Am I Blue? No! (Open)

The eternal conflict for Jack every morning was the question between tea or coffee. On the one hand, the green tea here was excellent and it tasted really good with honey and was almost instantly calming. On the other hand: coffee had more caffeine and that was always nice. He was a relatively early riser in part by necessity and in part by habit, so he was used to being one of the first people at the coffeehouse. He liked it here-- it was always quiet, it smelled nice, and it had great music.

"Morning," Jack greeted with a friendly grin. "How's business?" He had this conversation with Ari every time he came in, but since the other man didn't seem to be bothered by it, he kept to the routine. Eventually they would start talking about more things. He was also trying to stall while he decided if he wanted coffee or tea. Difficult decisions.

[ooc: it is tiny I am sorry D:]

Coffee was a necessary part of any morning ritual. Typically Hart brewed his own coffee, awake early enough to leisurely drink a cup while perusing the paper before work.

This morning was not a typical morning.

He had forgot to set his alarm the night before, and had only woken up when Ouch had begun pawing at his face, desperate for breakfast. He hadn't had time to brew his own pot.

However, he couldn't go without, and as such he had stopped at the closest coffee shop between the town home he shared with Josef and work.

"Good morning," He greeted the proprietor and the sole other customer breathlessly as he swept into the restaurant, snatching up a menu and glancing over it briefly.

Oh, there were blueberry muffins? Why hadn't he patronized this place before now?

He glanced down at his watch, determining that he did, in fact, have time for coffee and a muffin.

Excellent.

"Not many people here yet," He observed, scooting into a booth. "Later crowd?"

“Good to see you too,” Jack replied with a smile. “I’m glad business is doing well for you, though I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t.” He gestured at the shop as a whole, indicating that he couldn’t imagine why a shop that sold sweets and caffeine would ever not have good business.

“Oh, I bet the students around here would appreciate that, actually.” Jack said with a nod. “I know some of my own students are looking for jobs. Would you mind terribly if I sent them your way?”

“I’m doing well, thank you.” Before Jack could reply further, another customer burst in looking benignly hassled. “You look like you’ve had a great morning,” Jack said with a slight grin.

[ooc: sorry for the wait guys @_@ school got buusy]

"Oh, yeah, just forgot to set the alarm, woke up by cat instead, you know how it is," Hart shrugged dismissively. Granted, that wasn't how he preferred to be woken up, but at least he hadn't slept until noon.

He didn't think he would still have a job if he made that mistake.

When Ari asked what he'd like he didn't hesitate a moment before replying, "One regular coffee and a blueberry muffin, if you don't mind."

Then, hearing the proprietor mention that the other man there was a teacher he asked, curiosity and some envy getting the better of him, "You're a teacher? What do you teach?"

Jack returned his grin. "At the end of the day? Probably the kids. The teachers get caffeinated early and ride it out for the rest of the day. Speaking of, can I get a large coffee?" Today was apparently going to be a coffee day. "And...yeah, a gingerbread muffin too, please." Usually he packed his own breakfast to eat in the office, but he thought that today could also be a muffin day. He had a bagel in his bag, but he could include that in his lunch if he wanted.

"All right, I'll make an announcement in my older classes," Jack replied with a grin. "I know a lot of kids are looking for a job, and they all work hard as a general rule." They would have to be, to do well enough in Jack's class. Jack was a friendly teacher, an approachable teacher, but he was also a rigorous teacher. He tried to emphasize good work ethic in all his students at the very least.

"Nice to officially meet you, Ari." Jack said with a grin, taking the business card and slipping it into his pocket. He turned to the gentleman next to him, his face taking on a sympathetic expression. "And it's nice to meet you too, although I'm sorry you had to be woken up by your cat. I'm Jack Maguire."

"I'm an English teacher," Jack replied, "I teach at the Institute down the way. Poetry mostly. What do you do?"

"Cats are not ideal alarms." Hart agreed vehemently as he accepted the coffee and muffin.

He then listened with interest as Jack explained his job. "Poetry? That's pretty specific. So do you primarily teach the high school age students? Hey!" He added, realization dawning, "You may teach my niece. Jessica Pruitte. She started there last year."

Had it been a year already? That was so hard to believe! Sometimes it felt like he'd been in Pilot Ridge forever; he wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"I'm essentially a dispatcher for the town police," He laughed with a shrug. "But not much goes on around here, so there's not much to do. Which I guess is good! I used to teach U.S. history, back in North Carolina, but then I moved up here for my niece."

There was no reason to include the fact he had been fired from his previous job. That always lead to uncomfortable questions that he didn't care to answer because they were nobody else's business.