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 Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 7:30 pm
The sky continued to grow dark as rain fell. People walking home from work or from school all had their umbrellas out, prepared for the poor turn int he weather. The bright days could only last so long before they had a storm.
Being one of the few people who didn't have an umbrella with them, Christopher ducked into a small cafe on his way home from an afternoon class, hoping to wait out the heavy part of the rain before finishing his journey. A cab was a possibility, but he was rarely in the mood to be chauffeured around. Waiting was fine for him. Besides, he needed to get his backpack out of the rain before is soaked all the way through to his computer.
First thing was first, though, and he went up to order a drink from the counter. At least that way they wouldn't kick him out for not being a paying costumer. Jasmine Oolong was his tea of choice, not in the mood for coffee, but also not wanting to get something cold. He figured that tea was a good choice, anyway... full of antioxidants and all that. His mother swore by tea, so it was almost expected for him to at least drink it every so often. He'd even make it for himself at his apartment if it didn't take forever to boil the water and then let the tea steep... and then wait for it to be a good drinking temperature without threat of burning his mouth. Or maybe he was just lazy and complained about simple things too much? Probably both.
Next thing to do was to find somewhere to sit, and since it seemed as though everyone else had also had the brilliant idea of hiding from the rain, he was left to approach the one table left with only one person sitting at it.
"Mind if I sit here...?" Chris asked the young man that he assumed was his own age. Something about him looked familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on it at the moment. Maybe they'd crossed paths before...? "I promise it won't be for long. Just long enough to finish my tea." Hopefully the rain would let up enough by that point.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 9:52 am
Matthew was sitting at the table that had become his usual spot most afternoons. Ever since his old roommate had bailed, the apartment felt... empty. A bad kind of empty, and way too big for him alone. It only hammered it home that deciding to move with his friend Sebastian was the best decision, but he still needed to wait for his bail to run out, turn out the internet and such...
Damn hassle.
God damn ex-roommate.
He liked this place for a few reason - the ambiance provided life without being too distracting, and the tea... Oh, the tea was heavenly. It was enough to have Matthew come by like clockwork on most afternoons when he didn't have class. His laptop was open, and he was working on some of his homework for his C++ class when a voice made him look up from his screen to the brown-haired man who had spoken.
"Sure, go ahead." Matthew scooted his laptop aside to let Chris enough space to sit and set down his drink in front of him. "Ha... It finally started raining, uh ? The sky looked nasty when I got here earlier."
Hm... Familiar, though. "...You wouldn't go to DCU, by any chance ? Pretty sure I've seen you somewhere before..."
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 3:27 pm
"Thanks," Chris said with a grateful smile as he pulled out a chair to sit down, before lifting a hand to run through his wet hair, though still conscious enough to make sure not to get any water on the other young man's computer. That would be horrible... Not that a few drops would really do much, in theory, but still. He'd feel guilty about getting it wet when he was the one who was jumping in to sit down.
He did blink curiously when DCU was mentioned, though, figuring that must be why he recognized the other boy. "Yes, I do. Only a freshman. Do you go there, too?" It wasn't too surprising to run into someone from the university since it was fairly close by, but it was difficult to run in to people that one was actually familiar with, seeing as there were thousands of students. Had they been in class together? Maybe he had been in a performance? Or possibly a volunteer for a charity event he'd also participated in...? There were so many different ways they could have seen each other around, it would probably take a while if they started a guessing game.
Although he couldn't figure out who the young man was upon first glance, he did quickly dry his hand on a napkin he'd grabbed with his tea, offering it to his table mate. "Chris Gallo," he said with a small smile, only to scowl as a flash of lightening lit up the sky outside. He would very much not like to walk home in that, though he knew he needed to, sooner than later. His dog was still waiting for him at home, and while she was usually okay with storms, he didn't feel comfortable not knowing for sure.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 3:54 pm
Matthew didn't seem too worried about his computer - that, or he hadn't even noticed. He was only paying half-attention to the screen, now, though the typing didn't stop - writing out things in what looked like a mix of english and some odd language.
He would argue that it was a language, really.
"Oh, you're in one of my classes." Well, there we go. "Matthew Desmond. Im gonna start my third year this fall. What are you majoring in ?"
Already three years ? s**t...
"Uh oh." That was Matthew's reaction to the lightning that hit in the distance. "Guess we're stuck here awhile..."
