a momentary thing

liv downing. 31. art history professor at hailgrove.

[corinnebishop]

a little guidance // corinne & liv

[corinnebishop]

[‘Renewed effort’. Right. That made a lot more sense than doing an actual favor.] It’s… yes. I will do my work on time. Promise. [Promise. She could promise something like this, couldn’t she? It wasn’t like she was completely out of control when she transformed.] Thanks, Professor Downing. I, um… yeah, thanks.

[liv-downing]

Don't thank me yet. I haven't actually given you the assignment. [She wasn't exactly used to handing out extra credit, assignments straight forward enough in general that she didn't have to. And what did you assign a kid that was already bored with the material and unmotivated? A short paper would be more work for the both of them than was necessary or wanted, and it wasn't exactly inspired. Liv thought ahead to what the class still had left to explore, and an idea came to her.] You any good with a can of spray paint?

[corinnebishop]

a little guidance // corinne & liv

[corinnebishop]

[Corinne shrugs again.] Thanks, I guess… [This would be so much easier if she could just say ‘Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure out this whole I-can-turn-into-a-wolf thing and I just don’t always have time for Art History.’] Oh. Um. What would you get out of it? [It’s a fair question— one Corinne doesn’t actually have an answer for.] I suppose that depends on what you want? Teacher bribery isn’t exactly my thing. [What could Corinne possibly have to offer to her professor? Giving her the satisfaction of knowing that she helped keep a desperate student from failing didn’t quite seem like enough.] 

[liv-downing]

[Liv lamented that the state of the education system was such that students thought their professors needed to be bribed to care. She might have toed the line enlisting Jack for help dangerously traipse around her roof, but at least Jack was a former student of hers, not a current one. She didn't need any favors from Corinne.] What I'm asking is - can I expect a renewed effort in the coming weeks? Will you be turning things in on time from this point until the end of the semester?

[corinnebishop]

a little guidance // corinne & liv

[corinnebishop]

[Corinne stands in silence for a moment, not entirely sure what she should say. She didn’t have an excuse. At least not one she could share with her professor.] I don’t know. [She shrugs.] I’m still doing that whole ‘finding myself’ thing and I know that sounds like such a lame excuse, but I promise it isn’t. I… can’t really explain? But… yeah. [Her head drops and she looks away in shame.]

[liv-downing]

[Liv's eyebrows raised even further. The kid had guts coming to her with little to no reasons why she should let her have extra credit, just the appeal. She was thinking of extra credit to assign based on that alone.] Well, I have to give you credit for being honest. [She was still finding herself too, really, so could she blame the girl for her lack of motivation in this particular case? Jeez, it was no wonder they thought she was soft. Maybe she ought to take some teaching lessons from Victoria on top of the powers lessons.] Okay, so say I was considering it. What would I be getting out of the deal?

[corinnebishop]

a little guidance // corinne & liv

[corinnebishop]

[Corinne bit her lip out of nervousness. Though she had planned this conversation out in her head the entire class, she hadn’t anticipated the anxiety that came with actually having the conversation.] I’m not here to make excuses—that would waste both our time. Honestly, I feel a bit ridiculous for even putting myself in the position of having to have this kind of conversation. [She clasps her hands together and looks down momentarily. When she looks up again, she sighs.] I’m definitely not looking for a hand-out, but if there’s any way at all that I can make up some points, I would really appreciate it.

[liv-downing]

[So far she hadn't heard anything that she hadn't heard before, but she was waiting hopefully for it. Letting her attention deviate back for just a moment she set the computer to shut down and pulled her flashdrive from it. Liv knows the nervous bite of the lip and clasp of the hands that she finds when she turns back to Corinne - nervousness an issue of hers, too.] So... what gives? If you're not the sort of person who usually does this, then why this class?

