Lazy Day [Ros]

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

It had been about a month since school started, and it was getting colder. Russel was used to dressing warmly, quite happy in his sweaters and cargo pants, but he was having to wear his brown jacket all day more and more as Autumn went on, instead of just slinging it over his shoulder in the afternoons. In another month or so he'd have to pull out his scarves and gloves.

It was a rather overcast Saturday, but instead of staying cooped up in his tiny apartment all day, Russel had decided to venture outside, book and ipod in hand, and wander around downtown. While eating lunch at a little corner shop, his mother had called to ask how he was doing (which he appreciated) and whether he was ready to forgive his ex, Jessica (which he did not appreciate). She then informed him that Jessica had called her and asked about him. Great, that was just what he needed. After talking to his mom for a bit longer and finishing his lunch, he went over to The Cafe for a little quiet time to try and put his thoughts back in order.

He ordered a latte, chose a table near in the corner where he hoped no one would bother him, and put his ear buds in and reading glasses on. Then he opened his book on the table and took a sip of his latte, quickly forgetting the beverage as he became engrossed in reading and listening to music. Yes, this was just what he needed to escape his troubles.


x outfit x

[ROSLYN BARKER]

It was a guilty pleasure for Ros. Since she'd left home money had gone from being plentiful to being tight, and it was only just now that she'd begun to get back to a point where it was nice to occasionally spoil oneself. It had been tough all through the summer since graduation, but she'd made it. The thick, rich hot chocolate in the large mug in front of her proof of that...the brown, tan, and white foam artistically made into a leaf by the rather nice barista that had waited the ten minutes as Ros had just stared. She use to drink coffee all the time, coffee shops her one weakness next to her books, but that was the joy of working in a library, all the books were free to read.

It smelled so good Ros almost didn't want to drink it, but rather just stare at it and realize that this was one of the first of many things to tell her she'd finally reached a nice, safe place after so many ups and downs. Today had been a splurge, hot chocolate...maybe some lunch later out at the cute diner down the street, then there was a movie playing that had caught her eye. She had the money and it almost made her giddy to know she could have a day like this.

So caught up in her own enjoyment she almost didn't realize who had come into the cafe. It took her a moment as she stared at the man settling himself across the room in a snug little corner before she realized she knew it to be Russel Connor. There had been little time to really get to know many of the people, her own breaks and times in the school varied and of course she hadn't gone about disrupting class any time soon for him. Still he was there, and she looked around the cafe for a sign that anyone else was there with him getting their coffee before joining him.

When she didn't see anyone move to sit with Russel she stood up taking her mug and her crossword puzzle in hand as she slowly made her way over to wear he sat, standing just a little off to the side of him as she looked down at him reading.

"Mr. Connor? I saw you come in and that you were alone and I thought I'd join you. Sometimes it's not fun to just drink alone. Especially on dreary days like this when it's nice to have the company..." She started, taking hold of a chair as she pulled it up to the table, stopping when he didn't seem to respond at all to her talking. Leaning down she got a little closer to him.

"Mr. Connor? I'm sorry to bother you...Mr. Connor?" Setting her mug down she looked at him, confused as to why he didn't seem to be listening as she leaned in close setting her mug down on the table near him as she finally tapped his shoulder.

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Russel was off in his own little world, oblivious to everything but the words on the page of his book and the sound of easy-listening guitar music from his ipod. He tended to get like that when he was reading, blocking out everything around him. He chuckled quietly to himself as something he was reading struck his fancy. 'Oh, that Chaucer.' he thought. 'He sure was a hoot.'

He had no idea that Roslyn had noticed him, nor that she had come over to his table and was trying to initiate a conversation. He just went on reading and listening to his music, blissfully unaware in Chaucer-land. Even his own latte was neglected and getting cold. The vibration of a chair being dragged towards the table only registered on the bare surface of his mind, skimming across it like a water bug across a pond, not even causing a ripple.

The tap on his shoulder startled him out of his reverie, and he looked up to find a face much too close to his. "GAH!" The surprise of it caught him totally unawares, and he nearly jumped out of his seat. The motion tilted his chair off balance, tipping it backwards and sending him falling to the floor, the glasses flying off his face and landing on the ground near Roslyn. He looked up, unhurt for the most part, and was surprised to find he knew the woman.

"Miss Barker?" His cheeks colored slightly as he realized he'd made a bit of a scene. "I'm sorry, you startled me."

