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Post by Rowan Trace on Nov 4, 2010 16:03:09 GMT -5
How in hell was it Midterms already? And why was he wasting brainpower wondering where the time had gone? He needed to save it for the mountain of papers that not only needed graded, but submitted by Monday afternoon. There were several ways he could think of off the top of his head that he'd rather spend his weekend, and dragging himself out of the castle and all the way to Diagon Alley was not one of them.
There hadn't been any escape, though. Students had been banging on his door since dawn, demanding the results of tests they'd only taken the day before, begging for extra credit, and generally making it impossible to sleep in. Not that he'd indulged the night before, since he'd known it would happen, but without at least eight and a half hours of sleep, he wasn't functioning at full capacity.
He'd needed peace and quiet that would never come within view of the school and its students, and so he'd bypassed the Great Hall entirely and come here. He didn't even look at the guy behind the counter as he stepped up for his turn. "Gimme a coffee," he said, slightly bleary-eyed as he pulled out his coin pouch. "Nothing fancy, just whatever your strong roast is, half a creamer, and introduce the sugar, don't dump in a tablespoon."
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Nov 4, 2010 16:18:24 GMT -5
Mano raised an eyebrow at the man that came up and he nodded as he rang up the order and gestured for a girl he had behind the counter to get it started. "You don't look like a man that is used to going without his morning coffee," he said, fully aware of the return he could get, especially if this guy was anything like some of the others he had coming in early in the mornings.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Nov 4, 2010 17:02:08 GMT -5
Rowan didn't disappoint. "Your perceptive skills astound me," he said dryly. That was it before he dumped some coins into his palm and quickly counted them out, then lay them on the counter. Why did people always seem to think he wanted to talk in the morning? And what was the point of stating the obvious?
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Nov 4, 2010 18:09:08 GMT -5
Mano gave a good-natured chuckle and took the money. "Come on," he said. "I'm sure you're a perfectly good conversation after you've had your coffee, I only pick to get myself through the day." It would be insanely boring if he just sat there and let everyone go through without so much as a word. Sometimes he even made it a goal to get one of the most grumpy to smile, and maybe make their way upstairs.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Nov 4, 2010 19:01:57 GMT -5
"Then buy yourself a coffee sometime," Rowan suggested, "or find a better job." If all you had in life was to pick at people who were tense to begin with, there was obviously something lacking. Rowan didn't want to just stand there and keep taking it. Unfortunately, he'd realized the guy had cut him off before he'd ordered something to eat. "If you're not in a rush to pick at the next customer, I'd like a croissant with butter and marmalade on the side," he added, as though the unwanted attempt at conversation hadn't occurred.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Nov 4, 2010 19:20:00 GMT -5
"I'd much rather keep you up here," Mano said, flicking a glance behind the guy. He recognized the guy behind him, and as much fun as it could be ragging on that guy, he didn't feel like it today. "Or are you going to make me try again after you've had your fix?" He smiled as he gestured for the girl to get the addition to the order.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Nov 4, 2010 19:30:08 GMT -5
"Are you hitting on me?" Rowan asked, his brows drawing together. "We aren't friends, I don't even know you, and don't bother trying again after I've got my coffee, because I'm not interested. I've got work to do, and if I can get some service around here instead of having some perky idiot try to brighten my day with small talk, I'll take it somewhere else to work on. Now, how much for the croissant?" This was ridiculous! If he'd just gone through to London, he'd have gladly dealt with Muggle money to get his coffee at Starbucks.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Nov 4, 2010 19:40:08 GMT -5
Mano was more than mildly amused at the guy's reaction and he chuckled again before telling the guy how much for the croissant. "Fine, fine," he said. "I'll leave you alone." Maybe. If someone more interesting came around. He really wasn't all that worried about being accused of hitting on the guy, maybe he was and maybe he wasn't, it wasn't like there was anyone important around to hear and make anything of it.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Nov 4, 2010 19:48:37 GMT -5
Rowan wanted desperately to storm off, but he'd already paid for the coffee and it took less than a minute to fix an order as simple as his had been. "Forget the croissant," he said, and turned to address the girl instead. "Put that in a take-away cup." He'd been mocked and laughed at more than enough. This was worse than the students!
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Nov 4, 2010 20:00:33 GMT -5
Mano raised his hands in supplication and tempered his smile. "Okay, my apologies," he said. "I should really know better than joke with someone before they had their coffee." He dropped his hands to the counter again. "I would really love to keep your business." Not that he really thought he could get the guy to change his mind and decide to stay.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Nov 4, 2010 20:06:18 GMT -5
"You should have thought about that before you pissed me off," Rowan snapped. He took his coffee and gave the guy a firm glare, then headed purposefully toward the door. Somehow he'd get back to his office and cast the strongest silencing spell he could on the door and windows. And when his work was done, he was going to treat himself for the rest of the weekend.
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