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 Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:06 pm
"Hopefully someone will want them." She said quietly, handing Tony a few of the books. Her hands weren't very large, so it was going to take a few more handoffs then normal to get all of the books out of the boxes. Tony was cheerful, even after Nate had his..fit? Is that was it would be called?
Castille guessed it was a dad thing, to be able to brush off irritating someone that way. Castille couldn't do that though. Even the stacks of books and the smell of the pages didn't hold her interest now.
Castille looked at the now very angry Nate with sad eyes. She didn't mean to alienate him, or force him to work...she just wanted to help someone in need. Maybe with the books put away, he wouldn't be so sullen and might actually feel like hanging out. Being happy. She took a deep breath, fighting the very slim urge to tear up, and said "I'm sorry." before becoming quiet and looking down and folding the edges of the box over to better reach its contents. Her mind popped to her list of John Mayer songs on her IPod to keep her occupied. The first song she thought of almost made her smile at the irony.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:54 am
Tony nodded his head, smiling.
"Oh, I'm sure they will. There are some eclectic tastes in this town, certainly."
His hope was that people might come in looking more into space books. He was beginning to wonder if people researching stars and space weren't doing it just for school projects, though he didn't say anything of his suspicion out loud. He just stocked the new books. The slow pace was nice, considering he was tired after bringing the boxes out, falling over, and resorting the fallen box.
Smaller batches of work were fine by him.
Nate was grumping on his box, though he glanced at Castille and wondered about her face. She was pouting, almost, and looked like he had called her ugly or insinuated that she had bad taste in shoes, or whatever it was that girls found bad enough to cry about. Except he hadn't done any of that, at least not today, or to her, so he was wondering what had her looking so upset with him. It made him uncomfortable, not being in control of people being upset with him.
That was the whole point.
"What?" he asked, when she apologized. He didn't think she had any reason to, and it bothered him again. She was being weird. Arms folded over his chest, he refused to acknowledge anything was wrong. "I'm going to get some food from the vending machine."
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:40 pm
Castille watched Nate out of the corner of her eye, and didn't respond when he announced that he was going to the vending machine. He still didn't look happy, annoyed even. "I said I was sorry." she repeated when he asked after she spoke. She didn't really know why she was apologizing. She guessed it was because she brought him back here. But his attitude wasn't her problem....
She was sure he wasn't talking to her specifically about the vending machine and, it wasn't her library. What was she supposed to say? "Oh ok! Have fun!"
Instead, she looked at Tony and asked " Who decides what books go into the library? Is it you, or someone else, like form the government of something that comes in and says -Here! Stock these books!- All official like?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:06 pm
Nate wasn't sure why she was apologizing either, and he waved his hand over his shoulder with a sigh. He was just 'that guy', who complained and grumped and made sure everyone knew he was in a bad mood.
Which he was. Damn it.
And he wasn't going to bring them anything back from the vending machine. Ironically, he wouldn't be bringing himself anything back, either, as it ate his money and whirred at him mockingly, as if laughing as it gobbled down his hard stolen dollar.
Tony looked at Castille when she spoke, smiling thoughtfully.
"Well, they usually come from a few different places. We get donations and books that other places, for lack of a better explanation, don't want. We also put out orders for texts we think will be beneficial, or sometimes were are granted larger gifts of books, to further our collection and benefit the library. A lot of patrons like places like this, and they do what they can to keep us around, even when it feels like the higher ups aren't interested in it themselves."
He tried not to sound too bitter there, though spending on the library was difficult. They rarely got new machines, save computers when they could get grants. Maybe he was just complaining, and selectively not remembering the good things that came the library's way.
"We do get requests, though not quite... government ordinance..." he laughed, "and we try to keep the library stocked with what is needed, especially with the schools around here." He chuckled and moved to put a large book on the stack, though he seemed to miss the shelf completely (it was unclear what he was aiming for) and the book landed on his foot. He bristled and tensed, biting his lip and letting out the tiniest of eeps.
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Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:01 pm
Castille nodded thoughtfully, looking at the vast shelves. So many books! She wondered which ones were donated, which were bought, and which were requested for. She then looked down at the books in her hands, and for the first time, really noticed what they were about.
"They often have book drives down at my dad's work." she said, handing him more books. "people bring books they don't want and drop them off. Kinda like that?"
"So people have been asking about...space?" she said, standing up for a second to shake out her legs, which had become decidedly numb from being sat on.
She winced as Tony dropped the book. She bent down to pick it up for him, asking "Are you alright?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:39 pm
"Oh, I'm fine," he said, shaking off the jolt of pain with an awkward laugh. He smiled at her, thanking her as she picked the book back up. He put it in its proper place on the shelf, carefully this time. "I don't think you would have a hard time believing that that," he motioned to his foot, meaning dropping the book, "happens all the time."