[ROSLYN BARKER]

She leaned closer to Russel, her eyes on him before they went to the book on the table as he seemed so focused on that.

Ros didn't realize how close she was to Russel when she'd tapped him until their gazes met as she turned to look at him once more. At first she started to draw away, but Russel's surprise startled her. His outburst sent her reeling back a little, nearly spilling her drink all over her dress.

"Ah!" She jumped back, startled by Russel as he was just sitting there and suddenly...gone. It took her a moment to realize he was on the ground. It seemed that her luck was against her and every time she was to meet this man she'd cause him some physical harm. Really she'd just meant to get his attention and say hi, maybe chat for a bit. He was an English teacher, and she figured they'd have enough to talk about that maybe the tensions from their first meeting would be forgotten. Still as she stared at him on the ground her cheeks began to heat and color.

"Mr. Connor! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Setting her mug down on the table she started to move forward one hand outstretched to help the teacher up, "I saw you over here and I thought I'd say hi. I didn't mean to...are you alright? Let me help you up..." She started closer as she leaned down to grab the other and pull him up just as she felt something give under her foot with a sharp 'snap' before Ros looked down a the twisted metal and glass under her shoe.

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Still on the ground, he gave himself a mental once-over. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to be hurt, aside from maybe a little bruising that might appear later on his back where he'd landed on the chair, but it wasn't bad. Of course, he wasn't about to blame her for it; he knew perfectly well how he sometimes got lost in his own little world when he was reading.

"No, really, it's all right. I tend to get sucked into whatever I'm reading and ignore everything around me. It's not your fault."

As he took her hand and stood up, he heard a slight crunching sound and looked down near Roslyn's feet. A glint of metal peeking from under her shoe caught his eye. It was then that he realized he was no longer wearing his glasses. His eyes went wide as they searched the ground nearby before coming to an unfortunate conclusion. He clapped a hand over one eye as if to keep from seeing it, and groaned.

"Tell me that wasn't what I think it was..."

[ROSLYN BARKER]

When he began to blame himself and the book she smiled a little. "I can relate getting stuck in a book, but still...I didn't realize I was too close. I thought you were ignoring me because of what had happened before."

Moving a hand to smooth out the skirt of her rose colored dress she wore under her gray cardigan Ros leaned down a bit more to make sure that Russel was okay. The tumble didn't look like a of fun, and it worried her that he could be angry at her for this. It was like she couldn't catch a break when it came to the English teacher, and for a little while she was worried that perhaps he would start looking at her more and more like a burden then as a person, and that made her chest grow a little tighter as she realized where she'd stepped as well.

With her hand still outstretched she wasn't sure if she should leave her foot were it was to hide as much damage as possible or let the other just see what she'd done. It seemed though that Mr. Connor had noticed already, his question seeming more rhetorical than anything else, but slowly she moved a step back, her head down, cheeks pinker then her own dress as she shifted around waiting for the anger or shouts to come her direction.

"I didn't see them there!" Ros bent down and picked up the broken frames, a few shards of glass falling to the ground as she looked over at Russel before holding them out to him, "Oh god...I'm sorry. Were those your only pair?" A frown curved the corner of her lips down, almost looking a little afraid now.

"I can't do anything right it seems. How many times does this make it?" She asked, though more to herself than to Russel, "Really Mr. Connor, I'll pay for those to be fixed..."

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Russel's eyes seemed glued to the remnants of what used to be his glasses, his gaze following the bent gold frames and pieces of glass as Roslyn picked them up and held them out to him. He took them from her gingerly, frowning. Well, there would be no wearing them now. He hadn't broken a pair of his glasses in years. Once when he'd broken off the earpiece, he'd taped a straw on there and worn it that way, but this was a little beyond that. The lenses were completely busted. Well, it couldn't be helped.

He looked up as she mentioned buying him a new pair. He was surprised to see that she looked perhaps even more upset than he felt. Was it because he looked angry? He did have a tendency to scowl a bit when he was in a bad mood; he made a conscious effort soften his expression. She hadn't meant to, after all, and she was trying to rectify the situation. "That's nice of you, but it's not necessary," he said, setting the broken spectacles on the table and righting his chair, then looking back at her. "I've got insurance. Besides, it was high time for me to get a new pair anyway."

This did always seem to happen when they met. When he thought about it, it was really kind of crazy. There was no reason two people should have such a hard time just talking to each other normally. In fact, it was almost funny... Maybe it was the shock of being so suddenly surprised, then having his glasses smashed, but Russel suddenly found the whole situation rather humorous. He couldn't help himself. He just started laughing. He put his hand over his mouth at first, but then he figured he should probably explain before she thought he'd gone off his rocker.

