“ those are the best kind of snacks, and oh believe me i get that.“ likely in the months to come, vera felt she’d get it even more. “ i’m honestly excited, which is ridiculous. to be excited about mini donuts but i seriously am.“ it’s at that she opens up the bag and breaks a donut in half and pops it into her mouth. “ okay those are seriously good, you were definitely right about that. “
lorelei couldn’t help but laugh, a happy smile at the result. any day that she could steer someone into the glorious direction of mini donuts from a vending machine would be a good day. “i’m so happy there’s now another donut lover for this machine. it should hopefully do you well in your future snack endeavors.” never underestimate a good snack machine. “where are you off to now?”
“only if ms. hannigan was still working there, but i think she retired a few years ago,” he jokes, though there’s some truth to his words. “well, i was going to head in. i’m not really feeling it anymore, though. was hoping for a distraction actually. maybe you have some ideas?”
“actually, if you’re not planning on going into the library maybe you could help me with a little project?” lorelei asked with a smile, eyes bright with excitement. “i really need someone’s help unpacking some stuff and moving some furniture around in my new office at home. i can offer food and alcohol too!” granted that might not be the fun that armando is looking for right now. “or if that’s not your cup of tea, i could use some company for a trip to the mall.”
vera has to laugh, vending machines often didn’t have anything good but to a pregnant lady ? anything sounded good. “ mini donuts, i guess ? if they are as good as you say. “ it sounded like a good combo, cookies and donuts ? she surely couldn’t complain about that.
“they’re like those kind of snacks where you can’t tell if they’re horrible or great but the more you eat them, the more you can’t stop eating them. before you know it, they’re all gone and you wish you had more.” lorelei pushed the buttons on the vending machine to drop a package of mini donuts as well and bent down to grab it, handing it over to vera. “here you go! now you can relish in the weird mini donut glory.”
call him old fashioned, but armando’s always had a fondness for libraries. he enjoys their quietness, the old book smell, and the sense of nostalgia they seem to bring him. armando had made little progress at home, and despises coffee shops because he feels like he comes off pretentious doing anything on his laptop while sitting at a cafe, but now that he’s at the library he’s not entirely sure he wants to be there either. standing against his car, he’s obviously a bit disheveled looking after a night of drinking, but he forces a smile once he hears a familiar voice call out to him, “i could say the same to you,” he greets, glancing down at her bag, “coming, or leaving?” it would not be wrong to assume that he’s looking for an excuse to leave already.
“actually, leaving! finally, i’ve spent far too much time in the library. i’m almost sure they would have kicked me out at some point.” not true, but lorelei had seen how a few of the employees had looked at her. not surprising considering this was her fifth time being at the library this week. “what about yourself? i hope i’m not interrupting your library trip.”
aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. jim certainly does not feel like he is so, nor does he think he actually looks all that presentable in the first place. getting out of bed each morning is a struggle let alone out in public, however, he’s out and about. his appearances without genevieve are becoming more and more apparent outside of the occasional step into the office, so when he runs into lorelei it’s almost feels like a test. “well, you’re too kind.” he replies. “you look well, you find anything interesting in there?” he asks, gesturing to her bag having seen her drop her books in.
“a few wonderful little cherries that caught my eyes,” lorelei said with a smile. “i did find this wonderful gem about destiny. it’s suppose to explore the idea of fate and the different methods that it can work.” she bounced on her toes in excitement. “i also found a new book about new findings within the chemistry field that i’m super excited about.” a nerd at heart, she couldn’t resist learning more, soaking up all the information she can get her hands on.
“ i think so. what are the options in said trusty vending machine ? “ vera inquires, figuring it also wouldn’t hurt her to eat something other than cookies. “ i may or may not have figured that out on my own. they truly are so good. between them and sugar cookies. “
lorelei glanced at the contents of the vending machine, a finger pointed in the direction of the plexiglass. “we’ve got chips, chips, and more chips. there are some cookies. those mini donuts are shockingly amazing.” she knew the vending machine very well since it seemed to be where she went for a snack all the time. eventually she’d start bringing stuff from home. eventually.