[corinnebishop]

a little guidance // corinne & liv

[Corinne was only taking Art History because she needed a few more elective credits to keep on track with her plan of graduating the following year and though she would be extremely hesitant to admit it, she was practically bombing. It wasn’t that the class was particularly difficult or that Corinne wasn’t intelligent, it was just that the subject matter was so boring. The semester was almost over, though, and if Corinne wanted to have any chance of passing, she needed to get her act together. Liv Downing was a reasonable person and professor; at least that’s what Corinne chose to believe when she stayed after class to talk to her about not failing.] Professor? Do you have a few minutes? I, um… I wondered if I could ask about doing extra work or something. This is the only class I’ve ever gotten even remotely close to failing, so…

[liv-downing]

[Sometimes she had kids that really got it, and then sometimes she had kids like Corinne Bishop who Liv knew was bright and just wasn't applying herself for some reason. Art history wasn't for everyone, and Liv was well aware that kids took the class because it had a reputation for being an easy A - which she certainly did not agree with, even if most of them walked off with fairly decent grades. It wasn't like she just gave them away. The appeal for extra credit wasn't new, but she might be willing to entertain it if she could get to the bottom of the girl's lack of motivation. She looked over from the computer screen where she'd been closing out the day's powerpoint.] So you're realizing a little belatedly that you need to get yourself in gear? [She asked, not unkindly, with a raise of her eyebrows.] Can you make a good case for it?

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

"Well, when you’re working with bigger things, such as a desk, you’ll be able to tell that moving it is easier than making it move through the air without anything under it," Victoria answered, leaning back in her seat and watching Liv move the earrings into her open palm. She was becoming more and more skilled, and it was making Victoria feel a sense of pride, because this was all thanks to Victoria. Liv, of course, had clearly been practicing, which was awesome. She’d praise her for that later.

Resisting a snarky comment consisting of something wildly inappropriate, she instead kept herself quiet for a few seconds before something crossed her mind. From here, she could see the kitchen counter behind Liv - it was several feet away. Victoria decided this could double as a test and a cover-up for her thoughts telling her to share some wine with Liv and end the night with something that was, once again, wildly inappropriate. “Now, your host gift? Float it over here.”

[liv-downing]

"But I thought we were talking about making things appear. Summoning. That's different from this, isn't it?" It was more thinking out loud than an actual question, Liv still trying to wrap her mind fully around the concept. It was partially due to her adherence to the literal definitions of the words. Magic was proving to be far from thinking and more about feeling, which explained why she had trouble when she was trying to concentrate on things, and why she turned streetlights different colors when anxious and melted fridge handles when she stubbed her toes in the dark. Why this was easier when she was around Victoria, when she felt most like her emotions were right on the surface and it was all she could do to keep a lid on them before she did or said something stupid. 

At least she had the opportunity to demonstrate that Victoria's teachings weren't all for naught. There was a quick spike of embarrassment at the mention of the wine she still wasn't totally sure she had stopped for, and she turned to look at the bottle sitting here on the kitchen counter. She still felt like she needed the little flourishes, holding her hand out and willing the bottle into it.

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

Victoria smiled. This woman was adorable when she rambled and looked nervous like that, and Victoria leaned forward, scratching her head lightly as she searched her mind for a good answer. In a classroom, her answer would be immediate and educated. Alone with Liv in her apartment, the answer had to be pulled out of her with a bit of effort. She really did get a little messed up around the blonde. But could she be blamed? There was just something about the environment, and how close she was..

"Creating an object requires creating something out of nothing," Victoria began, going slowly. "It’s a difficult concept to grasp without extensive understanding and control. If your mind slips, even a little bit, the result won’t be what you expect." She paused, moving her hand in a small gesture, and out of nowhere popped a small pair of earrings. Even though it’d only taken a few seconds, Victoria had to blink herself out of concentrating. It was a difficult task, and Victoria nodding. "We’ll definitely start with summoning. Now, I want you to find an object - maybe these earrings, if you’d like - " Because I was thinking about you when I made them. ” - and imagine it jumping into your open palm. Imagine hard.”

[liv-downing]

The hesitation in Victoria's response had her assuming the answer to her question was complicated. She couldn't picture the other woman struggling for words in any other capacity - not that she looked like she was struggling, just thinking, concentrating, and Liv found herself watching and enjoying the process. The intelligence behind Victoria's warm brown eyes and the understanding and determination that eventually graced her features was both attractive and distracting. It was an effort to focus wholly on the answer to the question she had asked, and even then she felt she was missing something. 

The earrings blinked into existence and prompted a self-deprecating head shake from the blonde. Victoria made it look so easy. Jumping into her hand, though, sounded a lot like what she'd spend the time between the last lesson and now practicing. "That doesn't sound very different from just moving things," she pointed out, but not in a critical way, quickly floating the earrings from Victoria's palm into her own. 

