violet took the paper, and scanned the address. “i know it,” she said, cutting him off before he could continue. she understood that. that nervous energy. that overcompensation. “that’s cool you’re a handyman. i can’t fix anything for shit,” she replied, admitting a little bluntly. she smiled, and nodded in the direction he needed. “it’s this way. i can take you,” an awkward pause. “only if you want.”
this conversation wasn’t panning out quite like hinrich had planned at first but hey, a nice girl wanted to talk to him. that was rare enough for him to say, “yeah, sure! i’d like that.” don’t mess this up, idiot, he thought to himself. as they began to walk in the correct direction, he added. “i suppose you ought to know my name. it’s hinrich- weird, i know, but hey, i’m norwegian, so....” he trailed off, then cleared his throat. “what’s your name?”
hinrich had found that, while he met plenty of people doing repairs and going to class, he hadn’t met many people with whom he really “clicked.” that’s why he had begun to volunteer at the animal shelter; not only would he get to meet people with whom he at least had a love of animals, he would get to be around animals, too. that’s how he had met ariana. he wasn’t sure if she felt it, but to him, there was an instant connection between the pair. and she was so sunny, energetic, and fun that he couldn’t help but like her. now, he looked forward to volunteering because of her. today, he walked into the shelter and the moment he saw her, called out, “hey ari!”
the kids back in oslo called him hiccup, but he doesn’t prefer it anymore
generally referred to as
hinrich
speech.
accent:
his norwegian accent is there, but it has been lessening as of late
verbal ticks:
he tends to stutter or say “uh” a lot when he’s nervous, and also whistles or hums while he’s working
language:
he is fluent in english and norwegian, and learned a bit of french in high school that he now struggles to remember
articulation
hinrich is fairly intelligent and can be well-spoken when he’s not a nervous mess, being that he’s well-read and has a fairly large vocabulary
education:
he did the whole public school thing and then spent the last few years at university of oslo, but wanted to make a switch which led him here
laughter:
when hinrich thinks something is really funny, he’ll laugh so hard he won’t make a noise. he’ll only make a big noise if he’s pretending to laugh.
grump:
he’ll stuff himself away in his room, blast out the world with the music in his earbuds, and hold toothless tight
mannerisms.
face:
hinrich is observant and alert, and his eyes show that- they seem to notice everything.
hands:
when he gets really passionate about something, hinrich will make large expressions with his arms that often cause him to knock over things.
legs/feet:
hinrich has a prosthetic left foot, which he’s gotten used to thanks to physical therapy, but he still sometimes has to deal with phantom pains.
emotional outbursts:
hinrich is sensitive, sure, but he tends to keep his emotions to himself. he doesn’t want to bother anybody with his problems.
habits:
sometimes he bites his nails, but he’s trying to quit.
posture:
hinrich tries his best to remember to sit up straight, as his parents taught him to, but he tends to slouch when sitting.
health.
diet:
hinrich is a light eater- his father used to say he ate like a bird. that’s mostly because his mother was, and still is, a terrible cook.
sleep:
hinrich has a bad habit of staying up until the wee hours of the morning, thinking up ideas or playing games on his phone or whatever is enough to keep him awake.
medicinal drugs:
he takes anti-depressants.
narcotics:
he’s smoked weed before, but not much, and that’s it.
personal.
introvert/extrovert?:
intorvert
optimist/pessimist:
how about....realist
sexuality:
bisexual, but he’s just starting to figure it out
insecurities:
hoo boy...
relationships.
family:
hinrich has zero cousins and, surprisingly, no cousins. his father died a few years ago but luckily he is close with his mom, or at least as close as he can be as she is often away studying animals all over the world.
friendships:
so ok, hinrich didn’t have a ton of best friends back home- like, none kinda- but he really wants to make friends here. hinrich’s parents were super in love, and he hopes someday to find a relationship like they had- if he can even ask someone out first.
violet had decided to take a walk. something she did when she was overwhelmed or stressed with work, which happened to be her for the last couple hours. she had gotten a few pages out but then hit a block. she almost didn’t hear the guy calling her at first, she was already lost in her thoughts when she caught up to him. there was a moment of violet zoning back in, catching the end of the question. “hm?” she piped up. “oh, yeah. where are you heading?”
