|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:22 pm
Their professor was late; he didn't often make a habit of it but when things like these happened there were several types of people. There were those who opened their books to continue studying, there were those who chatted to friends, there were those that minded their own business...And then there was Liliane.
This afternoon she'd come to class with her usual bits and pieces, books, calculators and so on riddled the top of her desk and she was ready to go when he arrived, but for now she had a captive audience. You see once they entered and signed in (ensuring credit for attendance), it was poor form to leave again... particularly if said professor chose to make sure that everyone was still there.
...This meant that everyone was in a perfect position to hear her spiel.
It was for charity you see, they were helping young children who had otherwise lost their legal guardians. There was quite a lot of unusual crime in this city, a high volume of missing people and all that jazz. She knew now what the cause was but it wasn't like she could unveil the truth. Instead, in order to involve the normal population she had proposed that the students raise money and donate it to the nearby projects.
This was, of course, going to be through several different, but on this occasion she'd picked a bake sale.
Okay, so she had originally gone for a questionable calendar of attractive individuals but that one had been otherwise nicked before she was allowed to continue with the train of thought. Shame really, she knew that one would have sold well... But for now she knew cakes were a very 'safe' option.
Thus the red-head began to make her way around the room with most taking the time to politely listen to her before being wrangled into the activities. It wasn't subtle though, she had quite the voice and didn't seem to know what "Inside voice" was sometimes, this afternoon was proving to be no exception... By the time she got round everyone the majority would already know.
At least the remaining conversation would be easier, eh...?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 4:27 pm
All Nataniel wanted during school hours was to mind his own business. It had been that way for as long as he could remember, or rather, at least since high school, nearing six years ago now. He liked normalcy. He liked routine. It was the chief reason for why he hadn't taken his mother's suggestion to 'get any damn degree' and remained in college up to this point. He simply couldn't fathom a life where anything besides school made sense. He was intelligent enough to have graduated if he'd chosen the required classes, but that wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't a routine he understood.
But this was.
Sitting here, in this room, waiting on a late professor, was exactly what Nataniel understood. He had the wherewithal to be irked over a professor whose class he'd paid for would dare to waste his time, but otherwise, Nat was content to spend a few moments idly scanning the screen of his laptop as he read through the newest patch notes to one of his favorite computer games.
What he didn't expect (or want) was for anyone to approach him. Briefly, his gaze lifted to peer over the top of his screen toward a red-headed girl chattering with a handful of their classmates. She was quite loud, wasn't she? An obnoxious and overbearing little thing...
But after the events over the summer, Nataniel had little interest in partaking in any more charity work, particularly not for children of all horrible things.
He slipped a set of earbuds into his ears and resumed clicking through the list of updates. Where was their teacher, though? If anyone should appear and put a stop to this, he should. Nataniel considered himself patient, typically, but he did have a schedule to keep, and it seemed rude even to him to keep a whole class waiting like this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:59 am
Earphones would not protect the introverted soul from the attentions of a very determined whirlwind of energy. Patch notes be damned, it wasn't long before Liliane's attention was on Nataniel and while he wasn't paying her any mind she was determined he would at least acknowledge her. A simple wave wasn't really her style though and instead, she crouched and slowly rose up from behind his laptop screen until only her forehead and owlish gaze were visible above it.
There was a momentary pause.
For the normally loud and exuberant girl all of her actions in these moments were conducted in silence. This was a feat that few could snort at, it was a miraculous turn of events by any measure, and yet it was all done with purpose. Even as the owlish eyes continued to peer towards the poor man, she was slowly but surely raising the sponsorship forms from beneath the laptop screen. Soon, he would find that these papers were replacing the top of a nose, a set of eyes and a forehead.
A relief to him perhaps to see her face vanish, but this may have been short lived as the papers began to dance, bopping back and forth, left to right above his screen.