His grin was goofy as he looked at her, then he addressed her questions from before.
"Ah, let's see. Space is always an issue, and we've been working on expanding our collection. It often requires a lot of reshelving, and pushing things deeper into the 'bowels' of this place than I would really like, but I'm hoping to offer a redesign soon. I doubt they'll go for it, but it's a nice thought."
He frowned and realized she meant the book she was holding. With a flush of embarrassment, he nodded quickly.
"Uh, well, students need to write reports on space all the time." He offered a dopey, apologetic look.
Nate returned soon enough, lacking his money or a snack. He wasn't too happy about it, but he didn't say anything as he leaned on a shelf not too nearby, pondering his next move. Maybe he should just slip away and leave them talking. Get out of the library and go waste his time in a way that actually appealed to him, rather than being stuck not even pretending to help.
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Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 8:54 pm
Castille smiled at his unintentional play on words, and she felt her spirits lighten at his very silly smiles and goofyness. She almost wanted to laugh, but something kept her from doing so.
She glanced back to find that Nate had returned, still looking mopey. Castille, narrowed her eyes. That was enough. He wasn't working, and they weren't bugging him, so what was his malfunction? She made up her mind, and then looked back at Tony sweetly, saying "Will you excuse me for a minute? I will be right back." and she turned on her heel and started walking down the aisle before Tony had a chance to respond. She got closer to Nate, and her heart twinged. Don't cause drama...
"Hey." She said, voice still on the quieter side of her vocal spectrum. Castille paused, then said "Did the machine eat your money, or were you that hungry?" she offered a smile, hoping he wouldn't stay sullen forever. Sad people made her sad, that was just a fact. "Why are you so grumpy?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:16 pm
Tony saw Castille looking at Nate, then blinked when she excused herself. He got the feeling that Nate was about to be yelled at, in a kind of way that would probably be useful to him. The boy was thick headed and needed proper discipline, but Tony simply did not know how to do it.
Not that he should be relying on random people Nathan's age for guidelines or help, but he certainly wouldn't stop her if she was angry at the younger Darrow and wanted to say something to put him right...
Clearing his throat, Tony found profound interest in his work quite suddenly, humming thoughtfully to himself as he scrutinized each book binding slowly, reading over the call number to make sure it was exactly in its place. While casually glancing over at Castille and Nate in the natural progression of his work, of course.
Nate grumped when he was spotted, then shook his head even before Castille managed to ask her questions. He drove his hands into his pockets and began to trudge off as she spoke. Polite he was not.
"I'm always grumpy," he called over his shoulder. Tony nodded his head as he shelved the books.
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:20 pm
Castille walked up to Nate, and tried to ask if he was ok.
And he walked away from her. Without a thought except to call back "I'm always grumpy."
Castille was so not cool with this.
How rude! she thought, tensing up. Someone just doesn't walk away from someone when they are trying to make them feel better! She narrowed her eyes, inwardly fuming, and walked after him, saying in a bit louder voice "What is wrong with you? I didn't do anything!"
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:29 pm
Tony looked up when he heard Castille raise her voice, frowning thoughtfully. She seemed to be quite angry with Nathan, which he couldn't blame her for. He was always fed up with the boy. And Nate was being particularly rude today.
Nathan, on the other hand, didn't look like he cared much about her opinion of him, or her exasperation.
He shrugged.
"I know you didn't. But I didn't either. I'm done being here, so I'm gonna leave. You going to cry about that? Or do I have to ask permission before I go?" He watched her with a curious look on his face. Interested in what she might do next.
Tony cleared his throat, stepping over to them.
"Maybe it might be better to... uh... just let him go?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 11:24 pm
Castille did, in fact, want to cry. She was annoyed with this kid. She was causing drama, which made her heart beat quickly and the blood rush to her face, making her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. A million thoughts cascaded through her mind, but none of them were enough to describe the situation. She felt bad for his dad who, she realized, never told her his name. He didn't even know her, but she was about to get mad at his son.
"No I'm not gonna cry." She said with disdain, putting her shaking hands into her pockets. "But I don't get what your problem is! If you didn't want to help your dad out then why'd you even come here!? To watch his struggle like some saturday morning cartoon??"
Castille glared up at him, pulling her hands out of her pockets and balling them into fists.
"I'm sorry I ruined your running away from actual work because I chose to help someone! Maybe if you helped anyone but yourself you'd understand why I chose to do that!" Castille took a deep breath, ready to continue her rant, though her steam was running out fast. Her voice took on a shaking tone as she rounded the final turn of her tirade, and her eyes became a deep, sad blue as the icy anger faded out.