Margo blinked in the light as her hands fumbled to return her lighter to her jacket pocket. She knew, with the way her mind was that it wouldn’t be advised to smoke the way she had since she much younger but if getting high was the only way to quieten her mind for a while, she had to take what she could get. Self-medicate. She thought to herself, almost bitterly as she set her sights on the library. Margo felt like she was hazing out of her temporary calm and in need of distraction, she figured that she could pass the time before work with a hefty book on quantum mechanics she had been meaning to read since the politics section of the library had started to become more tedious to her. She was deep in that thought when she looked up upon hearing a voice. “Yeah, well, I planned on meeting you conspicuously in a car park so I brushed my hair special.” Margo quipped without missing a beat. She knew if she looked anything like she felt that Lorelei’s question might have been understated. “Did you find anything interesting in the library or just leave a wake of people devastated by your angelic face?”
Margo’s words had Lorelei laughing and all the more curious. “Nice to know you took the time out of your day to get all dolled up,” she teased as she raised a hand up to shift her hair out from her face as a gentle breeze blew through. “While I’m sure I left a few people devastated, particularly the young gentleman at the counter, I did manage to find a few interesting things that’ll hopefully give me some light reading during the boring time spurs at work.” They were always busy, but there were lulls in when Lorelei would actually be needed. She spent most of her time supervising. “I did find a good book on the process of making pigments so I’m excited to read that.”
“ it’s nice to see you too, it’s such a nice day outside. “ vanessa certainly wasn’t complaining. a wide smile across her features, not that uncommon actually. “ did you have a nice time at the library ? “
seeing vanessa brought a wide smile to lorelei’s expression. “it is such a nice day outside and i had a nice time at the library. thank goodness i found myself out of there or i might have never made it home.” it wouldn’t be the first time someone had to come dig her out from the library bookshelves. “are you busy? if not, we could head over to sweet disposition and get ourselves something sweet to enjoy!”
lorelei pushed open one of the doors of the ashcroft library, stepping back outside and squinting at the brightness of the sunlight. she’d been tucked away among the shelves since early in the morning and clearly forgotten that such a thing as sunlight existed. but now she had a stack of books in her arms and she could happily say she’d accomplished something. whether or not it was really all that productive still had yet to be seen. lorelei dropped the books into her canvas bag as she walked toward the parking lot, only stopped by the sight of a familiar face. “aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”
“ thank you, and i wouldn’t say that’s bad either. at least you’re eating something. “ vera answers, at the question there’s a debate but she opts to just agree with lorelei. “ something like that, i wasn’t feeling that well so i decided to skip it so i could be on time. perhaps i should have packed it instead. “
true, at least she is eating something. lorelei put in the required quarters and hummed softly as she tried to decide on what it would be today. “you live and you learn, right? if you want something else, let me know. I don’t mind splurging and getting something else from the trusty vending machine.” she put in the number needed and watched one of the bags of chips drop down. “but listen, if you’re going to go with cookies, ginger snaps are the best.”
[ MUSE #38 ] ●● is that GEMMA CHAN? no, that’s just LORELEI QIAN, the 41 year old CISFEMALE who is a PHARMACIST AT DISPENSARY. some say they’re CRITICAL & IMPATIENT, but their family and friends will swear they’re COMPASSIONATE & ADVENTUROUS. when i think of them, i think of red matte lipstick, white lab coat, and heels left in the hallway. i wonder if HER family knows that SHE’S CONTEMPLATING A CAREER CHANGE. ● ●
hello hello! back at it again with another babe! so this is lorelei, a ray of sunshine who will also lecture you to death if needed but she means well. here’s a bit about her:
lorelei is the first child of the Qian family, her brother michael following three years afterward. the family comes from modest means, they always did well for themselves but not to a point of luxury. she grew up with an understanding that she has to work hard in life for the things she wants and it’s important to find a purpose. while lorelei took to with no issue, her brother was always a bit less understanding of that thought process.
as a child, she was very outgoing and loved to talk to people. she often made friends wherever she went. her parents were never concerned about having to keep too close of an eye on her because she had been a child keen to the rules and stuck to them. her teachers always inspired her to keep exploring books and new topics when they realized her appetite for learning.
as she entered high school, lorelei did go through a rebellious phase. sneaking out late at night, a beer here or there, house parties on the weekends, and kissing in the backseat of a car. always the angel during the day; however, keeping her grades up and appearances up around her parents. it wasn’t till one of their friends gossiped about having seen lorelei causing a ruckus with some friends that everything unraveled. lesson learned, she’d had her taste of wild. for now.
