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 Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:49 pm
__PINK AND BLUE__ Dan (Gekokoko) and Gloria (Zanaroo)
Where: Cafe di Magia, at Apple District.
When: Fall, just at the beginning of school!
Why: Can you spot the visitor who's unlike the rest...??
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 8:26 pm
Daniel Sonnen stared at the pink bakery, the door's bells jingling as he walked in. He looked around blankly, knowing that he really should've believed his sisters when they had told him Cafe di Magica was the most girly bakery in Teufel Town, hell in the world. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, his face turning red as some of the patrons (all of them girls) were gawking at him, most likely wondering why he was in here.
But, it was too late to turn back now. He was in the mood for some sweet pastries (he always was), and had promised to bring some for his younger sister as a treat because she had been practicing very hard for her upcoming cello recital. His parents and his grandmother especially, would also appreciate the sweets. According to his sisters, this place had some of the best pastries one could eat. And boy, was he excited to eat all these pastries. With this renewed conviction in mind, Dan tried his hardest to ignore the bristling stares of the girls as he walked up to the displays, stunned by the variety of goods the store had. Cinnamon buns, bear claws, eclairs, various fruit tarts, cakes of all kinds; it was staggering. He adjusted his backpack, clearing his throat, as he looked for someone behind the counter for assistance. "Uh...", his eyes wandered around, going from the elegant feminine decor, to the menus up on the wall (this place also served paninis?! That's fantastic!), and back to the dessert displays. Thankfully, lacrosse wasn't in season yet so the boy could afford to eat as many sweets as he wanted, provided that he worked off the extra sugar later.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 6:47 pm
Gloria came out from behind the kitchen door near simultaneously when the Cafe's doorbell rang. There was a pan of freshly baked tarts in one hand, and a pot of freshly brewed coffee in another-- she was only able to glance at Daniel before quickly opening the display pantry and stacking the tarts in one by one, each with a different cut-out shape at the top.
"Welcome to Cafe di Magia-- ah, please hold a minute, sir!" she rushed towards a table of girls, some of whom were glancing over (and giggling at) at the awkwardly tall boy, to serve the pot of coffee to-- it was an unusually busy crowd that day, which Gloria was more or less happy for, though she was working mostly by herself that evening, and one of the workers had to cancel their shift due to sickness.
She hoped she didn't have to do the same, though she was beginning to feel a bit light-headed from beelining back and forth to serve and re-serve coffee to the same group of girls that had been lounging around the cafe for hours. Nevertheless, the brunette retained a smile and finally made her way behind the counter and at the cashier register, where she grinned directly at Daniel and brushed some hair behind her ears. "I'm so sorry about the wait, sir. What would you like to order?" Gloria couldn't help but smile a bit at how clueless the boy looked, though, and she felt confident enough to make the guess, "Or would you like some extra time? I don't believe I've seen you around the cafe before."
A few girls burst out into a strange fit laughter in the background, though Gloria didn't care to look.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 7:45 pm
"Ah! Please take your time!", Dan said, adjusting his backpack to the other shoulder. He cleared his throat loudly trying his best to ignore the chorus of giggles he heard nearby. While the hostess was busy with the gaggle of girls, he stared at the fresh tarts that she had placed on the display, and rubbed at his chin in thought. These looked pretty good though the bear claws and cakes he saw earlier looked equally as delicious too.
Dan grinned sheepishly when Gloria had returned, and shook his head vigorously, "No, no its okay I don't mind waiting." he chuckled adjusting his stance, "Yeah, my sisters told me about this place. Apparently you make some of the best pastries around." He breathed deeply, feeling like some exotic zoo animal around these girls. If he just got into his big-game mentality, his nervousness should ebb away slowly. Not that it really helped any, as that was for getting rid of pre-game jitters, not jitters caused by a bunch of girls.