“this address here,” hinrich replied as he handed the girl the paper on which he wrote the address. “it should be somewhere around here. do you know it?” as he waited for the girl to answer, hinrich grew anxious and began to ramble. “i’m a handyman, see. like, i fix stuff. this time it’s a toilet. but i don’t only do toilets, i do all kinds of stuff. not that i’m trying to sell you my services or anything, i just...” what was he trying to do, besides fill awkward silence? honestly, hinrich wasn’t sure.
maybe hinrich was just high off of whatever he and march were currently smoking, or maybe it was the dim, hazy lighting at the party march was throwing, but hinrich had started to feel pretty hazy himself. his mind spun like a top, and his heart skipped beats as though it were jumping rope. all this, because he was locking eyes with the most chaotic, unpredictable, incredible boy he had ever known. blowing smoke straight into march’s house, hinrich laughed as his love didn’t even blink, instead seeming to enjoy the scent of hinrich himself. this made hinrich smile and blush, and he felt the need to inhale some more of whatever this illegal stuff was.
if violet was a gloriously raging thunderstorm, mabel was the hopeful rainbow that shone after. the problem was, hinrich wasn’t sure if he wanted to dance in the rain or glide along a rainbow. with violet, he could spend quiet afternoons reading, snuggled together on the couch, sipping cups of tea. but with mabel, every day was an adventure and no day was ever the same- together they had explored every corner of emporia, whether mabel had to drag along hinrich or not. hinrich had never been very decisive, and now he had to make the most important decision of his life: he was in love with two very different women, but which one did he love more?
the music was intoxicating, and so was the composer. as bernardo’s skillful fingers danced along the ivory keys of his piano, hinrich’s heart began to drum along. he had never expected to fall in love so soon, or with a man, or with a man like bernardo. yet here he was, falling head over heels to the beat, dizzier and giddier than he had been in a long, long, time. his own fingers twitched, wanting so badly to grab bernardo’s talented hand and keep it in his own, or even to kiss it. but he let his love finish the tune, and when they met eyes as bernardo looked up from the sheet music, hinrich whispered, “beautiful.”
living with other girls was an entirely new adventure. she assumed it would be the same as back home, playing maid while the others had their fun, but here cin had gotten to really rest. today, she had woken up at 10:30 that morning, completely uninterrupted. still, it felt odd living how they did now. when one of the outlets in their home had stopped working, cin was certain she could fix it. she had no experience in electrical work, but she hadn’t had much experience in plumbing either before anastasia had forced her to take a look at the pipes in their personal bathroom. this time, however, no one insisted she do anything, even actively assuring her that they could hire someone for it. so, she volunteered to wait around “hello.” she chirped happily, offering a hand out to shake “ah, yes, one of my housemates did. thank you, hinrich.” she paused, making sure she pronounced his name correctly and her accent hadn’t messed it up “you can call me cin. i’ll, um, i’ll show you to the problem.”
hinrich shook cin’s hand as he said, “ah, you’ve got roommates? same here! that’s, you know, cool.” he cleared his throat as he was led to the site of the needed repair. “are you a student? seems like most people i meet here are.” as he saw the outlet that needed fixing, hinrich nodded. “this shouldn’t take long. seems like we just have some tangled wires.” he began to methodically pick the cover off the outlet, humming to himself as he did so. this was when hinrich was at his most calm, his least anxious, and his most, well, himself. “i’m a student, too, by the way. at the university, i mean.”
business had slowly but surely been picking up for hinrich. then again, emporia wasn’t that huge of a town, and there was only an auto mechanic to serve as his competition, so a handyman like him was sure to be needed eventually. today’s repair was close to where he currently lived, according to google maps, but as he got further, the wind interfered with his signal and he soon found himself lost. “crap,” he muttered to himself. this could only mean one thing: he would have to ask for directions- preferably from someone who wasn’t intimidating-looking. hinrich scanned the block, and found himself making eye contact with a young brunette woman. “uh, hi? hi!” he called out to her. “i’m, uh, kinda lost. you wouldn’t happen to know your way around here?”
hinrich was nervous, but then, when wasn’t he nervous? this time was different, though; this time, he was in a brand new town in a brand new country, about to go to his very first appointment at his new job as emporia’s handyman. after putting up flyers all over town, he had finally gotten a call yesterday that told him to go to this address. the person on the other end had sounded shy, and had neglected to tell him what he would be fixing- he should’ve asked, but he was shy as well. well, there was no use waiting outside in his truck like a stalker weirdo. with his toolbox in hand, hinrich made his way to the door and rang the bell. once the door was answered by a young blonde woman, he greeted her with “hallo!” before he remembered he wasn’t in norway anymore. “uh, i mean, hello! you, uh, you called yesterday? or, someone here did. about a repair? i’m hinrich, the handyman. “
