@viibrato | gets a plotted starter w/ Anna
Anna curled ribbons with the cheerful determination with which she usually tackled monotonous tasks.She smiled to herself, singing softly. If it was her apartment, she’d sing loudly to an audience of irritated and unwitting roommates. At work, she was… wary around her new boss. He cut an intimidating figure, like a Disney villain, which would be scary enough. He wore a mask, which was unusual, maybe even vaguely unnerving, but worst of all, he was a musician. When Anna arrived to work early or stayed late, she could hear him playing piano upstairs. It was always beautiful, always worth waking up early or closing the shop late. But.. well. Real musicians - professionals - could hear that Anna hadn’t had a proper lesson in four years. Not since-
She inhaled sharply. Was what kept her from snagging roles? The more she thought, the quieter her voice became until it stopped altogether. Tying the ribbons around a bouquet, she tried to smile at her handiwork. It’d be easier to smile if her brain wasn’t spinning.
Maybe Erik had hired her out of pity. Maybe she was just as bad at working in a flower shop as she’d be anywhere else. Maybe the world was spared the sound and sight of her as long as she was stashed away in some flower shop instead of on a stage. Maybe-
Anna set the bouquet down and fanned her eyes as if she could keep tears from falling and makeup from running. It was such a stupid thing. Like, there were people in the world with real problems.She thought about homeless orphans. Homeless orphans with Ebola! In comparison, Anna had it good. She had a job, a place to live, enough money for the metro and maybe a hot dog… No theatrical prospects lined up, though.
Anna looked around, grateful Erik was in the backroom. Maybe he couldn’t hear her. Maybe she could pull it together before a customer showed up. Grey dawn crept through the window - she was early, early, early. Maybe no one would see. Anna yanked out a swath of tissue paper to dab her eyes with… and blow her nose in. And then she grabbed more. And more. Oh God-!
By the time the back room opened, her makeup-stained tissue paper was shoved into the pockets of her apron, she looked mostly presentable, and was able to flash a broad smile at Erik.
“I brought donuts!” she said. Classic - always have a distraction. She gestured to the battered box sitting by the register. She didn’t expect Erik to eat them. “And I got the pre-made rose bouquets finished! I tried to, um, curl the ribbons so they looked a little prettier? I think that it’s only fair - just because some husband forgot his wife’s birthday doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve, you know, beautiful things. Actually she probably deserves them even more because-”
Her motormouth ran. After a few seconds, she heard it and cut herself off mid-sentence, clamping her lips together tightly. She hastily swiped away a little more eyeliner with her thumb, hoping Erik didn’t realize that she’d been crying about nothing except that his music sounded genius and she sounded…. Rusty.
“I mean-” Anna took a deep breath “-good morning, Erik. I am at your service. Put me to work!”