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As if to prove the girl at the counter wrong, a very familiar face walked through the door. The smell of cigarette smoke had never been kind to the elegant lad. He could already feel the tickling of the scent down his nose, and in his throat. In all honesty, he couldn't help but wonder if he had walked into the wrong store by accident. However, with a quick glanced at the merchandise and the current employee, he was certain that he just picked a bad time to enter the shop.

Rather suddenly, Howl thrust his arm up and began to cough into the crook of his elbow. His coughs had always been rather dainty, and thanks to his elbow, the sound was muffled almost completely. He still remembered his lesson as a child that you do not cough into your hands, simply because then if you wanted to shake hands with someone else, you would be sharing your germs with them. He was the sort who enjoyed sharing, but germs was one of those things he preferred to keep to himself at all costs. He approached the counter after he finished coughing, leaning his head towards his acquaintance and simply asking "Is there a reason why the shop smells of an ashtray, Miss Tatiana?"

His first reaction to the explanation was a slight frown of distaste and the mention of "Is it not illegal to be smoking in such a facility?" Once more, he drew his elbow up to his lips and coughed lightly into the crook, only further proving the conclusion his acquaintance had mentally drawn up about him and smoke.

"I concur about the sort of hobby it is, but I might have to leave for a while until the smell dissipates." Another cough broke into his elbow. His eyes were even a bit agitated now, both of his eyes turning slightly pink at the stimulus and tearing up. For a lad such as himself, he looked like an absolute mess just because of a bit of cigarette smoke.

He attempted to flash a smile at the girl, but it just did not seem to want to come across the right way. "I apologize, Miss Tatiana, but I think I will need to wait outside of the store until the smell dissipates. It is too much for me." He coughed once more before he headed back to the entrance to make an exit. If there was one thing he wasn't about to sacrifice, it was his good looks or health. It was common knowledge that cigarette smoke easily led to wrinkles and premature aging, as well as staining teeth a horrid yellow color. It was also bad for his lungs and his eyes were stinging. It was perhaps his quickest visit to a Teasvatta ever! Once he was outside the store, he sat himself upon a nearby bench and attempted to calm his symptoms. Some smoke still lingered in his lungs, and he still had a few more delicate coughs left in him.

"I must look absolutely atrocious right now," he mused aloud to himself.

One moment, he had been coughing into the crook of his elbow, and the next, his eyes were upon Miss Tatiana Konstantin, his cheeks completely flushed from her comment. With the exception of the color of his cheeks, he still managed to keep his cool. "Yes, I understand what you are saying, my dear. I meant more along the lines that I might seem ill to the general public. Smoke and I do not get along."

He really didn't mean this issue of seeming ill. It was a white lie. Yet, it was very difficult to explain how finicky he was about his physical appearance. Where many would have ignored red, watery eyes, Howl found it to be absolutely horrid looking, especially upon himself. He was the one who truly found the smallest of blemishes to be an eyesore. He was the one who courted women primarily for looks (though he only found true infatuation in unusual beauty and strong personalities).

With a smile, he raised a hand at the girl and waved it dismissively. "Do not worry yourself, my dear. Some things cannot be helped." With a gentle sigh, his cheeks finally returned to their natural color. It was nice to have a decent control of his emotions most times, so any hint of embarrassment usually went unnoticed. He folded his hands together and set them upon his lap. With a tilt of his head, which caused his jewelry to sway, he then politely attempted to answer a question asked of him just moments ago.

"I apologize for not answering this when you asked, but nothing too exciting has happened for me this week. I somewhat suspect that means next week sometime, I will be due for another encounter with my bully." Once again, he spoke of such a horrifying subject with the calmest of voices. It was an honest observation, since Mr. Alvarez seemed to have a cycle to his bullying.

"Are you, Miss Tatiana, suggesting that I cut class?" His tone, though still calm and reasonably light, also sounded a bit disappointed in the suggestion. He shook his head, causing the dangling pieces of his jewelry to sway. He ceased the motion, and with his fingers, had to reach up and grab onto the long gems on each ear so that they would not continue the movement. In all honesty, it could hurt after a while if he let the earrings move about too wildly.

"Alas, these boys are not nearly as predictable as one would hope. Their actions are simply based upon boredom. That, and Hillworth is quite strict about classroom attendance. I would have to be in the nurse's office dying of some sort of awful disease before they would allow me to miss a class due to health. I know some of my classmates see no issue with skipping a class now and then, but I cannot condone such actions." Mr. Wickham (Howl's father) had very high standards, and Howl always tried to live up to the expectations. Attending classes was just one of the many expectations the young lad was more than eager to live up to.