"I'm sorry, it just--" he started between laughter, "--it's so uncanny, how this kind of thing happens whenever we meet. It's kind of funny!"

[ROSLYN BARKER]

There were not shouting or anger coming from Russel it seemed, she'd been ready, every muscle tense waiting for the harsh words to hit her like a smack. However his voice was gentle as he waved off her offer to replace the object. Slowly shoulders grew relaxed as he spoke of needing to replace them, but still she wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with just leaving it like that as if nothing bad had happened.

"I really am--" One of many apologies began to pass her lips before a soft noise caught her attention. Lifting her head up she gazed at Mr. Connor. His laughter something she did not expect as she sat back on her heels just staring at him. Of course the few people in the cafe were watching as well, but Ros' attention was on none of them as he finally tried to explain through the muffled noise just why he was laughing at her.

"Well I--it's just that..." She trailed off, as if there was some reason she could just pull out of the air that made sense. It did seem they were fated to always meet by some way of accident. Slowly the frown on her lips began to soften into a smile as she giggle, "I mean it's not like I mean too do it." Holding out her hand again to help him up as she smiled.

"I saw you over here and I wanted to say I. We really haven't gotten to just talk one on one before and we are in similar positions. I was wondering if you wanted company. Though you might have already had enough of my company after this."

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

If she had asked, he wouldn't have been able to tell her why he found the situation so amusing. His sense of humor did tend toward the wry side every once in a while. Still, he realized it was a bit weird, and he tried not to laugh too loudly. People were already looking at them strangely, anyway. "I know you don't," he said, shaking his head with a little chuckle. "That's part of what makes this so funny. Ah, you must think I'm really weird for laughing."

He sat down, still grinning, and motioned for her to do the same. "No, it's all right. We're colleagues, after all. Seeing as I teach English and you're the one in charge of the books, it really wouldn't do for us to be walking on eggshells around each other all the time. We might as well get to know one another. This is as good a time as any."

Well, he wouldn't finish reading today unless he held his book out far from his face like an old man. That was actually how his parents had discovered his far-sightedness in the first place, when he'd started doing that in the third grade. He put his bookmark in his book and closed it, tilting the cover toward her for a brief moment so she could see it if she was interested. "Chaucer. He's always good for a dreary day. And I'm going to be covering The Canterbury Tales in class next month, so I figured I'd better brush up on it."

He took a sip of his latte, made a face at how cold it had gotten, and put it down again. "I even neglect my own drink when I get really into a book. But enough about me. What brings you here? I haven't seen you in here before."

[ROSLYN BARKER]

"No, not at all. I don't think it's weird to laugh. I mean it is kind of funny." Her own laugh softened to quiet giggles as she tried to compose herself after going through shock, despair, and then the hilarity all created by their situation. Her breath came a little harder, just from the laughter, her cheeks still pink but not from embarrassment any longer, just simply the exertion, A few flyaway strands of hair escaped their hold behind one ear, falling to tickle her throat a little as she moved to take her seat.

Fingertips grasped the edge of the saucer her hot chocolate sat on, slowly pulling it closer to her, the foam and leaf design untouched from the rambunctious actions of the past few minutes. It made her smile before she looked up, her smile growing now as Mr. Connor made it clear he wasn't about to use the accidents of the past to cast her away from him in disdain. "I agree Mr. Connor. I would really like to get to know you better. Most English teachers I've known have a love of books, so I mean who better to become friends with to discuss such things?" Slowly she lifted her mug up to her lips, the thick chocolate and cream mixture slipping past her lips and down her throat. It was almost too sweet, but it was just that richness that made her want to drink it all before she slowly pulled it away, a little foam and chocolate sitting on her upper lips as she glanced at the cover in front of her.

"Oh my...you're lucky you're here and not some small backwaters town. They don't like that kind of education." Warm eyes lifted to meet the teacher's gaze as she gave a little wink, "Corrupting the youth already with such racy knowledge? Parents may riot once they see the Wife of Bathe. I read that my senior year, one of my favorites. Though for a cloudy day I prefer a visit to Narnia, something a bit more of an escape."

At the comment of his drink she leaned back in her chair a bit as she began to reach for her purse. "Let me treat you to a warm drink. Least I can do after all the trouble I manage to cause."