Somebody wanted his attention and while the professor wasn't in the room there was nothing to protect him from the machinations of the red head. Common courtesy had been forgotten on this occasion but at least personal space hadn't (to a degree). However, there would be no guarantees that if the 'child' wasn't humoured, he might soon find himself subject to an even further decline in social etiquette!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:28 pm
Ah. So she was a persistent type.
There were at least a handful of situations in which Nataniel could be convinced to appreciate persistence in a person. He typically only made friends when someone was immediately initially committed enough to continue attempts at meeting with him, despite how cold he was. His best friend (what a ridiculously juvenile thing to say) was even like that... Annoying, but in a way that was just so as to make it not unbearable.
Nataniel did not think this encounter would blossom into anything like that. Despite the girl's playfulness, when her gaze peered over the top of his laptop screen, all he could muster was a sense of uneasiness. December was stupid and harmless in his stupidity, even with his annoying behaviors.
But no one in this room was stupid, as far as Nat could tell, and he didn't trust the purposeful actions of any woman looking too intently at him.
Women were masters of mischief and deceit, and no bobbing papers over his screen would change that. Nataniel thought to ignore her. The girl would go away eventually, if only because she had to. Their professor would be here soon, he was sure, and that would end this nonsense immediately without Nat having to put forward any effort to bring a stop to it. His gaze flicked up over the rim of his laptop, then back down to his screen.
But what would happen between then and now? He wasn't sure. Nataniel cleared his throat and said in a quiet tone, "Do you need help finding your seat." It wasn't so much a question as it was the insinuated suggestion that she get out of his face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 3:19 pm
"There we go," Jovial as always, a warm smile crept on to her lips and she ceased bobbing the paper. For now he had a temporary reprieve from her antics, acknowledgement went a long way to placating the red head and she didn't seem to take his hostility with offence. Well, perhaps hostility was the wrong word, but he certainly didn't have time for her. She either hadn't spotted that social cue or she was deliberately ignoring it so that she might be able to remain in his company.
"I was beginning to wonder if I would need to move on to stage two," she admitted and cleared her throat. "And don't worry I know where my seat is," she shrugged her shoulders and gave a nod to the bag and laptop that had been left at her backside on the desk. With her coat slung over it she had definitely saved the spot but she had by no means settled in to it yet, there was a very real possibility she would move if she needed to.
"Gonna be that guy and be annoying now," she warned him, as if she wasn't already and irritation, and promptly brought the papers up to her chest. For now she was holding on to them but at any moment she may choose to set them down again, probably in a much more inconvenient place.
"How are you fixed for next weekend?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2019 10:48 am
Nataniel had no idea what 'stage two' was, but he was certain that she'd just threatened him. How underhanded, to expect him to conform to her whims and then harassing him when he didn't. It didn't feel as though it should be too much to ask for something as simple as respect, but so few people were prepared to give it, these days. Admittedly, Nataniel was hardly among them, himself. At least not to those so blatantly invasive as this girl.
His gaze flicked sharply to the papers before darting back to his laptop screen, as though trying to read exactly what she was trying to rope him into without actually looking as though he was interested enough to actually read it.
The precursory glance yielded little information. Nataniel pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and wondered if he ought to get his eyes checked again for a different prescription... The pages weren't even that far away. Admittedly, the location of said papers, hovering over her chest, did not inspire him to want to ogle for long. "Busy, I'm afraid," he muttered stiffly. "If you want to leave your paper with me, I'll look it over when I have time," he offered flatly, extending a hand to take the slip of parchment from her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:43 pm
She could have accused him of not even knowing what she was going to ask but even she knew that made no sense. She had asked him if he was busy and he had simply answered the question...but in some circles 'busy' was simply a polite way of getting out of something that you didn't necessarily want to say 'no' to for some reason or another.
Her eyes narrowed, if only briefly, and she promptly set one of the pieces of paper down in front of him. She didn't provide it to him, oh no, she set it carefully on top of the keyboard of his laptop and then pointed her finger towards it.
