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Seren had been sitting at the desk where she usually sat, working on a few problems for the homework due Monday. She wasn't in a rush to leave, because she had found if she took the time to do this... Well, first off, she did not get caught in the damn crush at the door. Less likely to get a book bag to the gut, or have someone get an unwanted grope in... She HAD had that happen once or twice, and it did not please her when it happened. Especially since she had not been able to tell which of the dickheads around her had been the one to ********' touch her a**. She knew she had a nice a**. That did not make it ok. Secondly, she had found that getting a head start meant more time for herself at home, time to cook or read, or even sneak out on an occasional night to a nearby park to go star gazing. Between these two benefits, and the fact that her next class wasn't for a bit... and this professor let her hang around a little... it was worth it to her.

When someone sat on the stool besides her, she was a little confused, but kept working. Until the stranger spoke, and Seren lifted her head in surprise. Baker Girl? What? Who on earth was calling her that?

She stared, a little confused, for a moment, then she remembered the person who stole the bundt cake she had made. And the PAN the cake was in, too. She had been so glad when her student she'd been tutoring had found her later and returned the pan to her. She wasn't made of money, after all! She only had TWO bundt pans, and the other one one of those bundlet pans designed to make small ones. She couldn't afford to replace the one she'd had any time soon. She'd actually almost cried, later. Finally, after a long moment of staring, she went "Uh. Hi. What... brings you here?"

She internally winced at how dumb she sounded.

Seren watched the reactions, brows just lifting slowly. The redhead had to be insane, there was no other explanation for it. Especially with the honored/privileged comment. Who the hell was this odd woman, who called her baker girl and... Well. She liked the cake that much, had she? Seren's cake had driven someone to come hunt her down. For more baked goods. She couldn't decide whether or not to laugh, carefully get off the stool and FLEE, or just stare some more.

After another moment, she finally said "Unfortunately, I don't have any baked goods on me at the moment. You should have found me during my lunch hour, I had some then but... Well, I ate them because it was. Ya know. My lunch." She gave a slight, almost apologetic shrug. "I try not to have snacks in my bag after lunch, I just end up with an upset stomach if I'm eating between meals too much."

She considered, thoughtfully, then added "I should have more Monday? I ran out, and..." She gestured at her giant stack of books for her courses. "I won't have time to bake until this weekend, due to homework. And... it's a hobby, I suppose, cooking? But yeah. Until then, I won't have any." Well, there was her tiny stash of 'Encouragement Cookies' for the days she felt like breaking down crying but THOSE were in the bedroom, and no one was getting those. No one. "And my name is Seren, not Baker Girl."

Seren watched the other more, brows inching slowly upwards. What on earth was WITH this girl? Did she not understand that people had to study, do their homework, and do well, or risk failing? How did this girl even begin to think this was a normal, or even appropriate, way to act towards someone who was essentially a stranger?

The sigh had her eyes widening in disbelief. What the ever living ********? Was this girl some sort of entitled kid who never knew what it was like to have to actually EARN a living, to feed themselves because there was no other way to get food? She glanced over her outfit, and came to the conclusion that this was, actually, probably the case.

"What kind... The kind that keeps me enrolled in the classes that I need to be sure I don't lose my scholarship, so I can continue to pursue the degree that I have wanted since I was like 7." She had no better answer then that.

And then the question came and her brows flew up so high, it was a miracle they hadn't merged with her hairline. "Erm, no I'm saying I need me to do it myself, so I don't risk being accused of plagiarizing or something similar that could get me expelled, actually." She had no idea what to do with this woman, who hadn't even given Seren her name. "And... I'm sorry? I can't exactly feed you right now. Once I've finished these problems, I have another class. I won't be cooking ANYTHING until I go home to make dinner. And that's gonna be tteokbukki, which is nothing like a baked good. It's more like a spicy stew."

The word 'details' almost had Seren getting up and leaving. If it weren't that it would take too long to pack up and go to demonstrate a proper huff, and there was NO way she was leaving her things where this crazy woman could take them hostage... She clearly had no respect for other people, so using her books and homework against her seemed entirely within the realm of possibility. Certainly she'd known others who were overly self centered who would, when she was younger. Her blue eyes darkened, however, with her irritation at the rude dismissive response to Seren's explanation.

She had to control the urge to snort mockingly at the other girl's ambition to rule the world. It was hard to control, but she did it. Than again, Seren had had YEARS to perfect the art of not showing everything she thought on her face. But she found herself thinking the odds were low.