Guess who hadn't taken his car either ? At least his apartment was only a few corners away... But now it was raining like hell and no way he was making the walk with his computer.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 6:13 am
"Nice to meet you," Chris said, momentarily surprised that Matthew was already a junior. He looked young, still. "Majoring in architecture. Thinking about doing double with math," he told him trying not to grimace at the thought of the workload he was putting on himself, but he knew it would benefit him in the long run. He should probably focus on working on a minor at first, and then worry about double majoring later, but at least if he was thinking about it this way, he could plan out his last three years. And probably summer classes, as well.
"What about you?" he asked, lifting his cup to take a sip of his tea after blowing on it just a little. It was probably a wimpy thing to do, worrying about burning his tongue as he did, but whatever...
He sighed at the thought of being stuck in the cafe for even longer than he'd been expecting, but he supposed there was nothing that could be done about it... He did glance curiously over at whatever Matthew was working on, but not close enough to actually see anything on the screen. "What are you working on...? Homework?" he wondered, a warning in the back of his mind telling him that he was prying, and that if he was a cat he'd probably be dead by now.
But if he wasn't curious about things... life would be pretty boring. For him, at least.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 2:03 pm
"Majoring in programming," Well, that explained the computer.
And the caffeine. Matthew stopped the waitress as she passed by, asking for an iced tea - from the way they cracked jokes, it looked like Matthew wasn't a stranger to this cafe at all. And if he thought any less of Chris for blowing on his tea, none of it showed.
"Yeah, I have this program that's part of my C++ final, but there's still a few bugs... Just need to squash them..."
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 4:28 pm
Chris listened to the other DCU student with interest, his curiosity only growing. "Programming, huh? Are you just into web programing or do you do game programing? Or both?" he asked, trying not to sound so chipper with his questions. Nonchalance was probably the best way to go, let he freak the guy out.
He leaned back in his chair when he realized he was trying to peer around the screen, giving Matthew some room to work. "What kind of program is it? If you don't mind me asking, of course," he quickly added, not wanting him to feel obligated to tell him anything. Hell, he could tell him to sit somewhere else and he would.
Lightning flashed outside again as the rain continued to pour down on the city. Maybe he should pull out his computer and work on his own homework...? At least that would give Matthew some peace if Chris picked up any sign that he was starting to get obnoxious.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 5:34 pm
Really, Matthew was usually a pretty easy going guy as long as he wasn't directly targeted, so he really had no problem with Chris's questions at all.
"Just web and desktop programming for now." He answered as he tabbed over to another window and launched a debugger. "I've thought about games, dabbled into it at the start of my degree a bit, but... Not really my thing. I like making applications better."
He frowned a bit at the results, then tabbed back into the other program. "This one is for a word processor... you know, like Word ? Well, a whole lot more basic than that. You know, if I could get it to work... Bet you it's just a wrong comma somewhere... It's always something like that..."
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 5:25 am
"So," Chris started, trying to ignore the downpour outside, "Do you want to work for a company that already makes applications, or are you thinking about starting up your own? Or make your own applications and then sell them?" He didn't know much about computer programing, but he hoped that he at least knew enough about the consumer side of the market to understand the gist of everything Matthew was talking about. Yeah, he knew Word processor, of course. He used a good handful of programs for his own majors. It was a good thing, too, because solving problems by hand was a pain in the butt, especially when countless numbers and variables were involved.
He let out a small whistle at the screen of code he couldn't help but glance over to look at. "It's an algorithm, isn't it?" he wondered, knowing that creating those kinds of instructions was what he knew from his math classes. "My professors like talking about how they're used in computer programing, but I've never actually seen one like that. Mostly just 'if then' variables and simple flow charts," he explained, not wanting to sound crazy for something they both had some experience in. Well, only a little on Chris's side. He didn't think he'd ever figure out how it worked for a computer program. He was more of a physical learner, though.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 1:05 pm
"Probably just work for someone to start with... Later on, who knows ? I might start up my own thing." Though right now there were... other things taking precedence. "Though I do take freelance for php website and the like. I've been doing php and mysql for a long time, since I was like 14 or so ? So it's easier for me to do web applications."
Ha ! There it was. "A comma, of course." He muttered. The waitress came back with his iced tea, and he accepted it with a smile and a quick thanks, taking some money out of his wallet to pay for it.
"Yeah, it is an algorithm. Depending on the language you're using, it can look pretty different. This is C++. But basically, you're telling the machine what to do under the UI when a button is pressed, or when you tell it to save to hard drive."
One click launched an emulation of the code in action. This certainly wasn't as pretty as Word, but when he clicked the save button, it did indeed save. "Aha ! There we go."
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:11 pm
"Yeah, you just went right over my head with all that," Chris admitted with a slightly awkward grin. "The only thing I've been doing since I was young is baseball... but that's worked out pretty well for me, so I'm not complaining." Hey, if it got him a scholarship to DCU, then why not? Now to finish his degree... maybe plural... and see if he would be still good enough for a Major League spot.
