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Post by LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ on Apr 6, 2012 0:44:40 GMT -5
 LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ IN "everything's not lost"
also staring JESS MORETTI
title inspired by "EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST" BY COLDPLAY
Lena stood near the shower, her hand darting under the water as she waited for it to get warm, while her eyes darted towards the bathroom door. Her sister, Ceres, had come into town and had just arrived home. Lena was always the target of Ceres' energy, either to tease her, to talk her ear off, or to force her to go out and shop or party. This was probably because out of everyone in their family, Lena was typically the most passive. She didn't resist much, even when she was squirming on the inside.
Once it was at a comfortable temperature, she turned on her CD player, the sounds of Ólafur Arnalds playing loudly. She hopped in the shower and pulled the curtain shut behind her just in time; the moment she was under the water, her bathroom door was shoved unceremoniously open. Lena could see the figure's outline and sighed inwardly.
"Lena! Oh come on, why do you have to jump in the shower the moment I get home?" spoke an annoyed, feminine voice. There was a pause as Ceres turned down the music, muttering something about Lena's bad taste in it, then Ceres could be heard rummaging through Lena's bathroom, "You haven't even touched the make-up I sent you for Christmas!"
Lena quickly shampooed her hair and rinsed it. "I don't like to wear makeup much," she said, nearly inaudible with the water running, as she put conditioner in her hair, then began to scrub her body while she let the conditioner soak.
"You don't have to wear it all the time. You know, guys would notice you a lot more if you wore it. Have you even gone out on a date since that....," Ceres paused, and Lena could see her putting her hand on her hip as she tried to remember the name, "...since that Logan kid?"
Logan's name made Lena uncomfortable, and she was glad that there was a curtain separating her from her sister, "No. I've been busy with school," she answered, rinsing the conditioner from her hair furiously. Lena could hear Ceres making some tsking noises, but she seemed to not have anything else to say for the moment. With a shake of her head, Lena began to shave her legs. She could hear Ceres leave the bathroom, probably to go check out Lena's closet. Despite knowing that her ordeal with Ceres wasn't over yet--it wouldn't be completely over until Ceres went back to California--she took her temporary reprieve gratefully.
Her legs and armpits were soon shaved and her hair and body were clean, but Lena still lingered under the warm water, letting it massage her shoulders. She closed her eyes and pretended that it was the rain--a much warmer than normal rain--and a smile came to her face. There was something about the rain and storms that both soothed and excited her, both made her want to stop doing everything and start doing everything. It was a primal feeling deep in her heart. She could imagine herself running barefoot through a meadow, arms spread out wide as the rain fell upon her skin and the thunder crashed under her feet. She could feel--
"Oh come on, Lena! Stop avoiding me. I don't bite," Ceres' yelled from presumably Lena's bedroom.
Lena opened her eyes, the fantasy dissipating in the air at the sound of Ceres' voice. Sighing, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower then wrapped herself in a towel. She looked at herself in the mirror, frowning as she remembered what Jess had said to her several weeks ago. Lena watched herself in the mirror as she put a hand to her cheek, feeling the soft skin there.
"Hey, Lenny, what's this gossip web....," Ceres' voice trailed off, and Lena could hear a snort of confusion come from her room. Confused and curious as to what made Ceres stop speaking, Lena walked into her bedroom to see Ceres at her laptop. There was a bright green webpage as the background.
"What's that?" asked Lena, coming closer to the desk. Ceres turned and gave Lena a strange look.
"Is this true?" Ceres questioned, gesturing to the screen, disbelief on her face. Lena slowed to a stop in front of the computer, wide eyes drawn to the screen in something akin to fear and caution. She read the words, her mouth opening to a small 'o', then read them a second time to make sure she had read correctly. Her cheeks flushed scarlet when she read them for a third time, and they finally sank in.
lena sanchez and jess moretti were seen at the community center, all alone at night. the town's shy sweetheart and the town's bad boy? mhmm, there is definitely some canoodling going on between those two, if not something "more", if you know what I mean. who can resist that classic story?