[emmandhook]

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

"A little less practical?" Victoria paused, wondering what they could do. She was quiet for a few seconds as she thought - but honestly, her mind wasn’t in teacher mode right now. Maybe it was the environment, maybe it was the gift of the wine, but her mind was in date mode, and all she wanted to do was reach across the couch and cover Liv’s stupid, beautiful face in so many kisses - 

"What about summoning an object?" Victoria finally said, straying away from her thoughts as she began to think about magic again. "I was thinking of suggesting creating an object, causing it to come into being, whether you turn something into it or simply create it, but I’m not sure if that’s too big of a step for you.” She gave a little shrug, leaning back on the couch as she looked at the blonde. “Of course, you’re the one who knows the best about your own abilities. Where do you believe you’re most ready to begin from?” She had to get Liv thinking about her own powers and abilities, that way she could better learn control - if she knew what she WAS able to do, she’d know what she wasn’t, and would be able to determine what she can do.

[liv-downing]

Her confidence shaken by the slip on the way to Victoria's Liv thought she might be too distracted for anything as big as creating an object. There had to be a lot of variables in creating something out of nothing that she couldn't feel totally prepared for. She doubted creation magic was math, but both sounded too complicated for her to handle right now. It did pull her mind back from its decent in to worry, however. Liv had always been a  good student, and the mention of something she could focus on brought her back to the reason she was here, at least partially. Enough for a question to form.

"So what's the difference between summoning and creating? I hold my hand out and will something into being versus popping a fork over from my apartment? Or am I going to send a fork whizzing across town?" She looked at Victoria curiously, and then suddenly felt self conscious in her ignorance and dropped her eyes. It felt like the most words she'd ever strung together in a single sitting, but that couldn't be true. Liv wouldn't have been surprised if there was a blush rising to her cheeks - they certainly felt warm enough - because she felt ridiculous asking. Which was due in no small part to the crush she had on the other woman and how that always made her lack of knowledge that much more embarrassing. 

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

"You brought me wine?" Victoria repeated, sounding a bit amused but in the best way possible - she’d come over with a gift, and Victoria admitted to herself that she found it super-sweet. She set the wine on the counter in her kitchen, letting out a "thank you very much" as she made a mental note to maybe offer Liv a drink later. After all, she did admit she liked the wine, and it’s not as though she wasn’t picking up on subtle hints - 

The woman began to lead the blonde into her living room, a beautiful room with a brilliant fireplace and a few couches around a coffee table. It looked exactly how you expected it would; and Victoria winced a little as she noticed how the coffee table was still cluttered with papers she had been grading. She tried to subtly shove them aside as she gestured for Liv to join her in sitting down. She was suddenly nervous and had no idea why - this was starting to feel a lite like a date, and Victoria had to constantly remind herself that it wasnt.

"So, where shall we begin today?" She asked, wanting to get on with some sort of lesson. It would probably be more pratical to go outside or in the garage when performing magic, but the date-like feelings wasn’t one she wanted to lose just yet, so she just smiled.

[liv-downing]

"I - yeah - host gift? If that not a thing?" Liv laughed nervously, hands making their way into her pockets. She eased up a little at the thank you, but dear god this felt like a date and she shouldn't have brought wine. That made two gifts now, the chocolate on Valentine's day and now the wine. Next she'd talk herself into flowers and they'd be pseudo dating until Victoria realized what was going on and stopped these lessons. 

It was easy enough to follow Victoria wherever she was leading, which turned out the be the living room which was tastefully decorated and comfortable looking. The blonde was lost in her own headspace, worried and wondering if Victoria was wondering if there were ulterior motives at play. Which there weren't, not really, because she had about a 2% intention of telling the other woman that was dependent on the stars and planets aligning accordingly. Which she didn't expect to happen. 

And then she found Victoria looking at her expectantly and the question she'd been asked registered a beat late. "Oh, right. Well, I've pretty much got the whole moving stuff around thing down," she reported, trying to get her mind to kick in on the real reason they were here. "So maybe... something a little less practical?"

