Welcome to Gaia! ::

The day was going well! He’d gotten notice of acceptance to two dead-lifting meets, some new equipment his mother had ordered for use on limited donation had arrived at the school, and prepping for work meant needing to adjust his diet at last to include more calories. Granted, high sugar content wasn’t officially wise, but today he felt like celebrating. Celebrating Venti-style. With as much flavour and deliciousness that a barrista could pack into a heat-preserving cup.

He had remembered to bring his own travel mug, a large one emblazoned with Leyendecker’s Saturday Evening Post “Rowers”. There was a pretty little thing behind the counter, and he waited patiently until maybe she wasn’t busy before approaching near the register, “Is here where to order?”

He’d not been to this coffee shop before, and it was exciting to see the nuances and differences in atmosphere they all cultivated. This one seemed artsy....he should bring his roommate Colin sometime. The dancer would probably like it. They probably even had vegetarian friendly stuff that the dancer could enjoy.

The girl was staring, a little dumbstruck once she finally did look up. That was just fine , though, it wasn’t like weight training was a very common sport for others to be very used to seeing giant people walking around all big and bullish in china stores. He perked, squaring his shoulders just a little more, standing just a little straighter, a well pleased stallion happy to be appreciated on display. “I’ve new to town, so I have been trying all the local coffee. Do you serve soy drinks?”

She had such unique hair! Was it natural or dyed? When he’d glanced around the place walking in it had certainly looked like the primary demographic was unique, self-expression and bold artists or musicians. ‘Hipster’ got thrown around a lot at school, but he really had no conception of what the word even meant, so he abandoned that thought immediately. She had a cheerful look, and her smile bubbled up to her eyes to make them shine. It didn’t seem fake, so maybe she was actually happy at her job. That spoke well to the promise of good product.

Ah, she'd given her name! He didn't want to be rude, "Björn. "
His hand did well engulf hers, callused from steel, bark and stone, but it was warm and dry, not clammy like so many.

“That’s a fun trick. How do you tell what people like? “ He hadn’t had proof-in-the-pudding yet, but he took her at her word. She had a practiced, no-nonsense confidence about it that spoke to it being trustworthy. “Is it like cold-reading?”

She wasn’t even on duty! So there was a reason she wasn’t wearing a uniform! Even unintentionally, that was a rude assumption for him to make, just because she was behind the counter. “Ah, I’m sorry….I assumed. Maybe no surprise to get some things wrong.”

He followed easily, pleasant to have had so much luck to have found someone off chance to chat up. He loved meeting new people, making connections. “That’s very kind, are you sure nothing-“

He was looking over at the expanse of store out from the corner, providing a classic profile for her shot, when there was a distinct click. He startled briefly, taking up in an armchair, “Ah…Yes? It is fine…for the board there? I do not mind. I’m from New York, really, a few months settled in at boarding school. Do you photographer professionally?”

The grammar was odd there, but it didn’t occur to him. How fun if she was! She looked young, but art and sports were like that. Age did not always determine skill. “You to young and fresh to have been dealing with models and industry.”

“Really useful for working with people. Does it work outside of drinks?” Imagine just knowing what to say to put people at ease, or to get a promotion at a job. She’d dodged commenting on her own age or schooling, so he could only guess that she looked either high school or college. It was impossible with women. They all did make up on their faces and all ended up looking a homogenous pseudo-18, whether they were 13 or 45.
Her mind was exactly where his was at the last, and he chuckled at the now familiar game, “How old do I look?”

“I have fun at your trouble. “ He toasted her apologetically with his drink, sipping it and closing his eyes a moment with pleasure, “ It is excellent. And I love marshmallows!”

“It is a common question. I am 16, a junior at school. A little big for that, ja? I am training for Strongman competitions, but power lifting works well enough for school sport in between.”

So she had worked with models a little, but wasn’t professional. It was a little disheartening, but he relegated any genuine disappointment to a simple shrug, “Ah, I guess I cannot have all the luck of a day. Meeting lovely women and getting to talk over a perfect drink is already a lot. The winter season is underway, and I do need to find and hire someone for new portfolio shots for my bodybuilding folder. They are good for sending in applications and for keeping plain track of progress. If you know anyone I could ask, or hire, can you let me know?”