"Read it, think it over, then I'm gonna come back," she smiled.
To him she was certainly nefarious, but despite her antics the red-head didn't aim to cause chaos. In the grand scheme of things she was just attempting to raise money for charitable causes and this wasn't even through use of questionable means, it was a bake sale!
Fortunately, she did elect to move back to her seat for now. No sooner had she done so than the professor conveniently appeared to buy Nat some much needed reprieve, otherwise there would have been a very real possibility she'd have been back within ten minutes or so.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:38 pm
Nataniel's eyes narrowed, and his fingers curled back toward him as though deliberately receding from something grotesque, empty. Why was it so difficult to simply not further patronize him more than her presence already did? He had agreed to humor her by not simply outright refusing anything she said. Nataniel considered himself a reasonable man, intelligent, capable of understanding and compromise.
But he did not always have to be these things.
As the girl walked away he stared at her back malevolently as though she may feel the tempestuous disagreeableness in his glower. After she'd taken her seat and their professor had joined him, his gaze turned to focus on the paper. At this point, it mattered little what the flyer was actually promoting, and he'd never had the intention of paying it much thought, but given its location atop his keyboard, Nataniel couldn't not catch glimpses of words: children, homeless, bake sale, charity. Nothing that interested him.
He settled his palm flat upon the sheet as his gaze went back to her, and with one deliberate movement, cinched it into a crumpled mess in his palm, quite a loud crumpled mess, given how relative silence had fallen once their professor entered.
But tha suited Nataniel fine. He wanted her to hear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:25 pm
Oh she'd heard it all right.
Liliane maintained her silence for the duration of her class, electing instead to take the necessary notes to pass the module. She had some of her priorities straight at least, they didn't always make sense but at the very least these ones would.
It was only when their professor had finally drawn the lesson to a close that she got to her feet and very calmly began to pack her things. For all intent and purpose it appeared that she had accepted that he had otherwise declined the invitation to assist in her charitable pursuits. Once she had made sure that all of her things were neatly packed, she slung the bag over her shoulder and began to stride towards the door.
There was just this one thing that she needed to do.
As she passed his desk she smiled merrily and set three pieces of paper down, one was the 'briefing document' as it were, the next was a list of appropriate baked goods and the final one was quite literally a list to fill in the names of those who would like to donate or had already donated.
"It's next Saturday, only two hours of your time!" She chimed and gave a way. "See you there!"
She didn't afford the opportunity for him to say 'goodbye' as it were, nor did he have the opportunity to reject but given his initial reaction it was highly likely the answer would remain unchanged. Even so, the redhead had chosen to remain positive, stranger things had happened!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:18 pm
Tk tk tktk tk. Nataniel kept his focus on his laptop, tapping away at the keys as their professor lectured. Regardless of what his 'goal' was with the class, and with university as a whole, he still worked within the mindset that he needed to succeed. Failure was not to be taken lightly, particularly when all the effort he'd already gone to to get even this far could be so easily wasted on the hinge of one failing grade...
He disliked waste.
'Effort' and 'time' were two among a very limited pool of resources available to him, and they weren't to be squandered thoughtlessly. Perhaps that was why, as he was packing his computer away at the end of class, he scoffed audibly at the presence of three new slips of paper on his desk, to take the place of the one he had crumpled earlier in the hour.
His gaze scraped over them, indifferent besides to take note of what each page was and a quick deduction of the information they held. Tricky girl, he thought snippishly. But then, they all were, weren't they?
Nataniel settled an elbow on the desk and tipped forward ever so slightly to rest his chin in his palm. She was a chipper thing, and if her statement and tone were anything to go by, she would surely leave if given another second or two. The wisest option would be to allow it. There was nothing to commit him to this charity just because he had the papers before him. He should let her leave, and forget about it.