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

This is not a date, Victoria repeated to herself as she jogged around the house, cleaning up. Not once did it occur to her to use her magic, instead she just ran around in a panic, desperately trying to keep the place as clean as possible. Once she was somewhat satisfied, she made sure she looked at least somewhat presentable and was already finished when the doorbell rang, thank god. Somewhere along the way she’d lost her phone - since when was she like this? Liv was doing crazy things to her - but she didn’t mind, because Liv was there, and that was all that mattered right now.

She opened the door, smiling gently at the woman, ignoring her heart beat that had picked up and was now threatening to beat out of her chest. She had to focus, this was a lesson, not a date. This was not a date. “Come on in,” she said as she stepped aside, her heart not even bothering to slow down even as she looked away from Liv to close the door. “I’m so sorry,” she said again as she led Liv into her home. “.. for being late, for having to move this meeting to my place. But, you’re welcome here anytime.” She nervously chuckled, quickly shutting herself up.

[liv-downing]

She'd fully intended to take in the house around her when she made it inside but she couldn't take her eyes off Victoria to do it. The other woman still looked about as harried as she had sounded on the phone and Liv wanted to take her by the hand, as if that would help calm her down, and tell her that it didn't matter that she'd been late and she was happy to be here now. But she couldn't make herself say any of it. So she just stood there in the foyer until she eventually managed to tear her eyes away from Victoria and remember her inner mantra. 

"I really don't mind," she said as sincerely as possible. "I brought you wine," she continued, the added you intended to imply that she had no secret plans for them to drink together. Not that she would be opposed, though it probably wouldn't do wonders for her control and she'd already had a magical mishap."I don't know what you liked, so I might have just brought something I like," pretty much negated the neutrality of her previous statement and she winced internally at her inability to keep it together in the brunette's presence. But really, she was still focused on hoping that open invitation - which hadn't gone unnoticed - was true. 

Handing the bottle to Victoria with a small smile, she finally took the opportunity to look around. The house, or the foyer at least, had a good energy and smelled vaguely of cleaning products, like the other woman had gotten in some last minute furniture polishing or something before Liv had arrived, and damn that was adorable. 

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

Victoria paused at the suggestion, frowning as she straightening herself and thought about it. She wouldn’t mind that at all - even though having Liv in her own home was bound to make her thoughts go crazy - but she had to clean up a bit, and maybe get some wine ready, and - 

She was thinking too much, and now several seconds had passed, and Liv was probably anxious for an answer. Taking the phone off speaker and putting it against her ear as she spoke sweetly into the phone. “That could work, as well. Please excuse the mess, though.” And as soon as they hung up, she flew around the house, trying to clean it up. Not once did it occur to her to use her magic.

[liv-downing]

It wasn't exactly an I'd love to have you but Victoria's decidedly warm tone kept Liv from worrying overly much that her presence would be an imposition. A short walk down the previously long hall and a few door later she reached her truck and the nerves began. Should she stop for a bottle of wine? It wasn't a social visit, but you were supposed to brings gifts to people's homes, weren't you? She'd never been particularly good at social expectations. And she didn't know what Victoria liked. She breathed deeply sitting at the steering wheel though it didn't seem to be helping, and suddenly the streetlight above the truck turned green. Leaning over she looked up at it with disdain - so much for control. A quick survey showed that it was only the one, and since she didn't exactly know how to change it back, she just put the truck in reverse and hoped that it sorted itself out. 

She ended up stopping for a bottle of wine, a red, that sat on the bench seat beside her for the duration of the voyage and that she was now clutching awkwardly by the neck as she stood on Victoria's porch. The porch light was on, which was considerate, though the blonde was worried that the warm amber it was emitting might not stay that color the way her heart was pounding. She'd checked her hair in the rearview, and this seemed so much more like a date than she'd intended, so she hit the doorbell as quickly as possible before her thoughts lead her any further down that road, this is not a date repeating like a broken record in her mind. 

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

Victoria couldn’t help the way she paused and the small, hesitant smile that crossed her face when Liv mentioned that she’d overreacted. She didn’t like the idea of people worrying about her, but it meant Liv cared.. which, of course, wasn’t an idea she didn’t like. In fact, it made her feel kinda warm and.. happy.

"No no," Victoria rushed, nearly dropping over something when Liv suggested rescheduling. No, god no. She had looked forward to seeing Liv all day - it was what got her through infuriating classes and exhaustion from waking up late in the morning. "No, I can be over in a few minutes. I just - " She got cut off as she fumbled through her bag, and it took her a few seconds to be able to focus on her words again. " - need a couple of minutes. But I can make it. We don’t have to reschedule."

