No Helmet Required (Calliope, Josh)

[Event !]

Calliope Gallo is assigned to wash Joshua Bernstein's bicycle

[Joshua Bernstein]

Although Josh had his disagreements regarding Hammel (or instance, the fact that they existed) he wanted to be supportive of his partner. This meant purchasing from fundraisers, from the bake sale to gift wrapping.

And so when Sean had mentioned that the group he advised had set up a car wash that meant he had fully planned to attend. Never mind that after three years in Pilot Ridge he still hadn't managed to acquire a license; he still had a bicycle.

And so a bicycle was what he rode up on, pulling into the parking lot and stopping in an empty slot. Some students were in pairs. This student was alone.

That suited him fine; it wasn't as if his bicycle would require a team.

"Good morning!" He greeted her, vaulting off his bike and surveying her equipment with interest. "Nice day for a car wash. Or a bicycle."

And it was; sunny and hot with not a cloud in sight, he couldn't think of a better day for this activity.

[Calliope Gallo]

When Callie realised she was on her own for this one, she honestly didn't mind. She could keep a conversation going btter than most, so she was confident that it wasn't going to get awkward from her side of things. And hey, anything to help out the school, right? Calliope had a bit of an interset in helping how however she could. If that meant washing cars then so be it.

At least she wasn't stuck with the horse. Though in the break she stood in her place and watched them banter. Yeah, she was really lucky.

Callie was surprised to see a bicycle roll up instead of an actual car. She sighed with relief; finally, a break from the bigger modes of transport. She was definitely glad to see that. "Morning, sir! That's quite a ride you have." Callie paused to curl her fingers around the nearby bucket before breaching the distance between them; "I'm Callie, it's nice to meet you. This is definitely a good break from the super muddy cars I've been handling."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Thus far, the student car wash had been a success, if one did not include the presence of the horse. No matter the amusement that some took in the horse’s arrival, Sean could not agree, nor could he ignore it, even if he could largely discount it from his assessment of the other customers, the ones who followed simple rules of common sense.

The arrival of one such customer brought a smile to the psychiatrist’s face. Although he had not told Josh that he expected the other man to come to the fundraiser, he still wasn’t surprised by his partner’s presence. For all of his opinions about Hammel, the younger man was very good about supporting student fundraisers. He was sure that, if Josh had continued with his driving lessons, he would have brought the van here with his bicycle in the trunk, so that there could be two washes. However, they worked with what they had.

To that end, Sean left where he had been supervising (largely unnecessary since the two students had their tasks under control) to cross over to where Calliope and Josh stood.

“I’ll need cash up front,” he remarked as soon as he arrived behind the other man. The psychiatrist turned to Calliope, offering her a smile to silently communicate that, in fact, there were no problems.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Callie. I'm Josh." He flashed her a smile, genuinely pleased to meet someone new, even if she was quite a it younger. "This bicycle has been with me for years." He patted its handle affectionately. "A little more difficult as main transportation here in Pilot Ridge than I. The City, but faithful."

He paused, then added, "if a bicycle can be faithful."

The voice immediately behind his shoulder brought another smile to his lips, and he twisted about to face the other man.

"I was expecting you to pay for me," he commented, struggling to wipe the grin from his face.

[Calliope Gallo]

"Josh it is then." Callie replied brightly. it was a lot easier than just calling him sir, so she was thankful for that. It was interesting to know that this guy didn't use a car as his main stint of transportation. "I'll take good care of it then. I promise."

She took the bike off his hands, keeping herself busy by starting to wash the thing. It had a few scratches and dings here and there but she'd try her best to make it look as good as possible. She looked up at the sound of Sean's voice, worry crossing her features when he spoke before he quickly reassured her that there was nothing to worry about.

For the most part she just went about the job at hand, leaving the two to their conversation.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

This match was random, since Sean had not assigned students to specific vehicles and clients. Instead, he had lined them up for partnerships and gave them slots; whoever arrived went down the queue and random chance dictated the rest. However, Calliope being assigned to Josh was serendipitous, because his partner was gregarious but gentle. In Sean’s assessment, Calliope was better off with Josh than she was with a few of the individuals, such as Stefan. Stefan was a friend, but odds were high that he was already drunk at this hour of the morning, and Calliope didn’t need that.

Just as it was better for her to be alone than to be assigned to work with Harmony, for instance.

“In that case, your expectations would be wrong,” the psychiatrist replied, his tone deadpan. However, that was one of the ways he could tease his partner, and in fact had teased him over the years; the fact that he could maintain a deadpan tone simply brought texture to their banter.

He fully expected that Josh was prepared to pay; his partner wouldn’t attend an event like this without his wallet.

“I’ll need an extra five dollars because you have a non-standard vehicle,” Sean added. This was untrue, since bicycles were, in fact, smaller than cars. Further, it was still a vehicle as opposed to a living creature, which put Josh ahead of Finn insofar as abiding by the carwash rules.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh raised his eyebrow at the demand (albeit in jest) for extra money. However, he pulled his wallet out of his slacks and began thumbing through his cash. "And an extra five because Ms. Callie is alone?" He suggested, handing the money to Sean. "Are you the person to pay?"

If he was supposed to pay someone else he would, but as his partner was advisor for the student activities council it seemed likely he would be in charge of the money.

"Did your partner fall ill?" He addresses this question to the girl, wondering if she had been bailed on. Or perhaps there hadn't been enough volunteers for everyone to her paired up, although that was too bad. He was sure that washing cars would be more fun with a friend.

[Calliope Gallo]

Callie was invested in the work she was doing, paying little mind to the two as they spoke. It wasn't her place to listen or eavesdrop in anyway, so she opted to keep her mind busy and tackle the task at hand with as much precision as required. Thankfully, cleaning a bicycle wasn't too hard.

However, she perked up slightly when she heard her name mentioned; and a questioned posed to her no less. "To be honest, I don't really know." She admitted, unaware of how the selection process took place. But a lack of ill feeling in her voice made it clear she was unaffected by it. "I've been on my own all day, but I don't mind. People've come and gone anyway, so there's always someone to talk to."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean returned the raised eyebrow, mimicking his partner’s expression as he waited for the younger man to comply with the request. While his demand for additional money wasn’t serious, he knew that Josh was prepared to pay, and the psychiatrist held his hand out expectantly.

With the suggestion, he nodded, behaving as though that was a reasonable additional charge that he had been prepared to levy. “Precisely.” He took the money, not bothering to count it, since he trusted Josh implicitly, and he folded it into the envelope he used to carry the money between the vehicle stations and the cash box. He was the person to pay, simply because it was best for funds to go through a responsible adult, and he was the advisor to the organization that was responsible for the car wash event. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Mister Bernstein.”

Because he was in front of a student, the psychiatrist had to keep flirtation to more subtle forms. Even if he couldn’t pull off entirely feigned disinterest. As such, he mentally projected his next remark to his partner.

When the carwash ends, we have a pizza and ice cream wrap party. I’ll be home after that, well in time for supper.