"Len?" Her sister's voice brought Lena out of her stupor. Ceres' dark chocolate eyes peered at Lena curiously, "Well, is it?"
"N-no. I-I mean I was at the community center...and....and he showed up too," she stuttered, still staring at the computer screen.
"Just 'happened' to show up in the evening? Don't you, like, have that one room that center reserves for you?" Ceres asked, eyebrows raised.
Lena nodded slowly, "Yes...I don't...I don't know. He had....he had two of my sketchbooks. He was...just...returning them to me...." she said, though she wasn't remembering the sketchbooks he returned to her; instead, her mind was on their other exchanges. The way the spark in his hazel eyes and laced words challenged her, the way he stayed long enough to have an actual conversation with her, the way she didn't run away from him.
Ceres' eyes darkened, "That bastard. I bet he sent in that post about you and him to this gossip character. I always did think he was a trouble maker."
The flush from her cheeks faded slightly, "I don't think he--"
"Oh hush. I mean, I know I'm always on your back about dating, but him? Geesh, any sister of mine can do way better than that," said Ceres as she stood and circled around Lena with a calculating eye.
"Ceres...," said Lena, a note of warning and yet resignation in her voice.
"I know what we'll do. The spring fling is in town, right? Of course it is. First two weeks of April," Ceres exclaimed, a triumphant smile on her lips.
"I have to work tonight," Lena protested.
"Not anymore. Mitera said you could have the night off. I already talked to her about it. Now, we have to figure out something for you to wear....,"
=-=-=-=-=
It was nearly five o'clock by the time Ceres was finished with her. Lena had never understood why it could take a girl this long to get ready to go anywhere; it had been six hours since she had stepped out of the shower, and Ceres had decided that Lena needed to get out on the town. And that she needed a makeover. Ceres always thought that Lena always needed a makeover, though tonight's makeover was specifically so that Jess would see her out on the town without him. All of Lena's attempts to correct her sister's conclusions were all in vain. Eventually, she had just given up and allowed Ceres to drag her out shopping for an outfit.
"There!" said Ceres, a bright, beaming smile spread across her face as she studied Lena, who stood uncomfortably in the middle of the room, "That's so much better, don't you think?"
Lena felt anything but "better". Despite being fairly clumsy naturally, Ceres had opted to put her in a pair of wedges with several inches of heel. The silken blue ribbon was soft against her skin, but she hardly felt stable when she moved. Adding to her discomfort was the dress Ceres had put her in. It was a beautiful blue dress--the same color as her eyes--but it made Lena feel very exposed. It had thin spaghetti straps, and it showed much more of her cleavage than she would have preferred. In addition, the hemline ended between her hips and her knees.
Ceres had spent at least two and a half hours working with her hair, emphasizing the natural curls and pulling them in a loose, stylish bun on her head. Ceres had told her she was going for a "beautiful in five minutes in the morning" look, which Lena had found slightly ironic, considering how long it had taken her to perfect that look. Of course, Ceres had ignored her opinion and continued to chat away as she worked on her hair. Despite how forward and intimidating her older sister could be, Lena was at least grateful that Ceres liked to hear herself talk.
"Hmmm...Something is missing...," muttered Ceres as she walked slowly around Lena in a circle, eyeing her objectively with her narrowed brown eyes. Suddenly she stopped and laughed, "Of course. Jewelry! That's what you're missing."
"Is that really needed?" asked Lena with a sigh, walking over to lay on her bed, not trusting herself in her shoes. Ceres shrugged her off as she dug around in her own box of jewelry, finally straightening with an 'ah ha!'.
"This will work perfectly!" exclaimed Ceres enthusiastically as she quickly clipped on a silver necklace with blue roses around Lena's neck, then she attached matching dangling earrings. There was a pause as Ceres studied Lena again then shoved several silvery bracelets on Lena's wrist, "There. You look perfect. Now, we just need dates!"
Lena's eyebrows shot to the roof of her forehead, "Why do we need dates?" she asked, cheeks flushing slightly as she stared at her sister with wide eyes.