"And then I tried to help you out, you know? Make it....a little less troublesome. Hell, I was kinda hoping I could maybe make the job a little more fun, so you...wouldn't be so sullen."
She took a step backward, looking down as her face turned from angry red to scared white.
"But if you want to be sad all the time, then that's fine with me. Be miserable and think only of yourself."
Castille could hardly stand, her brain was already screaming out WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?, but no tears. Just a scared little girl, shaking in her converse. Her whole body felt cold, and if she had looked up, her face would be as white as the pages of the books she was surrounded by.She took a shaky step forward, then took a deep breath and, with heart still pounding violently, walked past Nate. She picked up her bag with nervous fingers and forced herself to be angry, just for a minute longer. Just so she could get out the door....
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:19 am
Tony blushed a bit as Castille yelled at Nate on his behalf. Nate, on the other hand, didn't look touched or impacted in any other way than annoyance. He shook his head, grumping.
He opened his mouth to say something, but found his mind oddly blank.
As she made to leave, Tony moved over to Nate. He did not look happy, and Nathan was doing everything in his power not to notice. Tony's frown deepened. It wasn't actually an expression either of them were too used to, but as Castille had reached her limit, so had Tony.
"Go and apologize to her," he ordered, and Nate scoffed. "I am not offering you a choice in this, Nathan. You go and apologize to her for upsetting her so much. I don't care if you have no respect for me, and use me as your source of amusement but you cannot treat nice people like her the way you do. You have no right. Go. Now. Or find another person to live with who will deal with your bullshit as much as I have."
Nathan looked at Tony, clenching his fist and setting his jaw in defiance. He turned huffed away, though, and Tony was left wondering if his effort to be the authoritative adult had worked.
Nate caught up to Castille, though, he doubted Tony would ever know if he really apologized or not, right?
"You don't have to get so mad, you know," he said, with a hint of irony in his tone, "it's not really any of your business, and you got yourself all worked up over nothing. I don't care if you help anyone, or whatever. You shouldn't care if I don't, right?" Either he was trying to make amends and smooth the playing field in his jerkish way, or avoid an apology by any means necessary.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:48 am
Castille stopped at the door, turning to face Nate. She was still shaking, but a few deep breaths had revived her white face to a rosy hue. Her mind still whirled with the thought of yelling at an almost stranger -in a library of all places!-, and she at first did not know what to say in response. Even after all that, he wasn't apologizing! Just telling her she was being unreasonable.
Granted, Castille felt like she was a bit unreasonable, but that didn't mean he got to tell her that!
"I just don't see how making someone miserable or watching them struggle is entertaining." She said, forcing calmness into her voice, but not her eyes. "To me it's mean to just stand by and watch someone have a hard time..." She trailed off, mind turning inward.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 11:46 am
Nate shrugged his shoulders.
"So maybe I'm mean. You don't know. And you can't know. I mean, what's the difference between me being mean and you getting mad at me for being it? I'm not made at you for not being a jerk, right?"
He grinned slightly, thinking that was a pretty good point. He couldn't help who he was, right? And it was unfair for her to be mad at him because she had her idea about how people should be, and he didn't confirm to it. If he believed that or not was anyone's guess. But it didn't matter. He delivered it like he meant it, and watched her for her response with interest.
He didn't think about how he was making Tony miserable. More than just making him drop books and not helping him. Nate did everything in his power without really thinking about it to make his father's life as hard as possible. Maybe, subconsciously, he felt like Tony deserved it, for not being there for 17 years of the boy's life.
But if asked, Nate would give the same answer. He just did it because he did it. That was who he was.
"Anyway, if you feel so bad about watching people need help, then help them and make yourself feel better about it. That's your thing, not mine." Said the boy who spent his nights fighting negas and youma, and saving people.
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:21 am
Castille was embarrassed. Beyond belief. She hid her face by looking down, hoping he wouldn't see her ruby cheeks. Why in the world had she yelled at him!?
But she knew exactly why, at least her heart did. She couldn't stand to sit by and watch someone get tormented because everyone had done just that to her. They let her fail, mocked her about it, and Castille knew how much it hurt. Even a full grown man wouldn't feel some kind of sting from being treated poorly, especially from his SON. A son should love his father and want to help him...shouldn't he?
"People are supposed to respect eachother. I know it doesn't happen very often, but I know if I saw my dad having a hard time with something, I wouldn't just watch him. And I certainly wouldn't make it worse. I mean, how would you feel if you had a task to do, and someone came over and kicked it all over? And then stood there and watched you have to try and do it again?"
She rubbed her face quickly. Maybe that would account for the red face, and she looked back up at him. She felt a little like a kid being scolded, and she didn't like it.
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