Rainy Day Coffee Shop Blues (Nadia/Brittany)

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

Nadia liked the way the world felt when it was raining. Those sorrows that people tucked away, that hid away in closets and under the mattress, were pulled out and draped over everyone's shoulders. You could see it in the ways they shook off the chill, or how they slumped into their chairs.

Nadia always made a point to visit a coffee shop on rainy days like these. Luckily, Mr. Kaska had shut the shop down early today, allowing her to get here at a good time. The coffee shop was bright compared to the dreariness outside, and the muted colors of the furniture and walls brought out the colors of the coats and jackets people were wearing.

Nadia was perched in a dark leather chair against the window, knees pulled up into the chair to rest her sketchbook on, and was currently sketching away at a drenched couple at a table nearby. The two seemed to be having a melancholy conversation, with a few smiles and a few frowns. It made her think of Cecil, briefly. But only briefly, as her mind focussed in on the task of capturing the mood of the Coffee Shop.

A ding from the bell alerted the shop to a new customer, and Nadia looked up, taking a sip of her warm tea latte, to see who it was who had joined her canvas this afternoon.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

The rain caught her off-guard. Then again, by now Brittany should know better than to just leave home without an umbrella. You can never leave without one and risk getting soaked at a turnabout of weather – which, by the way, is exactly Brittany’s issue right now. Running down the street with her hands over her head in an useless attempt to cover the hair from the messiness the rain drops would cause, she managed to reach a coffee shop, breathless and soaked as the white blouse marked the outlines of her slender frame with more revealing qualities than what’s normally acceptable. Not that Brittany cared. At least, not for now. Her hair was the focus of her attention and as soon as she removed her heart-shaped hairpin, she begun twisting her hair in order to remove the excess of water.

Once she thought it was enough, the girl finally made the move to enter the shop – she wouldn’t until making sure her overall wet appearance wouldn’t make the place messy and dirty. The amount of stares like daggers her looks dragged was rather bothersome; still, despite the situation she was in, Brittany was in high spirits now she found a safe shelter to recover. With a self-embrace, she walked in to one of the employees, protecting from the cold sensation her wet outfit, allied with the air conditioner of the ambiance, would give her.

“Excuse me, could I, like, have a towel or something? Just to dry my hair a bit…”

The man looked a funny way to Brittany, but ultimately chose to be sympathetic to her situation and darted off in search for a towel, leaving the girl waiting at the counter.

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

The ding of the door brought in with it, a very wet looking girl about Nadia's own age - maybe a little older. Nadia watched the girl with unveiled interest as she walked up to the counter and asked for aid. The boy that Nadia was drawing shifted his entire posture when the pink-haired girl walked past him, and still seemed to be watching her pretty intently as she stood at the counter.

Nadia thought the girl looked a bit familiar at first glance - maybe a classmate or... That was when it hit her. She looked like that model girl that Bridgett talked about on occasion. "She goes to our school, and she's a model. Man I'm really jealous of girls that look as good as her in any situation." Or something to that effect. In any case, Nadia couldn't help wondering what that kind of life was like for a highschooler. Did she feel objectified? What kind of life did she lead? It was this curiousity that led Nadia out of her chair, leaving her tea and her sketchbook where they were, as she made her way over to the girl. She had unbuttoned her own light jacket when she had stated to warm up from the cold. Now, as she approached the girl who must be pretty chilly being so soaked in the air conditioning, She shouldered out of it completely, and held it out to the other girl. "You must be cold. Would you like to borrow my jacket?" She asked, curious eyes examining the taller girl's features. The sleeves would probably not be long enough, but their shoulder measurements were probably close enough for it to be comfortable.

Somewhere behind them, the boy at the table whispered to his companion "Man, smooth! I should have thought of that." to which the other person replied, "If you were weren't so busy staring at her boobs you might have."