"I don't think I need extra time.", he smiled, and pointed out the pastries, "I'd like two of those new tarts, a bear claw, and that strawberry cake over there-- oh and that cinnamon bun looks really good too-- that fruit cheesecake looks fantastic too...and if its alright could I also try that almond croissant over there too?" After he was done, he'd order something to-go for his sister and parents. This was a 'sample' after all. To see which ones would be great to take home. The whole store was probably great enough to take home. If there was a way to just lift it up onto his back, he definitely would. He realized that maybe, he had ordered too much and that the hostess wouldn't be so happy with him, "But, uh if that's too much I'll just take the bear claw and tarts! That's perfectly fine too!" he said quickly, noticing that he had actually become the main attraction at the cafe.
"S-sorry...", he bit his lip, really hoping he didn't give off the wrong impression.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:26 pm
Gloria giggled and put a hand to her cheek at the blue-eyed boy's compliment. "Oh, thank you very much! The bakery definitely tries its hardest."
When she heard the white noise of giggles in the background, she stared back at the crowd in quiet annoyance but remained silent, much to her own chagrin, if only because they were looking over her way and towards the unexpected company. She smiled at Daniel nonetheless, eager to ignore potential trouble, and nodded while going over to the bakery display once again. When she pulled open the display, she couldn't help but use just a bit of her magic to intensify the pleasant aroma of her treats-- it was what she did for most first customers, anyways.
She took a tong and placed some waxed tissue paper over a sheen white plate near the register. "Two blackberry tarts, a bear claw, slice of strawberry cake, fruit cheesecake, almond croissant, cinnamon bun..." she chuckled at Daniel's modesty and placed his batch at the display while clicking in her numbers, "Oh, no apologies needed! You're a growing boy, and you can never have too much to eat."
Gloria's last remark sent the girls behind Daniel into a fit of laughter again, to which Gloria frowned but for a moment, though she retracted her irritation with cheeriness again when she looked back up at her customer. "Well, since this is your first time, I'm going to go ahead and give you those tarts for free. Might this be for here or to go?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:00 pm
Wow, the sweets smelled even better when she opened the display. He was more than ready to eat these sweets, more than ready. No giggling girls would stop him now, nope. Daniel's hunger and craving for the pastries were more than enough of a distraction from the girls. But, woah blackberry tarts for free?! He might as well fall in love, "Oh gosh, thanks! I-- wow. That's really, really great of you." the boy laughed, "I guess I am a growing boy! Though if I keep growing I'd have to get pants custom-made. And I don't think Mom would be too happy about that." he grinned, barely hearing the giggling girls behind him.
"Uh, to stay please." he said, digging into his pants pocket to pull out his wallet. "And how much do I owe you?" he asked, knowing he would be shelling out quite a lot of money to this cafe today, especially since he was gonna get something for his family when he was finished eating. Thankfully, his parents had gotten him a debit card so he could carry some extra money around without having to fish for spare bills in his pocket.
"Oh, uh I'm Daniel by the way. Daniel Sonnen. I go to Teufel High." he said, holding out his free hand. He might as well introduce himself; since he was probably going to be a regular at this place anyways. And the girl looked to be around his age anyways, though he was quite sure he didn't see her around at school. Maybe she went to the Academy or something.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:17 pm
Gloria let out a good laugh while she ticked in the final number, and the receipt started to print from the register. "It's no problem at all! It'll be $15.60, and you can take a seat at any of the empty tables there." she blinked at the introduction, as most students rarely gave their names to her at the bakery, but it was a pleasant turnout and she shook Daniel's hand. The handshake itself wasn't very delicate, but firm and sure, and Gloria introduced herself equally as confidently, "I'm Gloria Vitanza, very nice to meet you! I'm the owner of the bakery, though I do have quite a few friends at Teufel High... perhaps you know Olivia Louis? She's a member of the upper division track team."
The question itself was a tad silly, but he seemed a boy rather keen on sports-- or, at least, that was how Gloria assumed he'd built so much bulk at his age. She looked at the time, which was a quarter past 2, well past her usual break time. She exited the register area, platter of baked goods placed delicately atop her palm, and she grinned at Daniel.
"Actually, do you mind if I sit with you for a while, Daniel? It's well past break for me, but I don't think I can work much longer without a cup of coffee and some company."