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

When he'd gone out that morning, he'd just wanted to get out of the apartment for a while, and Chaucer had been his defense against a cloudy day. Then when the conversation with his mother had left him in less than high spirits, he'd been glad he brought the book along. It had helped. But then having his glasses busted, well, that had been like the universe's way of telling him he was supposed to have a bad day. Somehow, however, that had done just the opposite, and he was now determined to not let anything ruin his mood.

He gave her a lop-sided smile when she addressed him as Mr. Connor again. He realized he'd been calling her Miss Barker the whole time, too. Maybe it was time they get on a first-name basis. "'Mr. Connor' is fine for when we're at school, but you can call me Russel if you want."

As she sipped her drink, she left a bit of whipped cream on her upper lip, and Russel grinned behind his hand. She was kind of cute, he thought. Actually, she was very cute... Clearing his throat, he scratched his nose a little nervously. "You've got a little, uh..." he said quietly, pointing to her and then putting a finger over his own lip.

He chuckled at her comment about Chaucer. "Corrupting the youth? Hardly. Sometimes those kids seem to know more about the darker parts of life than I do! Of course, most of them probably won't get Chaucer's humor. There are a few who will, sure, but at least half of them won't have any clue what he's talking about." Her mention of The Wife of Bath made him raise his eyebrows in amusement. "Wife of Bath, huh? I wouldn't have pegged you for that type of librarian," he said with a cheeky grin. He fully expected her smack him for that one. But what could he say? He wasn't about to pass up a joke like that.

When she offered to get him a new drink, he shook his head. "No no, that's all right. My lattes always get cold," he said, picking up his cup, swirling it around a bit, and then taking another sip as if to emphasize the point that it didn't matter. Of course, the face he made didn't help. Maybe he would just take it home and microwave it later...

[ROSLYN BARKER]

It wasn't until the English teacher had brought it to her attention, but Ros realized he was right...she had only been calling him Mr. Connor since the day they'd met. It was part of a habit she'd yet to break, and also in a manner, a way she'd meant to make up her more physical disrespects towards the other by making sure she wasn't so casual. By now though it seemed pointless to stay so formal as he asked her to call him Russel at least outside the classroom. "Oh, of course...Russel." She said his name, taking another sip of her drink.

"You can call me Roslyn...or Ros, or both if that suits you. Though not at the same time. I didn't mean call me Roslyn Ros or something like that, it's just what you prefer to call me. You can call me that to if that suits you though it's a longer nickname then my name..." Her rambling was interrupted as she watched Russel motion to his upper lips talking. It took her a moment as her own hand went up to her lips that she realized she had a little left over there. "Oh...oh! Thank you, I would have just kept talking right through without even realizing it."

Picking up a napkin she wiped her lip, forcing her own blush down now. "I remember Chaucer....I also remember parents having a huge fit over it. Apparently people like to assume their flesh and blood is more innocent then they should suspect. They grow up so fast it seems." She chuckled softly, tapping her finger along the side of her mug as he brought up her selection from the Canterbury Tales, confused for a moment before she saw his grin. This time she couldn't control the creeping dusting of pink and red that colored her face as she looked away.

"That's not it...I just...it has really good feminists overtones the show the different social constructs. It's got nothing to do with the..." A small noise escaped her throat, not really a whine or whimper, but a little distressed as she found herself once again unsure what more there was to say as she squirmed in her chair. She'd done that with Josh as well, put her foot in her mouth or made a comment that made her sound a lot more risque then she really was. "I'm sure with a teacher like you your students will be eager to study the book."

Clearing her throat a little she relaxed in her seat a bit trying to get comfortable, happy for the change in subject. "Do you come here a lot? This is my first time here. I've finally saved up enough that I can do a few things for myself."

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Russel laughed again when she started rambling on about her name. Was she still uneasy around him after their unfortunate encounters? He wasn't sure how to make her more comfortable, but she sure was adorable when she rambled on like that, and then when she noticed she had whipped cream on her lip. He smiled warmly at her. "I'll call you Ros, then. It's nice and simple."

The idea that parents would get so worked up over Chaucer was a little worrying. Fortunately Lux Lucis was a boarding school, so maybe it wouldn't be so much of a problem. Then again, he hadn't worked at a boarding school before, much less taught high school students, so he didn't really know. "Oh. Well, this is my first time teaching Chaucer, actually. I used to teach at a middle school, so we didn't cover it. Maybe I'll just leave some of it for them to draw their own conclusions, so I don't get in trouble. I usually spell things out for them in terms they can understand. At least that's what I've been doing for Beowulf, and they seem to like it so far."