she didn’t stray too far from home for undergraduate - going to harvard university to earn her bachelor’s degree in chemical and physical biology. on campus, lorelei excelled socially and academically. she was always willing to help a friend, join a club, be part of an organization. lorelei wanted to live life to the fullest and experience as much as possible. it did cause her to get in over her head a few times but she had trouble seeing that - she just kept telling herself she could handle it.
outside of school lorelei was all about having fun. she went to concerts at every opportunity with friends, spent nights at clubs, and danced the night away. she found herself enamored with the night life and the freedom it gave her. thanks to that, she learned she had to let go of some things with school in order to allow herself the time to have fun (and not stress the next morning about not having something done).
she graduated top honors and while she should have gone straight to graduate school for pharmacy as had been her plan, lorelei took off for a year. she’d had a bit of a break down after graduation and wasn’t sure if she was doing what she really wanted to do. it didn’t help that there were issues with her brother, constantly having to save him from being in trouble or an idiot. the stress of it all meant she needed a break to find herself, her purpose, and her path again. however, her parents weren’t very fond of the idea. it took one night and one extremely loud argument for the tension to divide between them. lorelei still isn’t on the best of terms with them to this day, but occasionally they try to be civil around holidays.
after her year break, lorelei stayed in the area and went to MCPHS, massachusetts college of pharmacy and health sciences, to finish her schooling and became a licensed pharmacist.
she is very compassionate, loves people, and enjoys helping whenever she can. lorelei is known to be very critical - especially when people give up too easily in her mind or are lazy. she thinks everyone should be working at their full potential.
family is very important to her, she tries to be there for her family whenever she can. that includes her brother even if sometimes helping him just means hurting herself in the end.
lorelei can sometimes be blind to people’s true intentions. she wants to believe that everyone is good even if she’s been proven wrong before.
Eleanor was hard at work on her constitutional law paper. She questioned why she actually wanted to pursue a law degree, all this reading and writing hardly seemed worth it. The coffee shop wasn’t packed packed, just steady. While typing away furiously, she couldn’t help but feel eyes on her. After a few moments of the lingering feeling continuing, she looked up and at the table next to her the person was staring at her. “Are you trying to read what’s on my computer? Because I assure you, it’s nothing interesting. Unless you find the constitution interesting and would like to read fifteen pages on one part of it.” She shrugged and lowered the screen of her laptop. “So is the looking over my shoulder and at me going to stop or are you going to try to join me over here?”
Lorelei laughed softly as she shook her head. “My apologies, I was being a little nosy.” She couldn’t resist. Walking past, she’d caught a glimpse at a few words and her curiosity had been piqued. “It reminds me of my days when I was in school, but I’d already been a fan of studying in libraries. I would get distracted by everything going on around me if I tried to study anywhere else.” Lorelei still had that problem today - she’d find herself trying to focus hard on something only to end up distracted by a new article, someone passing by, a butterfly outside a window. “I hope it’s been easygoing, your paper.”
“How far into January can you still dedicate a drink to the new year and it be acceptable?” The composer wondered aloud as he swirled the amber liquid around in his glass, “It has to be the entirety of the month, right?” He shrugged, “February though, that’s pushing it, but yes, cheers.”
Lorelei tapped a manicured finger to her chin, glancing up at the ceiling as if she was putting serious thought into the question. “I think you just might be able to pass it off as the entirety of the month. But I think we’re going to have to draw that line right at February. By then, the new year if here and here to stay.” Laughing, she took up her glass of wine, taking a sip from it before she set it back down. “Any hopes or dreams for the new year?”
“ no, no, go ahead. i’m sorry. “ vera gave that of a sympathetic smile, she had been looking through her purse for the zip-lock bag of ginger cookies. ( something that had been getting her through each day ) rather than paying attention. “ i missed breakfast, and well i’m surely regretting it. right about now. “ not exactly but what could she do ?
“you’re fine,” lorelei assured the other with a dismissive wave of her hand. “far better than me, i’m about to nab whatever junk food i can get out of this vending machine.” she rattled the few quarters she had in her hand, looking over the options inside of the machine. “skipping breakfast, were you in a rush this morning?”