"To show that guy that you don't care what he posts about you to some stupid gossip website, of course," replied Ceres, her tone seemingly asking 'isn't it obvious?'. Lena frowned and sat up.
"You've hardly been in Cresting Grove in the last several years. How on earth do you expect to find two guys to go out with...with...us?" questioned Lena.
Ceres laughed and rolled her eyes, as she flipped open her phone, "Oh dear sister, I have my ways."
=-=-=-=-=
Lena sighed. It was already a long night.
She wasn't sure how Ceres had done it, but somehow, the sisters had met up with two guys on Main Street in Cresting Grove about twenty minutes after Ceres had called some people. Lena's own 'date' wasn't unattractive or uninteresting himself, but he seemed much more interesting in Ceres than in her. This suited Lena fairly well, and it hardly even seemed to bother Ceres either. The four of them walked around the festival, playing games and riding a few rides. It would have been enjoyable, perhaps, if Lena had been doing these activities with her friend, Kara, but being stuck with her older sister and two guys who seemed enthralled by Ceres' charm was just short of misery.
About an hour into the festivities, however, Lena's date--Eric, was his name--suggested that the four leave Cresting Grove and hang out in a real club. Ceres and her date--Aiden--readily agreed. None of them asked Lena.
"Let me use the bathroom, and then we'll go!" said Ceres cheerfully, hurrying to the bathrooms nearby. Eric and Aiden talked, paying little to no attention to Lena. By this point, Lena had become mildly annoyed with the three of them. This was always how it turned out when she went anywhere with Ceres. Ceres was the beautiful, charismatic one who lured in all the guys and had all the friends. Lena wasn't exactly jealous; she was glad that her sister had that kind of life. Sometimes, she just wished...She didn't know.
Before she knew it, she was hurrying away from Eric and Aiden once their backs were turned. Lena sprinted up a nearby hill and hid behind a bush, watching as Ceres exited the bathroom. It was dark out by this time, but a bright moon shed light on all things, making some things look ethereal. Lena crouched lower in the bush, hoping to not be seen by her sister and her friends.
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Post by JESS MORETTI on Apr 7, 2012 21:17:13 GMT -5
 when the devil wants to dance with you ,YOU BETTER SAY NEVER[/color][/font] because a dance with the devil might last you forever[/color][/font] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/color][/center][/color][/font]
"Jess! Jess please!"
Faith whined and grabbed Jess' limp hand as he lounged on the couch, trying, in vain, to watch television. She tugged at him, knowing fully that there was no way she would be able to lift her older brother from the couch. But perhaps if she continued with this pulling and tugging and jostling, Jess would finally get up and come with her to the Spring Fling in town. It had already been there for a couple of days now, but Jess always "had to work". But Faith suspected he was up to more than just working on cars lately.
Finally, with a groan of frustration, Jess sat up. "Fine. Go grab my shoes and we'll leave." Faith smooched him on the cheek and turned to dart off, but paused suddenly and faced her brother once more. "You're going to go like that?" She asked, with overly emphasized disgust. Jess was sitting there in a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt, his hair all over the place from napping through most of the day.
"Yeah..." Jess responded slowly, confused by his little sister's criticism. So his T-shirt was a little oil stained, but what of his wardrobe wasn't by now, really? Faith sighed and shook her head disapprovingly, though a smile tugged at her lips. ]"Go take a shower. A fast one! I'll find you some better clothes." Jess got to his feet, eying Faith suspiciously. ]"Why?" The little girl grinned and skipped off into their mother's room, where Jess shared some of the closet space.
Sighing he dragged himself into the bathroom and turned on the hot water, sluggishly disrobing. All he wanted to do tonight was lay on his couch and watch some crime television show or something. But really he could only resist Faith for so long. Jess stepped beneath the warm spray, letting the water soak his hair down flat against his head. He sighed, allowing the heat to relax his muscles and rouse him a bit at the same time.
"FAST!" Faith banged on the bathroom door to emphasize her shouting.