He grinned at the comment about feminist overtones. "I was just kidding, really," he said with a little chuckle. Ah, but she was so fun to tease! She got so flustered. He didn't want to be mean about it, though, so he didn't make any more suggestive jokes... yet.

As she changed the subject, he leaned back in his seat and took another sip of his drink. The temperature didn't bother him so much now that he was resigned to it. "Yeah, I come here a lot. I guess I'm becoming a bit of a regular. Stop by every morning on my way to work to get a latte, and sometimes I just come here to hang out, like today. I know from the outside it just looks like a hole in the wall, but... well, it is still kind of a hole in the wall," he said this with a chuckle, "but it's cozy and has just the right atmosphere for reading."

[ROSLYN BARKER]

"Well then I guess we at least know what to call each other now." Ros replied softly as she sipped her drink slowly, this time wiping her lip with a napkin in case anything got left over. It was kind of nice now, a little more relaxed that they were on a first name basis. "In all honesty I thought you were still upset with me over everything before. I mean usually when it comes to meeting people they either really like me or they really want me as far away from them as possible. I guess that's just my personality. I'm glad you don't seem too repulsed by me." She chuckled, scratching her head a little as fingers went back to tapping along the side of her drink.

As he talked about teaching she smiled. Part of her thought of trying to get a job teaching, it sounded like so much fun, but this had been what was open and other than subbing or assisting here and there for the home ec courses occasionally she loved her jobs among the books. "Well high school if I remember correctly had a lot more drama. I tried to stay away. If you haven't guessed already I was the type of girl to hide in the library even before I thought I'd work in one." She was relaxing a bit more around Russel as she scooted forward on her chair to sit closer to him. "I think you'll do fine. This school is somewhat elite isn't it? They wouldn't have hired you if you weren't of the best they could get." When he reassured her he was joking her blush died down a little bit as she shook her head laughing softly though still a bit nervous.

"Of course, ah...I'm sorry. I'm just use to books more than people I guess." Try as she might Ros waved away the last of her awkward embarrassment, or at least attempted to. "I just discovered this place in my celebration really. Since I left home every penny has been put into rent, bills, and food, but after working all summer now I've broken even finally. I sort of miss spoiling myself a little since I left..." Her gaze gained a far away look to them for a brief moment before she turned to Russel. Probably wasn't the time of place to really talk about her own life in detail.

"What about you Russel, what brought you here to teach?"

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

"Repulsed?" he repeated, his eyebrows raised. "That's an awfully strong word. I don't think anybody could be truly repulsed by you. You seem like a nice person. Just a bit... clumsy, is all." He smiled to show he didn't hold that against her. He wasn't exactly the most graceful person, either. "And it's not like it was your fault, not really. Besides, I don't hold grudges, generally speaking."

The type of girl to hide away in the library, yes, she did certainly seem like that. He grinned, thinking of what he'd been like back then. "I went through a bit of an odd phase in high school. Learned to play the guitar, started dressing in dark colors, acted moody and deep all the time. Somehow I'd got it into my head that that would be a good way to pick up chicks."

He smiled at her compliment, ducking his head slightly and tugging at his ear in a gesture of embarrassment. "I don't know about being the best... Honestly, I'm just glad to have a job." After having been out of work for months, he really was happy to be working again. He'd been so relieved to get the interview, and then the job itself. He hadn't really expected to get hired, actually, since he didn't have any experience teaching high school, but he was extremely grateful for it.

He nodded and took another drink as she talked about tight finances. She was right out of college, wasn't she? Things had been rough for him back then, too. And then when he'd been laid off, things had gotten difficult for him and his girlfriend at the time. But he didn't really like to think about that. He crossed his arms, a little lost in his thoughts for a moment, until Ros's question brought him back to the present. Then he scratched his nose, thinking. He couldn't figure out a way to avoid this subject, not unless he just didn't answer her question.

"Well, I was out of work for a while after budget cuts forced my old school to let me go. So then... well, I moved back home for a bit, and then I got the job here, so I moved here," he said, deliberately leaving out the details he didn't want to talk about. He didn't meet her eyes, instead taking another long drink from his latte, then staring at the cup when he put it down. Shit, he was supposed to not be letting anything get him down, wasn't he? He forced a smile and looked back up at her. "What about you? Have you always lived in New York?"