Summit Theater Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Betelgeuse!

@nousha
outfit

---

Yo. It was eighty freaking degrees on this beautifully sunny afternoon.

Asha found a lot of cause to go to places when she was gifted tickets to things with some well-placed flirting from behind the bar. Now she had two tickets to the Ridgefield production of Beetlejuice, and since Abraham couldn't actually get out of work today so last minute, it turned out she was going stag. (Doe? Meow.)

She was in line when a sudden wind whipped up and blew her ridiculous (but extremely in theme!) hat right off her head and up the sidewalk.

"AHH!" she yelled, trying to escape the line so she could grab it, but it sailed just out of her reach right towards a young lady. "Catch it!"

NEED HAT.

What were all these people out here for? Nousha stood at the corner and stared at the line that stretched out onto the sidewalk. Her eyes climbed the bodies around a little curve to a theater front. Oh! Dark, colorful posters read Beetlejuice. Which she'd never heard of, but the posters were very fun to look at.

She picked at the tab on her soda can and slurped the rest of the caramel liquid from it. Pick pick pick.

A gust picked up and she leaned into it, about to head back on her way, when a woman in the line called something out and Nousha stared at a wildly large hat frisbeeing at her. She set her can down quickly and jumped to grab it, but missed, catching it with her face instead. Her hands clapped on the dome of it, keeping it from flipping away further and she stood there for a second, the rim flapping in the remnants of the breeze.

"I got it!" She announced, muffled.

Pow! Right in the face. Asha managed to bustle past the line of people towards her, somehow out of breath despite it having been some embarrassingly short distance. All the yelling, maybe.

"Ahh! AHHH! Thank you!" she yelled, but some combination of relief and jaguar enthusiasm pulled her into sort of body crash hug.

This was, of course, so her own jaguar could crash right into the younger one in a hail of stubby legs and species-recognition. And hissing.

Nousher was very excited and mouthy and loud. Hissing? Just how some cats say hello!

Nousha was surprised to be hugged, but also leaned into it. The hat was peeled off her face so she could actually see the owner of it and her face lit up. So pretty! So many pretty cats here! Jaguars were always the prettiest, though.

"You're welcome! It's such a pretty hat." Nousha peeked at the line. "Are you here for that show?"

This girl was taller than herrrrrr. It was okay. Asha was used to this. But despite that, she also wanted to like, squish this cat's cheeks! Which she could see, because she was a jaguar!

"I am!! I thought it would make sense, since..." she waved at Beetlejuice's iconic striped suit. But~! This was a jaguar!

"You're a- we're the same!?"

Hello who are you!

She had to look at the poster again. OH! THE STRIPES ON THE HAT! They did look like that guy's funky suit. And the purple. Why weren't the other people in line dressed up? Her face lit up with recognition and then the wattage doubled as the woman went on.

Nousha nodded so fast her neck might ache. "Yeah!" Really, it was very exciting because it wasn't like she just ran into other weres on the street that were just like her. Especially ones so enthusiastic. She'd been two for two on nice animals, but neither of them had been jaguars. "I moved here really recently--" She hesitated and then seemed to shake something off. "I'm Nousha."

NOoooosha. NOOOOOOSHA. Recognition lit up — Esfir had mentioned Nousha!

"Oh you're the one Esfir's been hiding from me!" she gasped, and then squeezed her up in a hug again. "Ahhh! You're so cute! I'm Asha!"

Pictures did not do her justice!

More hugs! Her eyes went green with excitement. This was pretty much the best thing that could have happened to her. Maybe something one day could best this, or at least match it, but nothing better.

"Does she talk about me lots?" Nousha blushed and tipped her chin, very curious. "Oooo, I got so lucky running into you."

Green eyes! GREEN EYES! Just. Like.

Abraham

Asha giggled, stepping back. "Yes! Alllll the time. She keeps teasing me with you for some reason. Now I can just kidnap you! Did you wanna watch the show too?"

The kidnap part was a joke. Asha did reach for the hat though, so she could fix it back on her head.