Once Jess had gotten out of the shower, he shuffled into his mother's bedroom with a bathrobe on to see an outfit laid out for him. Faith had picked out a plaid shirt of varying shades of blue, his one un-stained pair of jeans and some sandals he honestly did not remember owning. With a sigh, Jess dressed quickly and went back to the bathroom to find Faith standing there with a comb in her hands.
"Brush it to look nice. Like at that wedding we went to." She held the comb out to her older brother, smiling up at him.
"Why, Faith?" Jess inquired as he took the comb from his sister and positioned himself in front of the mirror.
The young girl adopted a devious smile and leaned back against the door frame. "You should try to look good for your girl friend."
He paused and peered at Faith's reflection in the mirror. What did she know? How did she know? And did he have a girl friend? Jess simply stared for a while, dumbfounded and uncertain. Faith just giggled and told him to finish his hair, brush his teeth, and put on a bit of the cologne she had gotten him for Christmas.
Jess hadn't looked so put together in a long time.
- - -
Throughout most of the evening, Faith dragged Jess through the square, begging for funnel cakes and pleading with him to win her a stuffed animal at one of he gaming booths. Obediently, Jess bought Faith her treats and one her the toys she wished for. All the while he found himself scanning the crowds for a certain face. At one point he thought he caught a glimpse of her, but his attention was demanded by Faith immediately thereafter.
"Jess! Jessss!" Faith pointed off into the distance at a group of girls around her age. "I see Aimee and everyone!" Jess looked off at the booth she was pointing at and recognized one of the girls' mothers. "You head on over there..I'm tired. Meet me in the middle of the square at eleven o'clock. Okay?"
Without any protest, Faith darted off to meet up with her friends. Jess, meanwhile, scanned the crowd again and spotted a blur of blue as the girl darted up a grassy hill. A slow smirk curved at his lips and he quietly followed in the darkness, heading up the hill from a different direction.
Silently he crept up towards the bush Lena crouched in and leaned down close so that when he spoke in a low tone, his breath would tickle her ear.
"A little old to be playing hide and go seek, aren't we?"
### WORDSLENA and anyone else! TAGGEDHere! OUTFITtemplate by LISA@GBBS, lyrics by immortal technique CREDITRAWRR! NOTES [/color][/font][/RIGHT] |
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Post by LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ on Apr 7, 2012 22:05:30 GMT -5
LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ IN "everything's not lost"
also staring JESS MORETTI
title inspired by "EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST" BY COLDPLAY Lena watched as Ceres exited the bathroom and walked towards Eric and Aiden, her bright and charming smile dazzling the two boys. Once she met up with them, the smile slowly turned to a frown as she turned her head back and forth, searching. Ceres' eyebrows furrowed, and she looked at the two boys with annoyance. The boys' previously confident-to-the-point-of-arrogance expressions faded, replaced with uneasiness. While she couldn't make out what they were saying, she felt she could guess pretty accurately.
"Where did Lena go?" Ceres would ask first, confused, then when the boys shrugged, she would say in an irritated voice, "You mean, you don't know? How could you not know? She was right here!"
"Well, she must have run off somewhere. Honestly, she's 19. She can take care of herself," Lena could picture Aiden saying, his voice nonchalant yet uncertain.
"You were supposed to be watching her!"
Lena could imagine the annoyance in her sister's voice. She watched as Ceres pulled out her cell phone, dialing a number, then pausing.
"I'm glad you didn't let me take my phone," Lena whispered under her breath, taking a bit of amusement in her sister's distress now. She rearranged herself so that her dress wasn't touching the dirt, though it had the side effect of making it appear much shorter than it was.
She continued to watch her sister and the two guys for several moments, and she was so engrossed in her study that she did not hear the quiet steps of someone behind her. His words were whispered so close to her ear that she could feel his breath on her skin. A shiver ran down her body at the contact, but otherwise her response was a little more dramatic.
Lena turned around to face him, her bright blue eyes made standing out even more with the dark eyeliner Ceres had applied to her face earlier, stared at him for half a second, then grabbed him and pulled him closer to the ground. "Shuushh," she muttered furiously, ducking her own head as she pulled her dress down farther. Strangely enough, the red tint that so often appeared on Lena's face was absent.
