blah, there were words and she said not to worry etc. So Drake stood up and Umika showed him the way to her records and I really can't fill this with two hundred words, even though I was off to a really good start at first. But the thread is ending. So he went and did the numbers while she cleaned up and then he left and was glad to escape almost certain death.

THE END.