[liv-downing]

"You sound... stressed," she laughed again, this time more genuine, and not at Victoria, just at the fact that these were their lives. Frantically trying to come together in spite of the insanity of the day to day. Liv thought about her next sentence carefully before she let it leave her mouth, for once. The worst Victoria could do was say no. "Or I could come to you?" She suggested, holding her breath as she waited for the answer. It might be too personal, an intrusion, but it somehow seemed to make more sense than Victoria trekking her way to the school.

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

"No no, I’m alright," Victoria reassured as she put her phone between her shoulder and her ear so she could use her hands to freely pack her purse. When the phone slipped away and hit the floor, she let out a grunt of frustration and placed it on the table, putting it on speaker so she wouldn’t have to deal with having to control the phone. She’d use her power to keep it afloat in the air or something, but she knew herself and didn’t doubt that it’d fly out the window if Liv said something that made her heart rate go crazy. Of course, she could try to control herself, but that’d mean focus, and she’s already late - 

"Are you there already?" Victoria asked as she zipped her bag up. God, this was embarrassing. She was so late that Liv was worrying about her. Sure, that left this weird warm feeling in her stomach and it was kinda nice for someone to care that much… but at the same time, the concept of being so late that someone worried made Victoria want to crawl into a hole and never come out. “I’m so sorry I’m so late, I lost track of time and - I’ll be there soon.”

[liv-downing]

There was a loud clattering over the line and leftover irrationality caused Liv to clutch her own phone closer to her ear rather than pull it away in case - what, there was a serial killer over at Victoria's place? She rolled her eyes at herself and resumed holding the phone with a normal grip. The sound changed over to the tinny speakerphone quality and then Victoria's voice returned. "Yeah. I was late," she confessed, "and you're usually here before me, so I guess I might have... overreacted a little." She laughed nervously, not having planned to give up that information, but she couldn't take it back now. Saying too much was turning into a habit.

Shifting her weight to her other foot, she sighed inwardly in resolution. "You don't have to. I don't mind rescheduling if you're busy." Because it wasn't like she'd dressed up a little - a shirt with buttons was just a shirt with buttons, and could it really be considered dressing up when one more than what might be considered decent was undone - or that she couldn't keep practicing control without Victoria. She'd gotten the hang of the whole moving things around magic, which made being in the house fun, until she'd tipped a piping hot cup of coffee over onto the rug. 

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

[victoriahendrix]

Oh my god. She was late. She was late. Victoria was never late.

Victoria was the always-on-time or always-early punctual monkey of her family and her work all the time, that was what she was known as. But she must’ve lost track of time as she had been in her bedroom, casting about snow spells and training herself in quiet to have as much control as possible when she thought about or touched Liv. She was literally running late because she was thinking about Liv.

Skidding around her apartment she tried to find her purse. It was hiding from her, like everything else seemed to be. For a moment she wondered if it had been taken, but then she recalled bringing it in only a few hours earlier. No, she’d just lost it. Had she lost it? No, she doesn’t lose things. She just misplaced it. No, it was in the right place. She just forgot where the right place is. Oh god, oh god, now she’s half an hour late, and Liv’s probably either waiting or went home - even though the blonde is usually late herself - and Victoria is still running around, freaking out.

After a bit, she could hear her cellphone ringing, but she couldn’t find her purse or any of its contents, including the cellphone. She swore as she slid across the kitchen, nearly stumbling over herself as she finally found it hidden away and quickly picked up the phone on one of its last rings.

"Oh god, Liv!" She said, collapsing against a wall as she tried to catch her breath. "I’m late, I’m so sorry."

[liv-downing]

Liv leaned heavily up against the desk at the front of the room, releasing a long breath. "No, don't worry about it," she responded quickly - Victoria hadn't even fully finished apologizing. It didn't matter that she was late, just that she was okay, since the possibilities had escalated into dangerous territory and she'd been worried. The fact that Victoria picked up the phone was proof enough that Liv hadn't let her down or wasted too much of her time, at least for now.