Nadia, of course, ignored the banter. She was much more interested in what was hiding behind this pink-haired girl's smile.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

While the employee retired to search for a towel as Brittany requested, the girl embraced herself, giving careful glances around. Of course her messy appearance drew attention, something she should have expected from the get-go. It’s one thing when you catch eyes for the right reasons, it’s another when you actually look ridiculous and stupid, therefore Brittany couldn’t help but feel rather awkward at how intently some of the bystanders were staring – even if they shouldn’t, for it was completely normal to be soaked under rainy weather. Except, possibly, one girl. Precisely the one who walked over to her with an unexpected demonstration of kindness.

“Oh? Huh…are you sure?” Honestly, Brittany was feeling a bit cold and the last thing she wanted was to be a nuisance to someone else and wet their clothes. On a second thought… “Well, thank you anyway! That’s, like, so nice of you! Totally nice!”, she said, opening a broad smile after taking the girl’s gentle offer and putting her jacket on. The shoulder measures were alright, but the sleeve length was rather uncomfortable, as expected of someone taller like Brittany to struggle with longer arms not fitting well in a piece made for a shorter person. “Can you believe that? It was clean weather just now! I totally forgot to bring my umbrella with me, and I know, it’s my fault, I can’t ever forget an umbrella ‘cause, like, you never know when the weather is gonna turn, but seriously…?”

If the employee hasn’t arrived in time bringing what was requested of him, Brittany would go on and on about how funny and fickle the weather may be. “Thank you! You're so totally saving my life right now! Both of you!”, she said in high spirits, putting the towel on her shoulders and adjusting it so her hair would lay over and not make the borrowed jacket wetter than it already was.

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

Nadia watched as the girl talked, just...absorbing. She had a way of using a great deal of words to say very little. Which was not a bad thing, per se. It was interesting to say the least, and Nadia found herself mesmerized, wondering if the girl was actually thinking about her weather monologue, or if it was a wall that hid other, deeper thoughts. In any case. They were bound in conversation while the girl was using her jacket, and Nadia would take advantage of that to learn more about her, if she could.

"Would you like to come sit with me while you dry off?" Nadia motioned back over her shoulder to the two arm chairs around a short table, where her sketchbook and tea were still sitting. Wait. Right. Introductions. She needed to get better at inserting those when she spoke to people. "I'm Nadia, by the way."

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

“Actually… Huh, nevermind. I might accept it. I’ve only entered here because, well, duh…”

Brittany glanced outside, through the coffee shop’s windows, humming. It certainly didn’t look like the downpour would stop anytime soon, much to her disappointment. Under a more positive light, she was relieved there wasn’t any major appointment scheduled for this afternoon.

“Well, at beast it just means I might have to stay for a little while! No biggie! Huh, you said your name's Nadia, right? Cool! Mine is Brittany! B as in Brittany, R as in Rittany, I as in Ittany, double T as in Tittany, A as in Arittany, N as in Nittany and Y as in ‘Why thank you for your offer, you’re so kind!’ Some people find it hard to spell my name and, you know, misspell it so so much, so here it goes!”, the model giggled at her jingle, following her new acquaintance to her – now their – table without much ceremony.

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

Nadia looked curiously at the girl as she gave her little jingle about how to spell her name. There were lots of names that had different spellings based on region or language or...well, whim. Nadia's own last name was misspelled quite frequently based on it's unusual spelling. She smiled and giggled a little at the jingle, sitting down in the chair she'd vacated and picking her sketchbook back up. "That's a clever way to avoid the problem. If you introduce yourself that way all the time, I'm sure no one will ever misspell it." She pointed out, taking a sip of her tea before picking up her pencil and idly sketching while they conversed. It had gotten a little easier to talk to strangers since she'd gotten to know Cecil, Kendra, and Tomomi. Eryka too, though she wasn't much of a conversationalist either.

