Jawing with the Janitor (Josie)

[Andreas Ivaring]

Andreas found easy solace in books. Instead of making friends, instead of going out and doing normal social events that this school had to offer, he'd read. The collection in his room stacked quite high, and there was a reason for that. People didn't value books any more. Shifting over to illiteracy save for the occasional textbook... The only thing people wanted to read any more were their blogs, and the blogs of their friends where they already know what's going to be said. And because of that, books were cheap.

So, every once in a while, much like today, he was done with everything. Schoolwork, social obligations, as few and far between as those usually were. He could finally kick his feet up on the coffee table in the lounge, pop open one of Tolkien's tomes, and immerse himself in the fantasy. Usually if someone gave him crap about that, he'd just call them mentally deficient and send them on their way. It was way better than any fad book out there. Harry Potter, Twilight.

With the lack of people except for the few circulating every once in a while, the student lounge sure had a hanging, thick air of loneliness. Someone who was mistaken would assume he sought conversation, he wanted it. If it were almost any of the student body wondering, however, they'd be sorely mistaken. He wanted nothing to do with them, at least not right now. They could save it for the group projects where it was necessary.

As the time he'd spent alone increased, he grew more comfortable in his surroundings. Andreas' posture slouched, muscles slacking to the just-comfortable level, legs pushing further down the table. All he needed was a warm mug of coffee or hot chocolate to really cement the feeling.

Little did he know that someone, anyone would be coming in soon, someone would come ruin his relaxation...

[Josie Raines]

Pros of the student lounge floor being carpeted: no mopping. Cons of the student lounge floor being carpeted: gross, obnoxious teenagers spilling food everywhere and grinding crumbs into the floor.

Hey, it's a living.

Most of the time Josie hit up the student lounge, it was after Hammel's curfew was in effect. It saved her having to deal with whiny kids pissing and moaning that they couldn't hear the television over her vacuum. Not today, though. Today her shift was over before sundown and a scheduling error meant the only other cleaning crew member on duty today had already gone home. So, Josie figured as she swung the door open and tugged her vacuum cleaner over the threshold, whoever was hanging around would just have to deal with it for now.

Then again, the place looked pretty deserted... oh, nope, there was a kid reading a book on one of the sofas. With his undoubtedly dirty shoes kicked up on the coffee table, Josie noted with disdain. Well, whatever. It probably needed a wipe down anyway.

Without a word of greeting for the kid, she plugged in the vacuum, cranked up the volume of her headphones, and got to work.

[Andreas Ivaring]

He could feel that look... Well, not just in seeing her eyes, but that color exuding from her. She either hated her job, or just had a general disdain for him being there. Andreas' immediate assumption was that she didn't like the fact that his feet were on the table. She was a janitor, so it only made sense. Seemed like the sort of job Andreas would rather shoot himself before having.

Money be damned, he just hated most of the people here. For a moment, he felt a little bit of empathy. Sure, she was an adult but nobody respected the janitors, especially the rogue's gallery of punks. When he saw that her cleaning slowly came his way, he'd move out of the way for her, without a word. He was about to say something to her, then he heard the music.

His lips turned up in to a little smirk. They let her have /something/, that was decent for the school that kidnapped people and forced them to live here. At least they treated their low-level staff with some human dignity. Suddenly, it didn't seem so bad that someone entered the scene. He knew literally nothing about this woman, only what he could assume about her circumstances.

"You're welcome." He said, despite the noise directly in her ears.

[Josie Raines]

The vacuuming itself was uneventful - wasn't it always? It was a monotonous chore, one that required no concentration, allowing Josie to just focus on her music. It was a jazz afternoon, easier to relax to. And boy did she need it. As much graffiti as she'd scrubbed off of toilet stalls so far today, and as close as she was to going home for the day, she wanted at least some chance of getting out of here in a decent mood.

At least the kid didn't look to be causing any trouble, although his shoes on the coffee table still needled her a little. Not so much that he was probably mucking it up, but it was the principle of the thing. And Josie had met enough kids who expected her to drop a "please" and "thank you" for the glorious opportunity to fix their messes. With any luck this one wouldn't pull such a stunt but she could burn that bridge when she came to it.

As such, Josie paid him little mind until she'd gotten closer and glanced up to see him facing her, lips moving. Her music was too loud to hear and she'd never been much of a lip reader, so she popped out one earbud and silenced the vacuum with a step on its pedal.

"You say something?" she asked, one eyebrow cocked. "Don't tell me I missed a spot."