It was about this time that Howl had noticed his own conditions seemed to have eased for the moment. He glanced back towards the open door of the shop, as if trying to see if the smell had dissipated. Of course, the conflicting senses made his efforts pointless, and he eventually turned his gaze back to the girl. "I do hope that the smell goes away soon. I made it here later than I had been expecting to, and I would like to have time to drink my tea before heading back to campus."

The girl's exaggerated motions caused an interesting series of events, which he watched with a silent and keen eye. Only once the girl was back at his side, he could not help but ask "Is that something precious to you, my dear?" He couldn't help but smile as he attempted to also get a better look at this particular hair adornment. It really wasn't any fantastic to look at, but perhaps there was sentimental value to it?

In as kind a tone as possible, he pointed out the exact dilemma with Tatiana's suggestion. "Unfortunately, skipping class altogether would be the only solution, because they always catch me between or immediately after classes." He paused, then let out a slight chuckle at a particular observation on his own part. "At least they leave me alone when I am in my dorm room though. Perhaps all the false rumors spread about my sexual orientation is enough to prevent them from being seen in my living quarters." Howl was not exactly a naive young man and was very aware of what people thought about his dating preferences. It was such a common place misconception that it was no longer a big issue for him when people accused him wrongly having intimate relations with Franz. Franz had Janice, and this was something Howl was content with.

When given the signal that the store was supposedly safe for his lungs, Howl stood himself up, casually smoothing out any possible wrinkles on his pant legs and made his way back into the shop. The smell still lingered, which caused his nose to itch on this inside, but it was nowhere near how bad the stench was earlier.

"I suppose I can manage this, Miss Tatiana" he offered in as sincere a tone as possible (though he honestly was doubting he'd be able to make it the whole time without coughing). Without hesitation, he walked to his place in front of the cash register, ready to order.

"It is rather tactical in reality. My teammates on the fencing team at least are now able to start practice on their own if I somehow get caught."

He tilted his head slightly, then made his order. "I would like a cup of Monkey Picked Oolong tea infused with Silver Needle White Tea, if you would not mind, please." He was rather familiar with the prices of his teas, so it took little thought for him to pull out his wallet and pull out the approximate amount. He looked through his change pocket on the wallet and sighed when he found it just short of the perfect change. Thoroughly defeated, he handed the girl strictly bills.

In hopes to strike up a bit more conversation, he thoughtfully mentioned "I did get to watch the DVD you gave me, my dear. I have to confess it was thoroughly intriguing." He smiled as he attempted to remember everything that had happened within the span of a few episodes. Of course, it was obviously not his thing, for within a couple of moments, Howl's head felt a bit dizzy. He hoped it wasn't the smoke causing such a reaction in him.

"Thank you, my dear!"

His fingers caught the coins she offered and dropped it into his wallet. While he tucked away his wallet in his back pocket, he couldn't help but comment "Maybe it is your efficiency which is encouraging incompetency in the anime club masses." He meant nothing ill by his suggestion, but in his experience, incompetency usually stemmed from laziness. Why bother to do something when someone is always there to fix it up for you?

At the mention of his own well being, he chuckled politely and offered a simple "Oh, do not mind me. I am fine." He picked up his new cup and lifted it up to his nose to catch a faint whiff of the blended tea.

"It smells wonderful, Miss Tatiana," he offered genuinely before setting the cup upon the counter again. It was freshly brewed tea, and it would be too hot to drink for a long while. None could accuse the teal-haired lad of not being patient.

As he waited for the tea to cool, he listened to the girl's explanation about the series he had been given to watch, which soon enough led to her going off into a tangent about something he was not even remotely familiar with. "I assure you, I liked what you gave me perfectly fine, Miss Tatiana. I might not be familiar with the genre, but it had its entertainment value. Though..." He paused, giving a gentle look to the girl's dark eyes. "I am rather clueless still about the genre. So 'Atlas Shrugged' and 'Ayn Rand,' as you mentioned them, mean nothing to me. I apologize for my naivety with this subject of Japanese Animation." His lips curved in a truly apologetic smile. Only Howl Wickham would be apologetic over something as simple as anime. Only Howl.