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:41 pm
"Thank you." Dan said, taking the tray as he handed Gloria his card. Wow, she owned the bakery? People around his age were allowed to do that? He tried to hide his surprise, because that might be pretty rude of him to assume something like that (that's what his mother always told him anyways). "Great to meet you Gloria!" he quickly shoved his wallet and card back into his pocket and picked up his tray, looking for a place to sit as far away from the girls as possible. "Olivia Louis...it does ring a bell! I think I've seen her...she's the one with the long blonde hair?" Him and his team ran with the track team every now and then, so he should know who Gloria was talking about...but at the same time, there were a lot of kids on the track team so he wasn't so sure.
Daniel shook his head, "No, not at all! I'm sorry if I kept you from your break.", he said, deciding he'd like to sit by the window, "Would you like me to hold your plate for you?" he asked, getting ready to balance his order on one hand to hold Gloria's platter. He couldn't blame her. Owning a popular cafe like this would take a toll on anyone.
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:57 am
Gloria brightened and nodded-- she wasn't aware of anyone else on the track team with long blonde hair; not nearly enough to be memorable by the feature, at least. "Yes! I barely see her outside of work lately... I do wish I could say hi to her more often during school days." She slid the card through the register with a quieter attitude than she usually had and quickly gave it back along with the receipt.
"Oh! There's absolutely no need to apologize, hon. We've just had so much traffic today, is all," she grabbed a small plate from the counter and thought over what she wanted for lunch that day. It was much too late and a bit overcrowded to make time for a panini, she felt, and she took an almond croissant for herself. When she settled the plate onto the cashier counter to pour a mug of coffee for herself, Dan made his courteous offer and she couldn't help but blush.
"If you would be so kind, thank you!" she giggled and pushed past the cashier booth entrance, sipping her bitter coffee meanwhile. Her face scrunched a bit when she did, as it contained no sugar or milk, but she needed the kick. She watched Dan choose an empty table and slid into her seat, taking off her uniform's hat meanwhile.
She had to resist the urge to simply melt into her seat and sigh. Before the two indulged, though, she added, "Oh, how forgetful of me! Would you like anything to drink at all? It'll be on the house."
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 4:09 pm
"Yeah, she's pretty cool from what I remember. Dan nodded, "Sometimes I wish she could be on the lacrosse team, cause her speed would help us out tons!, he grinned, taking Gloria's plate from her, leading her over to the table. "I guess being busy has its downsides and perks." he said, placing Gloria's croissant in front of her, and his plate of pastries in front of his empty seat. "Oh and its no problem! Anything I can do to help! If I could, I'd probably even work here!" he joked, though he actually would work if he was asked to; though he wasn't quite sure as to what he would help out with. He knew how to bake just a little, but cooking was his main thing.
Daniel shook his head at the offer, placing his bag on the ground as he sat down, "Nah, I'm good.", he opened his bag and took out two water bottles, "Coach says we can't drink anything else but water until tomorrow afternoon." Dan sighed, opening his water bottle and sipping from it, "I really miss lemonade." he sighed, "But yes, thank you very much for the offer!" he grinned at Gloria, and looked at the heap of pastries in front of him, "Man, I don't know what to eat first!", he laughed aloud, finally realizing how much he ordered.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:50 pm
Gloria brightened. "Ah! Are you on Teufel High's lacrosse team, dear? If you are, I'm so embarrassed, I didn't recognize you..." she couldn't help but laugh to herself, "I go to a few games now and then, when I can... oh, being busy has its downsides, and missing games is one of them, I suppose. But such is life!"
She sipped her coffee and took a bite of croissant. "Well, we are a bit short-handed, and this place could always use some male employees," she glanced at the girls from before, who had all but toned down once Gloria started to talk to Daniel, "It brings in some attention, I hear, to a bakery like this! If you need a helping hand on cash, maybe you could submit an application."
The notion of Daniel trying to apply wasn't a joke, and while Gloria admitted he was much taller than her average employee, the idea of helping Teufel High students was as pleasurable to her as anything else. Gloria scrunched her brows at Daniel's strict routine, though, and pouted a bit in response.
