Blue Morning [Morning | Work]

Cecil had left now, after an unbearably awkward morning, thanks to her bumbling the night before. To her surprise, the tightness in her chest hadn't disappeared overnight. It wasn't as sharp, perhaps, but it was there, a stone lodged between her ribs as she bid him a small farewell. Watching him go from the steps for probably too long, she contemplated what that feeling could mean. He probably didn't want to see her again, not after that. She hadn't had the nerve to ask him. Which was odd for her. But, she was a little...dry emotionally, and thought it best to ignore all of that for the time being.

Turning back inside, she got to work. She cleaned her room, as well as several others that had been checked out of this morning. It was probably more rooms than she usually cleaned in this length of time. Bridgett had commented on it, but Nadia wasn't really paying attention. She took all the extra linens to the laundry room. There was a lot of Laundry today, surprisingly. This was unfortunate, because doing laundry gave Nadia time to think. And thinking made her want to act.

It was during her melancholy laundry time that Bridgett finally got her attention. The light brown hair was bouncing like cotton candy again, but Nadia didn't really care about touching it today.

Bridgett leaned forward on one of the dryers close to Nadia, and just watched as Nadia stared off into space. "You know, usually you'd be down here drawing corpses or something." She began.

Nadia's eyes focused on Bridgett, but only to acknowledge her presence. "Is that so?" She asked conversationally. The distant tone in her voice was unmistakable.

"When I told you to find a date, I didn't think you'd go so far as to bring him back to your room." The other girl joked. When Nadia winced, her smile softened into something closer to compassion. "I do it too, you know. Work hard when I'm trying to forget something, or avoid something...like a boy." The shrewd look she gave Nadia made something catch in Nadia's throat. She wasn't used to her own observational skills being turned around on her.

"I see..." Nadia couldn't think of anything else to say to that. She wasn't good at this kind of small talk, couldn't tell what she was supposed to say to the other girl.

"It didn't go well, did it? Did you scare him away?" Bridgett asked, relentless.

"I'm afraid so..." Nadia gave a reflective smile. "We...built a pillow fort." The memory did something to dislodge the stone in her chest just a little bit.

"...a pillow fort?" Bridgett looked incredulous. "you brought a boy home with you and you built a pillow fort" She shook her head. "You really are strange, Nadia, but..." She giggled, "It's also kind of romantic, in a childish sort of way.

That made Nadia blush a little bit. "I think I may have...pushed him a little too far after that." There was a pathetic look in her eyes. "I think he may not want to see me again."

"Boys come and go, but it's not everyday you meet a guy who'll build a pillow fort in your room with you. Most guys only have one thing on their mind, you know?" she gave a little wink, and Nadia blinked curiously. Most people had more than one thing on their mind. That supposition was absurd. Bridgett rolled her eyes at Nadia's blank stare. "Yup, you're still strange. But look at you, making girl talk with a coworker. There may be hope for you yet."

One of the dryers dinged, then another. Nadia got up from her seat to retrieve the dryed laundry, or turn the sheets if they weren't dry all the way through. Bridgett caught her sleeve as she went, eyes snatching up Nadia's full attention "Go talk to him. It's probably not as bad as you think."

Bridgett left after a few more short pieces of conversation, and in the space she left behind, Nadia thought maybe she had more here than just a job and a roof. She couldn't help but smile just a little as she turned the laundry, folded sheets and pillowcases. "Go talk to him. It's probably not as bad as you think." It sounded like something Nadia would say to someone. How funny it was when someone turned your own advice toward you.

But she was right. There was no way to find out unless she went out and tried. And one way or another, it'd be a great new experience, wouldn't it?