But that wasn't what he did. "What is the benefit to me?" Nat asked, glancing up at her through dark eyes beneath hooded lashes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:57 am
His acknowledgement was enough for her to spin round, though she afforded enough courtesy to her fellow class mates to remove herself from the doorway so that they could leave. Cuddling both her bag and donation papers against her chest, she pursed her lips thoughtfully at this question. In a world of university students there were some who were particularly mercenary and while they seemed to lack compassion they would do something that looked good on their resume.
...Or if they needed to go to some sort of finishing school.
"Other than helping out the vulnerable who just need that little bit more in their time of need?" she asked curiously. She wasn't wholly invested in charity but when the opportunity did present itself and it was something easy e.g. a bake sale, then she was more than happy to participate. Climbing mountains and trekking for miles though... that would be something she'd sponsor but give a miss.
"Looks good on a resume in long term, shows that you're prepared to involve yourself in other activities that might look marketable and good for your employer," she mused, aiming first for the more mercenary tactics. "Or you could simply meet people while you're out and you might find someone you get along with... It's not really meant to be a social call but sometimes it works out that way," she pointed out.
"You can even buy the cakes and sell them on if you'd sooner not baked them," she grinned. "My mom used to do that all the time because she didn't think hers would look good enough against everyone else's," she added. Not that her mother was the only one to do it, there were probably a fair number who did... but come hell or high water Liliane would be making an attempt to bake first.
...She could always market the end result as a gag gift if needed.
"Really it's just a chance to get out and do a little bit for others," she shrugged loosely. "What you get out of it depends entirely on what you're aiming to get out of it," she admitted. "Everyone does it for different reasons, for me it's something that doesn't take all that much time out of my day and it's nice to make folks smile when they realise people care."
She paused.
"For others they just do it because it makes it seem like they care and therefore they can market themselves a certain way so it's...really up to you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:03 am
"I see." What a laughable assumption for someone to make: that he could be bothered to help someone else just because they couldn't or wouldn't help themselves. It was for charity, for children, the girl had said, but Nataniel could not fathom why this was his problem or what solution she expected to arrive at because of some bake sale.
Nataniel tapped his fingers against his desk. Regardless of what his goals should be, they did not presently involve marketing himself to an employer or filling necessary bullets on his resume. He wasn't in school to find a job. He was in school because he had always been in school, and he was inclined to do little else. If he was ever particularly desperate for work, there was no reason he couldn't take over his mother's business, meaning that Nat had little to worry about when it came to the security of his future.
He slid her three peices of paper into a single stack, then passed them back to her as he stood. "Sorry," Nataniel said blandly. "But this is nothing I have a mind to partake in." If he didn't care for anyone else's well-being or the added fluff to his resume, then he certainly didn't care for the chance of 'meeting someone.'
"I am no baker, and will not sell cakes and cookies to someone who can just as easily buy the same thing from a store. If I was interested in spending money on his event, I would just hand it to you. As it turns out, I am not."
He moved around his desk and toward the door. He did have other classes in the day, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:14 am
Well, that was her told, and rather soundly at that!
She pursed her lips as he strode passed her and then simply shook her head. Evidently not the most charitable of sorts, she could give him credit in the sense he'd listened to her spiel, but he was otherwise unsold on the opportunity she'd presented to him. It was a shame, but not everyone was inclined towards charity and while she could encourage others to participate for ulterior motives it seemed that he wasn't interested in that either.
"Fair enough!" she gave a wave, she knew better than to push any more than was strictly necessary. After all, if someone was going to change their mind it was very rarely achieved through nagging. She might end up surprised in the end and he might very well show up, but if he didn't then she'd not dwell on it too much.
"If you change your mind you know where to find us!" she added with a smile. Double-checking she had all of her belongings, it seemed appropriate at that point to take a leave. She'd have a break between her next class and that gave her the perfect opportunity to scout out more potential participants, and if all else failed, she could always study.
...Personally she preferred scouting, but she'd see how that went before she committed to it for the entirety of the break.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