Kidnap? Catnap. She felt a wriggle coming on. Elbows pressed into her sides and her shoulders hunched in an excited little wiggle. "I'd love to! What's it about?" It looked fun. Asha looked fun. "Kidnap me!" Nousha announced excitedly, maybe a little too loud.

"It's about-" she started, then realized she didn't fully know. How many times had she seen Beetlejuice and just had the whole point of it blow right past her brain? "This. Girl? That summons, uh, a..."

A blink. Then she hooked her arm in Nousha's, letting her cat swat the younger jaguar with glee.

"Look, why spoil it! I'll just take you in with me and you can totally experience it for yourself!"

Yes. That made sense. She had an extra ticket anyway!

Nousha looked expectantly, hoping for some in depth explaination of whatever she was about to walk into. She'd never been to the theater before. Movie theaters, yeah, but not like...Real live people on a stage. Doing things. Would they sing?

Asha would leave her hanging. But that was OK. It made it more exciting. No spoilers.

"How much are tickets?" She switched soda can hands and went to go digging for her wallet as they headed back towards the line.

Look at this super responsible lady trying to pay for tickets.

"Zero! Nothing! I got them for free," she grinned toothily. They re-entered at the back of the line, but it was fine because seats were assigned or whatever.

Free!

"Are you famous?" Nousha asked Asha quietly. Because theatre seemed like a big deal (there was a line outside!) and Broadway was touted as this huge fancy thing from the movies she'd seen.

"Mmmmmm. Sort of?" she toyed with. "I just flirt with my customers and they sometimes give me free things. You know."

Er. She did know, right? Asha supposed her cat was pretty young looking.

Nousha did not know. So she shook her head.

"Flirting gets you free stuff?" Like, actually? "I've been trying to get a bassoon, and they're kind of expensive, so...could I do that?"

A free bassoon would be awesome.

A bassoon?! "Maybe if you flirted with a bassoon teacher," she said, but actually it was meant to be a joke, so she continued; "how much is it for one?"

Maybe she coullllldddd give Nousha a jobbbbb?!

Nousha would definitely remember this if there were any bassoon teachers around here. Even though she felt like she didn't really need a teacher and she'd probably have to pay them first so she could flirt with them? She wasn't really sure how that worked.

"It kinda depends. My first one was...two-thousand, I think?" A big number. But she was very good at saving. Especially when nice new friends bought things for her. "But I don't mind fixing one or buying one used." Projects could be fun!

Huh. Why was music so fucking expensive. The line edged forward, and she made her offer.

"Well... do you have a job?"

"I'm an online English tutor! It pays OK. But it's part time and since I moved I've been outside a lot more trying to make friends." Less hours. Less money. She shrugged a little and sucked in her lips.

Aww, she had a job already. Asha didn't make the connection that she was losing money, but.

"Oh okay! Well I mean — if you wanted to hang around my pool club, you'd definitely be able to make friends there! We can always use the help too, if you wanted a side job..."

Dangling carrots for the lady!

"You have a pool?" A pool! She wouldn't have t go to the lake all the time if she had a pool! Plus, there would be more people there than at the lake. "That...Really? What kind of work?" What actual amazing luck she had.

Nousha seemed interested. Sidenote, Nousha and Asha was such a good buddy comedy name, please let her ;_;

"Well, I actually have two pools. But one of them's a secret," she said with a hand up and a low voice murmur, conspiratorial. "Mostly need someone who wants to take charge of cleaning and lifeguarding, with the secret one."

Eyebrow raise. The line started to move. Was Nousha game!

Two.

Pools.

Was Asha rich? Cause rich people had two pools. Getting free theater tickets and having a normal pool and a secret pool. And she wanted Nousha to be apart of it?

"I've never lifeguarded before." Nousha admitted.

"That's okay. I'll teach you- but you gotta say yes first. And come watch this play with me," she winked, linking arms with her so the cats could play.

"Yes and yes!" She enthusiastically agreed. A new job! Being a lifeguard at a secret pool and more! jaguar friends.

What a day.