The Perk, Thursday Afternoon

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

Today being one of the six days a week that Rebecca didn't have class, she found herself making a coffee run to the Perk. Sure, it wasn't quite the fancy coffee shop she tended to frequent back home -- which was rather dark and generally quiet except for the smooth jazz on the radio, and had more than its share of secluded corner booths -- but it would do for now. The coffee was, she had to admit, excellent. Even if she wasn't quite sure what this scone was supposed to be.

She sat by the window, sipping her coffee and idly drumming her fingers on the table as she watched people go by. It was a nice, calm way to spend an afternoon, Rebecca decided. Maybe later she'd take a yoga class.

[[open perk!]]

Comments

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was having a busy-ish day. She'd had to fit all her Thursday-allotted studying in the morning to make room for dress shopping in the afternoon. The latter wasn't happening yet, though. Had to have a coffe break first.

So, Natalie entered the Perk, and gave a vague nod to the girl there (hadn't she been in the chorus in the play or something? Natalie hadn't paid attention) as she went to order her coffee.

To pretend to be polite, or something.

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

"Morning," Rebecca chirped over her coffee cup. "Or. Afternoon, really."

[whenshewasnice]

... Wait, the girl was going to talk to her? Man. Rebecca was so lucky she didn't just get Natalie's initial 'what?'

"Afternoon," she said, with trademark mildness. "It's definitely afternoon."

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

"Mm," Rebecca said dispassionately. "Any idea if the gym offers yoga classes on Thursdays?"

Rebecca, how was Natalie supposed to know that?

[whenshewasnice]

One of Natalie's eyebrows arched, slowly. "Why would I know that?"

Did she look like someone who even went to the gym? ... Well, she was skinny, as far as you could tell from the loose clothes, but not particularly athletic.

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

Rebecca sighed. "I was hoping not to have to actually go there to find out," she said, sounding a little bored. Then with a thoughtful glance toward her phone: "Maybe they post the schedules online or something..."

Hi, Natalie. Nice to meet you. How are you?

[whenshewasnice]

"It's a more likely option than finding it out from random people around town," Natalie replied dryly as she paid for her coffee and a muffin. "Saner, too."

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

"Probably," Rebecca admitted after another sip of her coffee. She piced up her phone to begin just such a search, then added, "I'm Rebecca, by the way." Then with a grin that was more friendly than she usually got: "In case the 'random person' thing was bothering you."

[whenshewasnice]

A pause, as Natalie made the connection.

Then: "Oh. It's you." Which was about as neutral as 'oh, it's you' ever could be. Her tone was neutral, sure, but the words tended to carry a connotation without any help from her. "I'm Natalie."

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

Rebecca paused. "You've heard of me."

Beat. Grin.

"Is this a radio thing, or should I be flattered?"

[whenshewasnice]

"It's a radio thing."

No comment on whether it was flattering.

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

Not the most talkative person in the world, was she?

"Okay..." Rebecca prompted.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shrugged. "I've heard about you on the radio."

What, like she was supposed to say 'and you've slept with about 75 % of all the people I talk to on a regular basis'? No thank you.

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

Probably for the best, as Rebecca could only take that as a terrible, terrible challenge.

"Cool story," she said with just enough of a trace of (not unfriendly) sarcasm to be detectable. She surveyed Natalie a little more, then realized, "Oh! You're... Tara's friend, right?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Roommate," Natalie corrected, mildly, as she took a seat at a table. Not Rebecca's, obviously, but one nearby. "Occasional cat sitter. But yes. Is this radio information too?"

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

"Observational," Rebecca corrected her easily. "I'm usually better with faces than names. Plus radio gets things wrong half the time."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well it is powered by squirreld and rum." So, it was kind of amazing it was as accurate as it was, to be honest. "Seems to work well enough."

Especially when embarrassing things happened, but that was beside the point.

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

"Depends on the host," Rebecca said, shrugging. "I tend to question Saturdays, myself."

[whenshewasnice]

Another eyebrow raise, just as mild as the first. "Peter and Topher? Why?"

Actually she had a few reasons of her own not to take everything either of them said on air at face value, but she kept that to herself.

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

"Well, first of all, it's Peter," Rebecca said easily, as if that explained it all. "So you know he's picking his shots. And half the squawking the other guy does is unintelligible. So."

[whenshewasnice]

Shrug. "I seem to understand Topher just fine," Natalie noted, idly picking at her muffin. "So, you know Peter well, eh?"

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, Rebecca was still feeling out how to best present herself to Natalie and was getting the sense that 'in the biblical sense' wasn't the best response to that.

"We hang out a bit, yeah," Rebecca confirmed. "Are you a friend of his, then?"

[whenshewasnice]

Eh, it was less 'fortunate' and more 'irrelevant'. Since Natalie already knew that.

There was another one of those barely perceptible shrugs that could've meant anything. "We talk."

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

"It's Peter, so that could mean anything," Rebecca translated with a bit of a grin. "He does like to talk."

[whenshewasnice]

"About politics, and whatever he thinks might make you reveal your worth," Natalie remarked dryly. It wasn't the whole truth about her perception of him, but it'd do. "He's pretty OSC like that."