Currently, Nadia was sketching the profile of a boy at another table who kept nervously glancing over his shoulder at Brittany. How interesting! "You're...a model aren't you? I have a friend who showed me your picture once. She was jealous of the fact that you look so good all the time." Nadia revealed unabashedly. It wasn't really a secret was it? Was that a strange thing to say? She still couldn't really tell what kinds of things you were supposed to say to people when you met them. There seemed to be a common understanding - a lesson Nadia hadn't learned at some point.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

Well, by now Brittany should have seen the topic about her modelling career arising anytime. She didn’t expect it to be so soon, though. Still, the way Nadia introduced it was rather funny and flattering for her to be bothered. “Haha wow, you’re so sincere! Well, yeah… I work as a part-time model, yeah. I kinda have to live on my image and stuff…” Brittany wasn’t someone who could be exactly classified as humble about her achievements. There was some sense of pride in her, just not manifesting all the time. Today was one of these times; in the situation she found herself in, how could she, anyway?

“Except… today? Huh, you can take a picture of me right now and, like, tell your friend she’s so totally wrong there! I mean, look at my hair. My blouse! If these looks aren’t from the, you know, nearest low budget horror movie, then I don’t know what is, seriously! You know how they always have this girl who’s the clueless dumb one, the first to die because she heard some noise somewhere and dared to check it by herself yelling ‘Hello-o? Anybody there?’ only to get stabbed right after in the next cutscene? Yeah, that’s my looks right now!”, the girl added, laughing at her own humor immersion.

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

Nadia couldn't help but giggle a little bit at the girl's description of how she wasn't particularly pretty at the moment. It wasn't exactly a humble statement, more an observation of her own current dishevelment. But at the same time, Nadia was getting the feeling that she genuinely cared what she looked like. At the same time, she was able to laugh at herself when she wasn't perfect, which separated her from most good-looking women Nadia knew - or rather that her parents knew. The unexpected good-nature of the girl brought a small smile to Nadia's face.

"I don't know. I think a little imperfection is charming." Nadia replied easily, idly rolling back the right cuff of her blouse. The material was lightly smeared with graphite now. She looked at the girl with renewed interest, her eyes were big and curious. "What's it like, having people look at you all the time? When you look as plain as I do, you spend most of your time as part of the scenery." She asked earnestly, still sketching a couple of guys at one of the nearby tables. Her tone was not a lament, but conversational. It wasn't that she was upset about being a wallflower - it was what she knew best, after all.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

“Huh… It depends. I could pass some stares today…”, she glanced around, checking how her current appearance still dragged some glances here and there, only to turn back to Nadia with a confident smile. “Kidding! Well, not so much kidding, because there were some guys here who are reeeaally indiscreet but you get it. Really now, I think I’m used to it? Like, at first it was a bit weird and all, when I was starting in this business, but I guess I kinda like it when people notice and flatter me! It’s my job after all, I can’t, like, complain when they greet me for my job, right? That’s kinda arrogant. But yeah, you get the general idea: when they look for the right reasons, ok. When it’s for the wrong reasons, not ok!”

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

Nadia stopped sketching to consider what the girl was saying, watching her mannerisms as she moved and talked. She was pretty - and not all superficial prettiness either - Nadia was captivated by it, but at the same time she wondered how much of that was a mask she'd developed as a show for her fans or the people she worked with. Suddenly Nadia was curious, as she stole glances at the Brittany, right now, was she looking for the right reasons? How curious.

"I see..." Nadia commented, thinking. "That's an interesting way to look at it, but it makes sense when you think about the kind of work you do. I imagine it becomes pretty common place to be stared at..." She felt a nervous flutter in her chest and remembered her day up on stage at Karaoke...all those eyes on her. She blushed lightly at the remembrance. There was no way she could do that for a living, though the idea gave her the kind of butterflies she wanted to chase.

"Do people try intrude on your every day life?" She followed up, off-handedly. She had heard that famous people had to deal with invasion or privacy. Brittany wasn't really famous per se, but she did have a little bit of fame here in Endymion. Did it cause her discomfort, Nadia wondered?

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

“Hmmmm...”, Brittany pondered a bit, tilting her head while glancing in varied directions. “I don’t know? Like, I’m always around, and everywhere is always full of people, some come to talk and so… well, we talk! I don’t think that’s exactly intruding in my life if it’s allowed, you know. I allow people to come by, approach and chat! I don’t think there’s something I don’t feel comfortable to talk about, you know”, she said, a bit confused at the question, or rather, at the given answer. Perhaps due to her easily approachable personality, Brittany herself had difficulty to understand if someone was poking in her personal affairs or just trying to strike regular conversations, to which she was never opposed to. Until something else caught her attention: the sketchbook on Nadia’s hands, evoking a curiosity gleam in her easily excitable eyes. “Oh, watchu doing? Drawing? Can I see it?”