"Nothing but water? That seems a bit excessive," she sighed, "It's no problem, dear! Oh, I just keep reminding myself how bad I am at sports... maybe the exercise will do me some good. Daniel, is lacrosse difficult?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 10:52 pm
Dan stared at Gloria, slicing the tart into two big piece with his fork, "You come to our lacrosse games?", he shoved a piece of the tart in his mouth as politely and neatly as he could (he was in good company after all), "I--wow, that's, wow thanks for watching us! It really means a lot to us! And don't worry about it! We wear helmets, my mom doesn't even know who is who on the team.", he laughed, wiping the crumbs off the ends of his mouth. "I'll look for you at the next game though, its tomorrow afternoon actually! I'll even try to dedicate a goal to you!", he grinned at Gloria, shoving the other piece of the tart into his mouth. "These tarts are delicious, by the way." he shook his head, letting out a deep sigh, "I could probably live here and eat these forever."
Dan moved onto the cake, again cutting into a large piece, though he thought it would be best if he cut it into a smaller piece since he didn't want to gross out Gloria. She had an elegance as well as fantastic table manners, and he decided it would be best to have some table manners as well (though really, he didn't know much about table manners). "I could definitely help out! I mean it'd have to be when lacrosse is off-season, but other than that, I can do anything you need me to do!", the money he would be making would be an extra bonus too, he realized, he wouldn't have to continue asking his parents for an allowance, and he realized having some sort of job would also look good on his resume for college and other things...though he was kinda hoping they wouldn't be look at it so much since most of it was sports-related. "I guess it would bring attention to the bakery." he agreed, pointing at the girls seated across the bakery with his fork, "For some reason, they seem to be really excited, maybe they can bring on a good reputation or something. But, I'm sure this place has a fantastic reputation.", he went quiet for a moment to take a bite of the cake, savoring the creaminess and sweetness of it. "Is that okay though?", he asked after swallowing, "In about three months time, I guess I can apply and work until the season starts up again in...March or so?"
He laughed at Gloria's expression, "Ah man, no its nothing bad. It's supposed to hydrate us pretty good and its healthy, so I can't really complain." he took another bite of the cake before responding, "Hey, if anything we can go running together! Running's a pretty great way to get started into sports and stuff.", he laughed again at Gloria's question, "Man, boy's lacrosse is pretty intense though," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose lightly, "We play with a rubber ball so you get a lot of bruises and stuff; its pretty painful, see my nose here? It broke in my freshman year when I got hit in the face with the stick.", he leaned forward, tapping the bridge of his nose, "It's pretty bent here still, see? You can touch it if you want.", he said, smiling at her. "I dunno about girl's lacrosse though, but its probably equal amount of running in both..." come to think of it, he had seen the girl's lacrosse team, but never saw them play...maybe one day he would go see them play.
"Oh also, the other day during practice, the ball hit me really hard on my side and I have a gigantic bruise there still.", Dan said, leaning back to lift up a part of his shirt, exposing his lean abdomen to show a bruise about 8 inches across, spanning all across his side. It didn't occur to him that maybe it wasn't good manners to expose himself like that in a public setting, since he was pretty engrossed in his explaining of how the game actually worked.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:50 pm
Gloria took a bite of her almond croissant and covered her mouth, keenly flattered. She blushed a bit and finished chewing, then said, "Oh, thank you kindly! I'll be sure to go to the games tomorrow, then, I can call Janice and see if she'd be okay with looking over the cafe. Would you still be on your diet after the games, Daniel? I'd like to bring something special."
She looked over at the calender on the kitchen door, sipping her coffee. They were nearing the winter season, which was always splendidly busy for Cafe di Magia, though she rarely got any applications around that time. Most of her workers were students of either the eager or desperate variety, and Daniel seemed like he could pull his weight. Gloria nodded, "Oh, I'm sure we get much less attention than you'd expect, but it's always good having some company in our humble little cafe. I'll give you an application for the winter reason before you leave today, how's about that? We're always eager for seasonals!"
Gloria and Janice usually pooled together to give the cafe workers a little something around the winter season, too, and Gloria usually set aside a time of day to work on candles and something to wear. The last few years their staff was almost entirely female, and she was able to make everyone a simple scarf in commemoration for their hard work... Daniel didn't seem like the type to wear scarves, but the idea seemed tantalizing nonetheless! She was getting unduly excited, though she didn't enjoy taking such leaps. When she was tired, she was always looking at her customers to see who could work with her, it seemed.