Chris shook his head in amazement as the program was fixed with a simple comma. "It's always like that, isn't it...? Just little mistakes that make the whole thing crash..." Or the problem left unsolved... Or just not solved.
"Nice," he complimented when the program was launched, sitting back in his chair to prevent himself from hovering. "I think I'll stick to actual math and already made programs... There's no way I'd be able to figure out how to make a program like that," he said with small grimace, "Is it pretty much just... every day natural thought for you? Doing programing like that. Or is it difficult to learn, and just as difficult to keep up with?"
He figured that computers were always changing... with math... he already has everything pre-theorized for him, so there isn't much guessing work involved.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 10:58 am
"Baseball ? I... think I might have accidentally beaned a pitcher in the head with a foam baseball ball when I was a kid..." He frowned in thought. "Needless to say, I was always the kid that got picked last in gym."
It used to bother him. Now ? Well, he was too old for that kind of s**t, really.
"Yeah, it's always a little thing... if you don't send the whole server crashing thanks to an infinite loop, of course." Ah, memories there.
"It just comes naturally to me." He shrugged, taking a sip of his drink as he tabbed back into the source code. "I always had a knack with computers, since I was a kid. There's always new stuff coming out, but when you love what you do, it's not an hassle keeping up with it." He was grinning. "Yeah ?"
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 7:54 pm
Chris winced at the thought of getting hit with anything in the head, foam bat or real bat — although a real bat would obviously be worse. "Yeah... that... probably wasn't good," he said with a nervous little laugh, before shaking his head to dismiss any awkwardness. "Baseball is really the only sport I'm decent at. I was too short to play football or basketball in high school. Not fast enough to play lacrosse or soccer... so I've kind of just... stuck with baseball over the years," he said, although it was probably difficult to imagine him being too short in high school since he was at least six feet tall. But that was because he'd only had a huge growth spurt over the summer before and during his senior year. By then, trying out for football was pointless.
He frowned lightly at Matthew's admittance to being picked last. "At least you're not a dumb jock?" he offered, nodding to the ridiculous amount of code on his computer screen, "Especially if it's natural for you. Your talents are obviously in areas. I only know enough about computers to get my work done. I don't think I'd ever be able to do what you're doing with that," Chris said with a small smile now, knowing he had a long way to go in his own major to get anywhere.
A glimmer of sunlight out in the street caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and Chris sputtered in disbelief, turning fully in his chair to look out the window. It was still raining, but only lightly, and the storm seemed to have passed by quickly enough. "Bull," he grumbled to himself, shaking his head and turning back to the other DCU student. "Well... that wasn't nearly as long as I was expecting, but I guess I shouldn't complain."
Chris moved to stand from his seat, offering a hand to Matthew to shake. "I should probably get going before my dog decides she can't wait until she gets outside," he grimaced with a small shake of his head. "It was nice meeting you, Matthew. Hopefully I'll see you around campus?" Who knew... campus was big, and their difference in majors might make things more difficult, but he wouldn't complain if he ran into the intelligent young man again.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 10:55 am
"I don't imagine it was." Matthew was making a similar face. It certainly seemed that the amazing bat accident hadn't been planned. Or on purpose.
"I've always been too short for nearly anything." He laughed, amused. It was hard to see since he hadn't stood for the whole of their conversation, but Matthew certainly didn't come anywhere near tall, on top of his 5'4". He didn't seem too bothered, however.
"Never stopped my sister, through. She plays soccer." Ashley was very much a tiny speeding bullet. Always had been.
"Everyone's got a talent somewhere, right ? Just a matter of finding it and developing it. If we all were good at the exact same things... Well, that would get messy."
Damn, already ? "Looks like a weather yoyo day." And... well, yeah, Matthew had experience on that enough, though the family dog had been left behind to his sister's expert care after he had moved out. "Better get going, then." He turned to shake Chris' offered hand. "Hopefully, yeah !
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:09 am
Chris offered the young man one last smile, before reaching down to pick up what was left of his drink and turn to make his way to the door. The weather might not be able to make up its mind, but that had been a rather relaxing break. At least for him. He didn't think he'd be able to sit down much that day, not with Annabel to take care of and homework to do and calling a certain friend of his to make sure she wasn't being dragged around by the parasitic soul in her body...
Would he run into Matthew again? Who knew... But he wouldn't mind it. It was nice to know that there were at least some people out there who were still normal people and not trapped in this crazy magical world he'd only recently discovered. It was a nice break from everything...
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