In The Practise Of Kindness || Alex & Wendy
Participants: Alexander, Wendy
Setting: In a coffee shop
Time Frame: Sometime around midday
Notes: When Alex finds he has left his wallet at home, Wendy kindly offers to pay for him
Extra Notes: Ahhhh this took absolutely ages and I'm terribly sorry. Also, your theme wouldn't let me reblog directly from your blog and so I had to make a new post by copying and pasting it. I thread my paras btw, hope you don't mind!
WENDY HARRIS
It was a sort of betrayal; buying coffee at another café that was not the place of her employment. Surely if her coworkers saw her now, they’d scoff at her disgrace and shun her from their Friday night poker events (the betting chips were coffee creamers and sugar packets from the condiments section, of course). But, in all honesty, the coffee and treats that were served at her place of her work were second-rate — at best. Not to mention the fact that they were wholly over-priced. A packet of ‘organic’ chips for 6.99? Please. That was a little (‘little’ being a vast understatement) steep for deep-fried spuds crammed in a plastic bag with colorful labeling.
And so, Wendy found herself stood in a moderately long line at a near by Starbucks — which was so conveniently placed just round the corner of nan’s — some time in the later afternoon after a hard and strenuous day of living. Rehearsals for Cyrano de Bergerac had just let out and she found she was in desperately in need of the comfort only brought on by warm, first-rate coffee (as opposed to the half-assed cups of blandness she often produced). Looking about the shop, she noted the majority of its residence were wayward teens (‘Hipsters’) tap, tap, tapping away at their overly priced laptops with a handful of business-types strewn throughout the lot. It was the typical bunch one might find when at a coffee bar. Nothing too out of the ordinary, really. Just your average —
A gruff and gravely “Ahem" lifted up from behind her. Wendy half turned with an inquisitive brow perked and the usual smile. In return, the man gave a pointed look to the stalling fellow just a few people ahead of them accompanied by a sour frown of contempt. She gave a demure shrug in response and turned around, as to avoid further interaction. A few slanderous grumbles and obnoxiously obvious and peevish sighs later, Wendy detached herself from the impatient string of people and wandered up the line.
" ‘xcuse me," she tried lightly as she approached the young man "I couldn’t help but notice you’re having a bit of hard luck?" Her nose crinkled as she asked, a mask of sympathy in the form of an odd smile. "I don’t normally do this, but," a beat "let me buy your coffee for you. You’ve taken enough grief from the impatient jerks behind us. I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of watching you walk away empty handed. Blatant rudeness should never be rewarded, ya’ know."
ALEXANDER RAVEN
It had been a somewhat hectic day. Well, not hectic, but draining. utterly and completely draining. Alex had woken up, attempted to write something that sounded at least somewhat good, and when realising that this task had become seemingly impossible as of late had decided to go and take a breath of fresh air. Writers block drove Alex to the edge, and recently he had been experiencing somewhat extreme bouts of it. It was as if when he put the pen to the paper an insurmountable wall cropped up between the creative areas of his brain and the rest. In a fit of frustration, he had decided that perhaps it was being cooped up in the same four walls for days on end that was confining him, and had decided to take a trip to one of his favourite coffee shops.
Walking there, he had taken nothing but his notebook and favourite fountain pen. The air was cool, and just stepping outside into it was a refreshing change from the stagnant air of his apartment. filling his lungs with it, he loosened a little. The tensity that had taken hold of his body a few moments before was fading, and he was glad. The weariness of laying awake all night persisted, though, and that was something only a strong coffee could cure. Lately, the depersonalisation episodes hadn't been playing up as much as they usually did, though this just meant that he was in for a worse time when they eventually came round. Though, some hopeful part of him that was unaffected by his blind cynicism and general distrust clung to the hope that they perhaps wouldn't return at all.
Entering the coffee shop, he waited in line patiently before ordering. He frequented this place often enough that they knew exactly what he wanted, even though it was a huge chain store, and so when asked his order the smiling barista behind the counter simply nodded and set off to work when Alex ordered "The usual, please," The usual being a double-shot espresso. After he'd managed to fall asleep even after drinking a single shot, he realised that he should probably take the next step up the caffeine-dependency ladder. When asked to pay for his coffee, however, Alexander realised that there was a fatal flaw in his plan. He'd forgotten his wallet. He could picture it on his night-stand at home, actually. He'd even glanced at it on his way out. Internally face-palming himself, he tried to ignore the calls of obviously-annoyed customers behind him.
That was, until, he was tapped on the shoulder by a seemingly less annoyed customer. turning around somewhat cautiously -- his dislike of being touched still pervaded -- he looked down at the small blonde figure before him. She had a gentle smile and kid eyes, and so Alex softened a little. Smiling back, his tone was casual. "Uh, yeah. I left my wallet and home, and, well, let's just say without my caffeine I become somewhat of a walking zombie." When he heard her offer, he couldn't help but let his smile widen a little. He didn't usually accept offers like this, but she didn't seem to be pitying him. It was more like she was actually doing a nice thing... just to be nice. Nodding, he accepted. "Oh, that'd be great -- thanks. Yeah, they all seem like petulant douches anyway," chuckling a little, he let her pay for the coffee as he looked on, somewhat surprised by her niceness. "Oh, I'm Alex, by the way,"