"Are you - is everything okay?" They might have established mutual caring about each other, but they'd done so in a way that hadn't required either of them actually saying the words. It wasn't that the blonde was in denial about caring about Victoria, that much was obvious, she just maybe wasn't ready for the other woman to learn just how much. 

[liv-downing]

At the End of the Night | Victoria/Liv

The rhythm of her boots hitting the linoleum was uptempo as Liv rushed towards the classroom where her lessons with Victoria always took place. She felt like the other woman had adjusted accordingly to her perpetual lateness, expecting to start five minutes after they'd agreed to meet. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. When she finally made it down the ever-reaching hallway to the door she didn't bother looking through the port and just wrenched it open with the force of someone in a hurry. 

She was surprised, then, not to find Victoria waiting for her on the other side of it. A look down at her wrist said that she was definitely late, so she figured that perhaps Victoria had just adjusted her own time to match Liv's rather than arriving early. Or maybe she was so late the other woman had felt like her time was being wasted, and she'd left.

The blonde panicked at the thought, quickly fumbling inside her pocket for her cellphone. A few quick taps brought up Victoria's number as it didn't have many numbers to compete with, but Liv hesitated before hitting the green call button. Was she overreacting? Possibly. But Victoria just wasn't late to things. Then again, she was a very busy woman and she might have just gotten caught up in her work. Maybe she was dealing with a crisis.

She worried over what might be the cause for Victoria's absence for a good few minutes, long enough for her phone screen to go dark, even with her finger still posed to press, before she finally decided that the only way she was going to figure it out was if she gave Victoria a call. So she clicked the power button and swiped to unlock and called her, raising the phone to her ear and listening to the rings. 

"Thank god you're not dead," she breathed when Victoria eventually picked up. 

[liv-downing]

Waiting for the Sun | Jack & Liv

[jackwinters]

"I’m not worth the hassle," she explained with a wave of the hand. She chuckled at the joke. She was used to them by now. Victoria could never resist them, and Jack figured once Andy knows the truth, he won’t be able to resist either. Jack hadn’t cared much for Liv’s class, but that didn’t mean she disliked her. In fact, she though of Liv in a similar way that she thought of Victoria: she liked her, respected her, and had a desire to get to know her. Jack never really hit it off with people her own age. She was either too immature for them or too wild, but when it came to professors, her immaturity seemed to be welcomed and accepted. She wasn’t a very intelligent girl and god knows she had about as much self control as a two year old, but she felt more comfortable with people older than her, sans Emma, Andy, and Jax. Maybe it was because they had been in her shoes, or shoes somewhat similar to hers, and understood her more. Jack’s peers were more grown up than her, more mature, and they wanted to be adults. They wanted to grow up, get a career, and be mature. Jack didn’t want any of that. Not yet. Not any time soon.

"Actually, sticking your head out the window at thirty-five miles per hour is very relaxing. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, Professor," she teased on her way over to the coat rack. She hung up her coat and turned back to face Liv. "Nah, I think I’m good. I’m kinda used to being partly damp anyways." She rubbed her hands together and sighed. "So, what’s first?"

[liv-downing]

"Of course you are," Liv disagreed with an equally nonchalant tone, which was somewhat difficult to manage given what those few words made her feel. She knew what it was like to not feel worth anyone's time. And maybe if her teachers had taken a moment to care she might have felt a little differently. It hadn't exactly slipped Liv's notice that the girl had had a rough time of it when she'd had Jack in her class, but her own issues had been blinding.  It was never too late in the game, she'd been learning, to change that outlook. 

The blonde was a windows rolled down kind of person so the reply was instinctual, "Who says I haven't?" She asked with a small smile and accompanying eyebrow raise. It was followed by a mischievous look in her eye as responded to Jack's question with a question, "Ever cleaned a rain gutter before?" She might have utilized her barely practiced evil laugh had she not planned on being up there on the ladders/ roof beside the girl. 

With a quick, "C'mon," she opened and stepped outside the door, pausing momentarily to wiggle into the boots that were out on the porch. Her neighbor had looked at her suspiciously when she'd asked to borrow his ladder, the one she'd hijacked from the college visible in her truck bed. But if they attempted to do this job from the roof side of the roof in it's entirety, one of them would probably end up pitching over the side and breaking their necks. And she wasn't going to be responsible for that. So one of two borrowed ladders was leaning against the house already, the other waiting patiently to be retrieved.