She was too annoyed at her sister to be embarrassed.
Lena pulled a few branches of the bush quietly apart so she could study her sister and the two guys below, carefully attempting to lip read. "Besides," Lena began again, whispering furiously under her breath, "It's your fault I'm here anyway!" |
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Post by JESS MORETTI on Jul 2, 2012 21:21:53 GMT -5
when the devil wants to dance with you ,YOU BETTER SAY NEVER [/color][/font] because a dance with the devil might last you forever[/color][/font] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/color][/center][/color][/font]
As Jess bent down next to Lena, his gaze was drawn to what--or who--exactly she was hiding from. He spotted a threesome in their direct line of sight. Two guys, typical college frat-boy type douche bags from what Jess could tell. He tried not to judge a book by its cover but...Well he really did not like their cover. His gaze then settled on the girl with them, looking thoroughly irritated as she told the two young men off.
He was about to ask Lena why exactly she was crouching in the bushes watching two guys get told off when suddenly he was tugged unceremoniously to the ground. Jess had not exactly been expecting this sudden turn of events and found himself face first in the dirt. So much for getting all dolled up for this night on the town.
Grumbling, he turned over and sat up, brushing some dirt from his face. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a lot stronger than you look?" He shook his head and leaned around the bushes again to peer down at the festival. Once again he was going to ask Lena why she was crouching here, but then he noticed her dress--or rather, the way it was riding up a bit to expose her pale legs. The view he was getting from this angle had suitably derailed Jess' thoughts.
Until Lena snapped at him, anyways.
Jess stared at her, rather dumbfounded. "My fault?" He hissed in response. "How the hell is it my fault that you're squatting in the bushes?"
### WORDSLENA and anyone else! TAGGEDHere! OUTFITtemplate by LISA@GBBS, lyrics by immortal technique CREDITRAWRR! NOTES [/color][/font][/RIGHT] |
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Post by LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ on Jul 3, 2012 1:19:52 GMT -5
LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ IN "everything's not lost"
also staring JESS MORETTI
title inspired by "EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST" BY COLDPLAY
Lena narrowed her eyes at the scene at the bottom of the hill. You would think that Ceres would be worried that her sister had vanished, but instead, only annoyance was showing on her face. It wasn't hard for Lena to guess what was going through Ceres' mind. She was probably blaming Lena for putting a kink in her otherwise perfect night, upset even that Lena didn't seem to appreciate the effort Ceres' had put into dressing Lena up and finding "dates" for the two of them.
It was possible that Ceres' meant well by her actions--Lena at the very least knew that she didn't mean her any harm--but she was quite convinced that every time Ceres tried to remake Lena, it was because Ceres saw her as a doll to dress up and play with. Lena couldn't remember Ceres ever asking Lena her opinion on anything, whether it was asking her if she preferred Coke or Sprite or if she liked the style of dress Ceres had picked out. Just because she was quiet didn't mean she didn't have opinions, and it sometimes upset her that people--especially her sister--never asked what they were.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a lot stronger than you look?"
Lena was still concentrating on the three below, but his comment made the sides of her lips twitch, "I work alone in an art studio," she quickly replied under her breath. The twitch in her lips that might have turned into a smile then turned into a frown as she saw Aiden point up towards where she and Jess were hiding. Ceres rolled her eyes and shook her head and gestured away from the hill. Lena let out a sigh of relief. Either Ceres didn't believe Lena was able to this hill so quickly and quietly--Lena really couldn't believe it herself--or Ceres had given up on her sister for the night. Lena really hoped it was the latter.
Once the three were gone, she sat up and turned to Jess. She instantly felt guilty for snapping at him earlier; the only way he would deserve that was if Ceres was right about him posting the information, and Lena believed that he didn't. "Sorry," she murmured, "I shouldn't have gotten angry."
For the first time, Lena noticed his appearance. He looked very dressed up, at least, for Jess. In the back of her mind, she wondered why he was dressed as such. It couldn't have been the spring fling; there was no reason someone would get dressed up for a country festival, and Lena suspected that Jess would be hard-pressed to do so even if it was expected.