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

Interesting. So she didn't have people trying to intrude in her affairs - or perhaps she just didn't have anything to hide. In that respect, she seemed to be like Nadia, and the small girl liked it when she had something in common with people. She offered a small smile in response to the girl's answer. She appreciated the girl's candor.

when the girl's eyes fell on her sketchbook, Nadia's face colored only slightly, before she nodded. "I draw what I see...things that interest me. Everything will disappear...so I try to capture them before they do." She replied honestly, handing her sketchbook to the girl. the current page had light sketches of the people in the coffee shop, and the few pages beyond. The pages before that would have pictures of people training (Eryka) and a cadet with a coffin leaning against a tree, apparently dozing (Maria). And a few pages before that there was a pastel illustration of a dead possume that was fairly graphic...

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

Picking Nadia’s sketchbook, Brittany skimmed through a few pages, immediately opening her mouth in surprise. Be it her own amusement at other people’s talents, precisely talents she lacked like being able to cook edible dishes or drawing, the girl was genuinely impressed, and one particular drawing brought a broad smile to her lips. “Oooh my gosh, I know this one! It’s Maria! I’m shocked, I didn’t know you know her! Endymion is such a smaller town than we think, right? She’s, like, my best friend ever! We’re so totally best friends forever, you know, bffs!”

Before she could say further, Brit turned the page only to stumble upon a very… detailed drawing of a dead mammal. The smile turned into a gross depiction of unpleasantness, but Brit knew better than to be indiscreet. “U-oh… That one is very… uh… good? I mean, uh… You’re certainly good at everything, be it drawing people doing stuff or… corpses doing stuff?”, she laughed it off and turned the page around, back to the previous drawing. Certainly spooky, but it only corroborates with Brittany’s opinion about Nadia’s impressive abilities with a pencil.

“I like how you said you try to capture it before it fades. That’s kinda what we do with photographies. Like, all it takes is one shot and that fleeting second is frozen, perpetually eternalized in a frame as well as the momentary emotions overflowing as if time had stopped itself, preserving the feelings we capture with a photoshoot and then we can relive it merely by looking…”, Brittany spoke glaring at a distant point in the horizon as if she was in a trance. Until she woke up from her own philosophical speech, returning the notebook to Nadia’s hand with a smile. “Wow, that’s, like, so deep! Deeper than I thought. Like, I just made a speech! Sorry, sometimes I do that, my mind goes wonders on its own. Kinda weird, right? But nevermind that, your drawings are, like, sooo totally great! Go make money with that, girl, because you should! Like, totally!”

Posts : 1468 Join date : 2018-09-15 Age : 33

Nadia did her best not to look sad at Brittany's reaction to the dead animal. She was used to those kinds of reactions. Brittany hid it well, though, and masked her revulsion behind politeness. Nadia appreciated the gesture, but at the same time, she didn't mind knowing people's real thoughts about things.

She accepted the sketchbook back from the girl, and took a sip of her tea. "Thank you! I didn't know you knew Maria either. To be honest, I've only met her a few times. She seems nice, but I think she suspected me of being a Psyche Terrorist at first, because she saw me out with my um...friend." Nadia blushed a little at the thought of Cecil.

Brittany's monologue made her smile. Yes, it was exactly the same thing. Though photographs weren't as personal as art was. "I feel the same. But um...I'm too unrefined to make any money with art. Besides...that's not really why I do it." She said that, but it was evident from her mystified expression that she was atleast considering the idea.

» Literally Every Coffee Shop Ever
» Nadia Protection Squad Assemble (Kendra/Cecil/Nadia/Tomomi)
» Talking with Brittany (Trinity X Brittany)
» A Rainy day, Don'tcha think (OPEN)
» Rainy Tour (Open)