violet took the paper, and scanned the address. “i know it,” she said, cutting him off before he could continue. she understood that. that nervous energy. that overcompensation. “that’s cool you’re a handyman. i can’t fix anything for shit,” she replied, admitting a little bluntly. she smiled, and nodded in the direction he needed. “it’s this way. i can take you,” an awkward pause. “only if you want.”

this conversation wasn’t panning out quite like hinrich had planned at first but hey, a nice girl wanted to talk to him. that was rare enough for him to say, “yeah, sure! i’d like that.” don’t mess this up, idiot, he thought to himself. as they began to walk in the correct direction, he added. “i suppose you ought to know my name. it’s hinrich- weird, i know, but hey, i’m norwegian, so....” he trailed off, then cleared his throat. “what’s your name?” 

“H-hallo? Who is that? What are you talking about?” 

hinrich had found that, while he met plenty of people doing repairs and going to class, he hadn’t met many people with whom he really “clicked.” that’s why he had begun to volunteer at the animal shelter; not only would he get to meet people with whom he at least had a love of animals, he would get to be around animals, too. that’s how he had met ariana. he wasn’t sure if she felt it, but to him, there was an instant connection between the pair. and she was so sunny, energetic, and fun that he couldn’t help but like her. now, he looked forward to volunteering because of her. today, he walked into the shelter and the moment he saw her, called out, “hey ari!” 

full name hinrich helmut haddock

preferred name/nickname

the kids back in oslo called him hiccup, but he doesn’t prefer it anymore 

generally referred to as

hinrich

violet had decided to take a walk. something she did when she was overwhelmed or stressed with work, which happened to be her for the last couple hours. she had gotten a few pages out but then hit a block. she almost didn’t hear the guy calling her at first, she was already lost in her thoughts when she caught up to him. there was a moment of violet zoning back in, catching the end of the question. “hm?” she piped up. “oh, yeah. where are you heading?”

“this address here,” hinrich replied as he handed the girl the paper on which he wrote the address. “it should be somewhere around here. do you know it?” as he waited for the girl to answer, hinrich grew anxious and began to ramble. “i’m a handyman, see. like, i fix stuff. this time it’s a toilet. but i don’t only do toilets, i do all kinds of stuff. not that i’m trying to sell you my services or anything, i just...” what was he trying to do, besides fill awkward silence? honestly, hinrich wasn’t sure. 

living with other girls was an entirely new adventure. she assumed it would be the same as back home, playing maid while the others had their fun, but here cin had gotten to really rest. today, she had woken up at 10:30 that morning, completely uninterrupted. still, it felt odd living how they did now. when one of the outlets in their home had stopped working, cin was certain she could fix it. she had no experience in electrical work, but she hadn’t had much experience in plumbing either before anastasia had forced her to take a look at the pipes in their personal bathroom. this time, however, no one insisted she do anything, even actively assuring her that they could hire someone for it. so, she volunteered to wait around “hello.” she chirped happily, offering a hand out to shake “ah, yes, one of my housemates did. thank you, hinrich.” she paused, making sure she pronounced his name correctly and her accent hadn’t messed it up “you can call me cin. i’ll, um, i’ll show you to the problem.”

hinrich shook cin’s hand as he said, “ah, you’ve got roommates? same here! that’s, you know, cool.” he cleared his throat as he was led to the site of the needed repair. “are you a student? seems like most people i meet here are.” as he saw the outlet that needed fixing, hinrich nodded. “this shouldn’t take long. seems like we just have some tangled wires.” he began to methodically pick the cover off the outlet, humming to himself as he did so. this was when hinrich was at his most calm, his least anxious, and his most, well, himself. “i’m a student, too, by the way. at the university, i mean.”

business had slowly but surely been picking up for hinrich. then again, emporia wasn’t that huge of a town, and there was only an auto mechanic to serve as his competition, so a handyman like him was sure to be needed eventually. today’s repair was close to where he currently lived, according to google maps, but as he got further, the wind interfered with his signal and he soon found himself lost. “crap,” he muttered to himself. this could only mean one thing: he would have to ask for directions- preferably from someone who wasn’t intimidating-looking. hinrich scanned the block, and found himself making eye contact with a young brunette woman. “uh, hi? hi!” he called out to her. “i’m, uh, kinda lost. you wouldn’t happen to know your way around here?” 

hinrich was nervous, but then, when wasn’t he nervous? this time was different, though; this time, he was in a brand new town in a brand new country, about to go to his very first appointment at his new job as emporia’s handyman. after putting up flyers all over town, he had finally gotten a call yesterday that told him to go to this address. the person on the other end had sounded shy, and had neglected to tell him what he would be fixing- he should’ve asked, but he was shy as well. well, there was no use waiting outside in his truck like a stalker weirdo. with his toolbox in hand, hinrich made his way to the door and rang the bell. once the door was answered by a young blonde woman, he greeted her with “hallo!” before he remembered he wasn’t in norway anymore. “uh, i mean, hello! you, uh, you called yesterday? or, someone here did. about a repair? i’m hinrich, the handyman. “