And an exercise routine! Magic kept her good and healthy, but she wondered if activity outside of just fighting Witches would help her out. She was grateful that she wasn't too flabby, but she definitely was among the slower ones in her circle of Puellae Magicae. "I'd love to start a running exercise! If we start earlier in the morning, I can make some mean breakfast before or after..."
She laughed, though, at Dan's worry about bruises. Gloria looked at the ring on her finger and eyed a few of the girls sitting around the cafe. The boy was practically surrounded by girls who spent a good amount of their days hunting and tracking, though she wasn't the least bit surprised that there was a lack in girl's lacrosse-- the sport didn't seem to fitting for her nonetheless, though Gloria fancied the idea of playing it at least once.
Gloria tilted her head and touched the rim of Daniel's nose, frowning. "How awful! Your fellow players should be more careful, though I know lacrosse is such a rough-and-tumble sport..." she looked at the baked goods on Daniel's table. They all had their fair share of healing properties, especially the seasonal tarts, so Gloria calmed a little-- the effects would settle at a decent rate for fractures like that, though she wondered if Daniel would take any notice.
And the gigantic bruise, too-- Gloria blushed and covered her mouth when he raised his shirt. She laughed and was a bit pink at the cheeks-- how surprising! A few of the girls that were staring at Daniel before leaned over to observe, as well, which garnered a gentle pap on Daniel's shoulder from Gloria.
"That looks like it could hurt, Daniel! Would you like any ointment at all? I think I have some in the back room."
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:53 pm
Dan almost choked on his last bite of the cake, and cleared his throat loudly before chugging down his water, "S-something special?", he spluttered, "Oh no, no that's completely fine, you don't have to though, just coming to a game is wonderful enough." he smiled and rearranged the plates around him, setting the fruit cheesecake in front of him. "But I won't be on the diet after tomorrow afternoon, nope! Though next week maybe." he nodded sagely, taking bites of the cheesecake.
He swallowed his cake before responding, "Yeah, I'd love an application! I don't really know what a seasonal is, but I'll do my best to help out during the winter!" Dan grinned, giving her a thumbs up. He didn't know how he would juggle his schoolwork and a potential new job, but it was a challenge nonetheless! It was a good thing to also keep busy, and he did want to help out Gloria; she was such a nice girl.
"Wow, you really wanna go running?", Dan's eyes widened with excitement, "Yeah, we can do as early as you want! I can wake up whenever." he nodded, genuinely excited that he would have an exercise partner. He had tried to recruit some of his teammates to engage in an early morning practice, though his definition of early was much too early for his teammates. He couldn't blame them though, four in the morning was probably too early for a high school student to be running around and exercising. Perhaps four in the morning was too early for Gloria, five or six in the morning was probably a better idea, "When do you wanna start? Next week? Tomorrow even? I can definitely do tomorrow! It'd be a good warm-up for my game anyways." he laughed.
"Oh no, no!", Dan shook his head, "It's all healed up, and it wasn't that bad y'know! I'm fine now, there's not need to worry Gloria.", he chewed on his bottom lip briefly, feeling slightly guilty for bringing it up and having her worry about him. "Thanks for your concern though, I am sure it'll straighten itself out because I have your...er...blessing?", he went quiet for a moment, realizing his plan to try and make her feel better had definitely gone down a dark, dark hole. He didn't really know what he was saying either. 'Blessing'? Who said that? How did he even know to use a word like that?
He quickly lowered his shirt when he saw Gloria's face turn pink, and let out a small sheepish laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed. "Uh, oh sorry about that. I--uh completely forgot y'know...", he mumbled, still laughing slightly. Dan's face turned as equally pink when he realized some of the girls were staring at him quite intensely, and waved at them slightly out of his own volition. "Gosh, I'm everywhere today aren't I?", he smiled at Gloria, his voice low and suddenly very shy. He kept his eyes lowered on his cake as he took unusually small bites, though a light tap on his shoulder caused him to look up at Gloria.
"Huh? O-oh yeah, ointment sounds nice. I haven't put any medicine on it yet." he said, setting down his fork.
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