The reaction to her plans for dinner had Seren blinking slowly. The way the other girl reacted to spicy food seemed almost as intense as her need for a cookie, or other baked good. There was a moment where Seren considered lying and saying 'oh not TOO spicy,' because it might make the other girl go away.

But Seren hated lying if she could avoid it, and decided not to bother with it. "Depends on how spicy I want to make it. Most days, I make it fairly intense, because Korean food is properly done hot hot hot." She did that little bit with a silly tune, and a tiny bit of jazz hands, almost like it was habit. "Why, how spicy do you like your food?" Her brows rose at the question.

The dimple confused Seren, though again... She didn't show it. Confusion was a weakness, one that could be exploited by those who preyed on the weak and vulnerable, and she did not want to be exploited ever again, thank the universe very much. She just watched her, waiting to see what the insane woman would come up with next.

The answer to Seren's question had her tilting her head, brows lifted just a little. The hand motions were... strange at best, because they seemed to be just this shy of obscene at least once or twice, somehow, in her eyes. Possibly around the point where the crazy lady was talking about making a baby.

Finally, after a long moment of consideration, Seren said "Well, I don't happen to have any Dragon's Breath chili peppers, which as far as I know are the current top runner for spiciest, out doing the Reaper. Then again, I'm not sure they're on market, nor am I sure they will be, given there is concern that the level of heat in them could kill someone. I don't even have any reapers at home, buuuuuut that's partly because their flavor just does not match the other ingredients in tteokbukki. But I'm probably going to use a fair amount of gochujang, which is a fermented hot pepper paste." She gave a shrug and tilted her head. "So there it is."

Seren managed... barely... to not wince at the attempt to pronounce gochujang. Oh the mangled way it was pronounced was terrible, and it made her want to correct the other girl, but... it might be better to just use the word casually a few times, and hope the other managed to figure it out, because eventually it was going to drive Seren nuts.

She blinked at the attempt to weasel a dinner invitation out of her. Well, pre-baked goods would be... Not as good as anything Seren could do herself, unless it was a really good bakery, but it would be nice to have something sweet to eat. And she was often lonely. It had been a long time since anyone had been into her apartment for an actual visit. The closest had been the recent incidents with her neighbor, neither of which were visits. First aid was not a visit, and coming to claim his dog was also not a visit... and that had been the only people who had been in her apartment, other than herself, since she moved in. Her brother had... suggested he might visit, once, but so far nothing had come of that.

Things were still very strained between them.

Finally, after considering the invitation, Seren gave a slow nod. "Alright, that sounds good. I have class until 3:30, then a tutoring session... Should be an hour..." The timing stuff was mumbled, as she was clearly working out in her head when would be a good time. "Cooking this usually takes... hmmm... Yeah, how about 6:00? That'll give me time to get home, change, and get dinner mostly ready." She paused, before adding "I don't really drink, so if you want something other than tea, juice or water, you'll want to bring it along for yourself, because I don't keep anything else at home. Too expensive, and drinking alone sucks anyways."

She pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled her address down. It was over towards the edge of town, about a half hour bus ride from campus. It was NOT a wealthy neighborhood... One of those 'a bit run down but generally safe' areas. Her apartment was on the seventh floor. "There's an elevator, if you don't want to take the stairs... It's kinda old, but it works." She said, just to be fair. She generally took the stairs, it was a good leg workout, especially on days when she had to keep her run short.

A business card? Changing for dinner into business casual? What kind of wealthy lifestyle did this woman live? Seren DID notice, however, that she now knew the name of her dinner guest (Since Pythia never had actually said it, but the business card at least dealt with that.) She wasn't sure what to say for a long moment, trying to figure out a way to explain that this wasn't what Seren had meant at all.

Finally, feeling a little breathless and stunned, but still able to speak, she said "No, no! Not at all my meaning. I just, when I get home, like to change into clothing that is more comfortable and relaxed. T-shirt, yoga pants, that kind of thing. I'm not at all formal at home. I like to just enjoy my evening. I prefer to look more... professionalish? I guess? At school, especially on days when I have tutoring to do. So... you know, you can wear whatever you feel comfortable in, really?"

She tucked the card into her wallet as the safest place to keep it from getting it all bent up. She didn't notice the address was close to hers, because she didn't pay a lot of attention to the places that weren't on the bus lines she needed, unless she had a reason to go there. "Anyways, I need to get to my next class, so... I'll see you at six?" She began to put her stuff away, not showing the disappointment she felt inside at the fact that her little bit of extra homework time had been totally blown. In fact, her expression was completely calm.