His annoyed response to her unjust accusation rang back in her head, "Uhm, well....it's not...not really your...your fault...," she began, her cheeks flushing just slightly pink as she remembered the website her sister had found earlier, "At least, I-I don't...I don't think you did it." she said, adding the last part quickly.
"There's...there's a website...It's...new. Has a lot of...of gossip on it. Rumours. Maybe some...some truth things, I don't know. But it mentions you. And....and me," she swallowed and licked her lips, unable to look Jess in the eye.
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Post by JESS MORETTI on Jul 3, 2012 20:10:51 GMT -5
when the devil wants to dance with you ,YOU BETTER SAY NEVER [/color][/font] because a dance with the devil might last you forever[/color][/font] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/color][/center][/color][/font]
Suddenly she was stuttering again, and in the faint light provided by the festival he could make out the flush that colored her fair cheeks. Curiously, Jess tilted his head and watched Lena as she stumbled over her words. Not a minute ago she was speaking without much difficulty. Though, he supposed, she had not been saying much and was sufficiently distracted. Was it specifically him or was this girl always so damn skittish?
Once Jess got past the fact that Lena was stuttering once more, her words themselves registered. A website? Jess frowned, pondering this. It was not often that he went online, mostly because his family's computer was ancient and was a pain to work. Faith used it every now and then for school stuff, and was constantly dragging him over to figure something out that had gone wrong. She tended to go to friends' houses to do computer stuff.
A crease formed between Jess' brows as he thought about what Lena had said. This site talked about the two of them? It did not take much deduction for him to conclude that it talked about them romantically in some way. Now Faith's 'girlfriend' comment made more sense. Jess suddenly felt very foolish for being so put together for this imaginary girlfriend who was not even who he thought she was!
Jess snorted and ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright. Well I appreciate your claim of my innocence...I think. But that still does not tell me how your hiding in the bushes is remotely my fault, Jane."
### WORDSLENA and anyone else! TAGGEDHere! OUTFITtemplate by LISA@GBBS, lyrics by immortal technique CREDITRAWRR! NOTES [/color][/font][/RIGHT] |
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Post by LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ on Jul 3, 2012 23:13:16 GMT -5
LENA CALLISTA SANCHEZ IN "everything's not lost"
also staring JESS MORETTI
title inspired by "EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST" BY COLDPLAY
Lena bit her lip, her blue eyes darting around, "It didn't just...just say that we were...you know...um, dating...," she began, swallowing as her cheeks reddened again. Her eyes focused on a piece of ground under the bush where Jess and Lena were hiding. Well, Lena suppose Jess wasn't actually hiding from anything, but he hadn't given her spot away in any case.
Gently she removed the various twigs and rocks covering the ground between them and brushed away the pine straw to reveal the dirt below. It was dark dirt, nearly black, and she knew it was quite fertile despite how dry it currently was. Lena couldn't remember the last time it had rained, "The website, it, uhm...implied that...that that night in my art studio...that it wasn't innocent," she murmured so quietly that, had they been neared to the noise of the festival in the valley below them, her words would have been inaudible. Hesistantly, Lena gestured to where her sister and the two boys had been a few minutes before.
"Ceres--my sister--didn't like that very much," Lena added, smoothing out the dirt below her hand. Timidly, she looked at him, "She thinks that I shouldn't--," she paused, then continued, changing what she was going to say, "She doesn't like you very much, I don't think."
Once the earth was relatively smooth, she began to lightly draw with her pinkie, "Ceres, um, decided you had to have posted it to ...to humiliate me. I don't think you did, like I said, but...she's...judgmental and really stubborn?" she added the last almost as a question, looking at him with an apologetic gaze before quickly returning to watch her finger draw in the dirt, "And she...uh...decided I had to...to get out. Get dressed up, go out with her and some guys I've never met...To, uhm, prove to you that it didn't...didn't bother me that you had...you know...posted all that. Which you didn't."
And then a strange thing happened. A cautious smile appeared across her face, followed by a quiet laugh, "It was miserable. They tried to make me go dancing."
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