[ there's nothing inherently forboding about christmas crackers. and, okay, maybe the cheerful woman who'd practically tied the thing to her hand hadn't exactly said anything about christmas, and maybe it was the wrong time of year for that sort of thing, but... well, lara jean's not an idiot. she knows what a christmas cracker is, thank you very much.

what she doesn't know is that these particular crackers won't open without a friendly hand, and so by the time she works up the courage to approach a stranger, she's a fair bit frustrated with her own lack of success. ]

I'm sorry, but can I borrow your hand for a moment?

[ look, she's on the moon of an alien planet, she needs to verify that it's not just her causing the problem. maybe she's just not strong enough... or maybe this thing just is a dud. ]

Here, tug on one end, I'll get the other.

[ who knows what prize they'll get! ]

asking for a friend:
is there a used bookstore in town?

[ feel free to bump into lana jean in anywhere! she's a minor (only 17!) so she'll be enrolled in high school, taking her own fair share of smarty pants classes and probably picking up a part-time job to fill up her time. ]