If he’s known she was in the know about the sushi’s and their war, he would have dropped his drink and immediately pleaded for news and information. He hated that there was a war, Colin had told him he could not be of any help, and that he was left to suspense and worry only when his friend went on patrol. Or to ask her about that fire breathing sushi, if she’d known the girl’s name or where to find her. As it were, secrets kept themselves nicely silent.

“HITS? I do not think I have heard of it. I don’t remember it on the list when we were moving here. Do you like it? Ah, Crystal I have heard of. I have a friend there I met over coffee, Talia Chu. Very fiery, but really honest. She seems to like fashion a lot, I think, maybe a lot of Crystal does. Good for finding subjects ? If fashion photography is a goal.”

“You could? I would love to see your work. Portfolio are picked by artist’s heart, so it says a lot about their focus their artist has. You do not mind? It is not urgent, only business intruding on relaxation maybe."

" Whenever I'm in Europe, I always spend a long time at museums. It is not much photography, but it is all art. "

" What is your favorite work to photo?“ He took a long drag of his drink, catching a few melty marshmallows to squinch against the roof of his mouth while she spoke.

Well, she was passionate about her work! He didn’t know the Vargas Girls, but he knew Bettie Page. He wasn’t certain if she was angry at the art of the photographic nude, at pornography, or at love. Yes? Maybe? No? Nope, nope, he couldn’t sort it out. But he could offer opinion to add and carry on the conversation on one of the points anyway, “Not everyone has given up. I believe in courtship…there needs to be time to get to know someone, ja? To prove worth. “

If it was a person that deserved the dedication of the whole heart, then courtship was a necessity. He didn’t have any problem with lesser relationships-they had their place. He wasn’t worthy of a great love, but he’d like to know love…so it left other sorts of definitions for him. Not like so many that he’ met….all very impressive, intelligent and kind people. Destiny City was full of young Lords and Ladies. She must have met mostly Hillworth boys, or some equivalent of girls, to have such a dark outlook. Or all from TV and women’s magazines? He hated most of the women’s magazines in the grocery store. They always had illicit topics and boring, repetitive articles about losing weight.

Technology and Science sounded really advanced and important, but she blew it off with casual aplomb. How had she gotten there if she didn’t like those subjects? “It is good that you’ll return to a place you feel at home.”
And thank god she had given the directions about the arrows. Björn took the laptop VERY carefully. It would not do at all to hurt it. Computers were so odd and confusing, worse than phones. He followed direction though, and scrolled through the files. “Your compositions are all solid, they really move the eye along. “
Terms like ‘negative space’ or ‘external contour line’ were more foreign than than computer was, so he couldn’t offer them. “This one is especially nice.”

It was a black and white model shot, very classic. “Like that would be exactly what I am looking for. Like artists took of Charles Atlas. If you could do that for me, I’d be glad to pay the commission or if you any service I could do in trade even. Talia mentioned Crystal students didn’t have much need for money. Still, what are rates? I think last year it was a 2 hour session, with a cd of proofs, and a set of 20 8x10s…it was $800. But that was in suburban New York, not a city like here. What is good for you?”

He offered the little machine back just as cautiously, wary that it shouldn’t drop. She didn’t charge? The dread words, ‘I don’t know.’ He sure didn’t. He knew very little about photography. Did she use real film? How much did it cost to buy? Or the stuff for the funny closets that you had to use to make pictures? Maybe she just used a digital camera? They were cheaper, right? Then there was the time, sets, lighting… and anything else he had no clue of.

“Well, it isn’t something that needs to be decided today. You can research it, and figure out what price you’d be comfortable with. “ Or call in a favor? Maybe that was a stupid idea for something so expensive. Unless she had some specific shoot in mind she needed an ogre for to trade being a model for a set of photographs for, that likely was a dead end. That sort of barter was really old fashioned, and not worth the same amount, he didn’t think, as payment. “I could leave my phone number with you, or if you’ll be here, I can just drop by in a couple days and we can hash it out.”

“I would like if you could do it. Maybe you could even get something worth your portfolio.”