Heavy is the Head

“Yeah, well. Regardless. I fixed it.” He leaned back against the table. “I’m guessing you don’t take too… – kindly,” Alex nodded towards the now-thawed out glass, once frozen by his magic. “That sort of thing.”

🌹 

 Bad attitudes? People using magic on his things when he hadn’t done anything? Magic in general? Jacques could think of a couple possible things the other man could’ve been referring to. He decided it would be best not to voice those possibilities.

“...You’re going to have to be more specific,” he retorted. 

“I mean, unless I somehow miraculously obtained the ability to read minds and understand what you’re talking about, that would be a hard no, sorry.” She responds and shakes her head. “I was just going to ask if I could steal a seat.”

🌹 

 “You don’t have the spreadsheet, and now you’re stealing from me?” Jacques asked, feigning annoyance. “This keeps getting worse.” 

“Expecting someone else, dicksauce?” Rose asked, sitting down across from her brother with a smirk on her face. She had a couple of hours before her next class and was just planning on picking up a coffee and leaving, but seeing her brother made her change her mind. “What boring business stuff are you working on this time?”

🌹

Jacques didn’t have to look up to place the voice. He immediately recognized it as his sister’s. Name-calling from anyone else might’ve gotten a different response. She got an eye roll. “Dicksauce. That’s grown-up.”

When he looked up from his screen, there wasn’t actually any anger in his features. “I never said the spreadsheet was for boring business stuff. I could be compiling data from an investment simulation in my class...Or I could be compiling data to analyze crime demographics to manage my secret double life as a crime-fighting vigilante. I don’t tell you everything.”

“Sorry, no,” Erika replied, now a bit remorseful at interrupting him in the first place. “I was just hoping I could borrow this empty chair? Promise I won’t distract you. I’m just not quite ready to head back to work, so I’m stalling. Do you mind?”

🌹

“Yes. I need that empty chair there. Helps my process,” he said, delivering straight-faced sarcasm. There was a beat of silence before he continued, this time without the sarcasm. “I don’t care. Take it.”

“Did you mean yours or mine?” Melody asked. She wasn’t exactly sure why the other was being so cold, it’s not like she even asked him to move. Even if she had, she wasn’t going to force him to if he didn’t want to. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bother you, I just need to grade these papers really quick and every other seat seems to be filled.”

🌹

“Huh?” Jacques looked up, eyes scanning the room. Sure enough, available seating seemed to be scarce. And Jacques certainly wasn’t going anywhere -- he had good momentum going, he didn’t want to interrupt it by spending time packing up and moving somewhere else. So, crowded coffee shop would have to work.

“...Fine.” he decided. It shouldn’t be too difficult to tune the strangers out. He shifted his seat and slid his things so they only covered roughly half the surface area instead of being sprawled across the entire tabletop. 

din couldn’t help but chuckle. “you sound like me.” shaking his head, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “i say that to my deputy at least five times a day.” alright, he didn’t mean to complain about bo’s speed with her work, but sometimes it just slipped out. “how much longer do you have before graduation?”

🌹

“...I didn’t realize deputies spent so much time working on spreadsheets,” he said. 

He leaned back in his seat. “In theory, I’ve got one more semester after this one to get my Bachelor’s. I’ll believe it when they actually give me the degree.” You would think that being enrolled full-time for four years would have already accomplished that, but with the layout of the degree plan, it seemed that wouldn’t be the case. His fault for adding a minor that lengthened his time to graduation, really. 

“oh, um, no. sorry. just biochemistry homework.” peter readjusted the strap of his backpack, debating for a second whether he should just leave. outside the four walls of their dorm room, peter rarely interacted with jacques. given their contrasting personalities, it was probably for the best. still, he didn’t want to be rude and leave the shop without at least a word or two. “what kinda spreadsheet are you working on?”

🌹

As soon as Jacques heard the other’s voice and recognized it as his roommate’s, he looked up. “Oh. Hey.” It was someone he knew. That meant he’d have to make this an actual conversation. Even if it might be short. He tilted his laptop screen lower. 

When he heard Peter’s question, Jacques gave his computer screen a look. . “It’s...a sort of simulation? Meant to practice managing investments. I’m compiling the data from the results of fake-last-month,” he explained with a sigh. “So...hope you’re doing something more fun than I am. I mean, unless compiling data is your idea of fun.”

“Sadly, no.” She hummed, as if actually disappointed. Morgan held out the coffee cup in her hand. “I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue with baristas misspelling my name because mine’s pretty simple. But even if I had, this one would be a stretch.” She turned it so he could see the name on the other side of it. “I think they gave me yours by mistake.”

🌹

Jacques took a look at the writing on the side of the cup, and immediately let out an involuntary sigh. The barista had spelled the name, “Jaq”. He was used to having his name misspelled -- there were a lot of silent letters, after all. But sometimes he wondered if people had never heard a French name before. 

Alex just looked at the other, calmly. He reached out and moved his hand over the glass, unthawing it to his original state. “See?” He started. “All you have to do is ask nicely.”

🌹

Jacques held up the glass, examining its contents with a furrowed brow. His feelings about magic and its users were...complicated. “...Thanks,” he said, although there was more venom than gratitude in his tone. “...Even if it was fixing a problem you created in the first place.”

~

She nodded, knowing a bit about those kinds of people; perfectly good food being sent back was only one example. “It is a high-end restaurant,” she agreed. “Our clientele tend to be on the… well, less than humble side of humanity.” She then shrugged. “Still, part of the job, I suppose.”

She nodded at his question. “There was one customer who clearly didn’t know what medium rare was, but other than that, pretty smooth.” She sighed contentedly as she added “I’m just lucky to be working towards my dream job.” She then asked “What about you? Do you want to work in the culinary business for your future?”

🌹

Jacques widened his eyes, shaking his head with a bit of a laugh. “Oh, god, no. I just have this job while I’m in school. Once I graduate I’m probably going to get a job at my parent’s company. Digital media,” he explained. Which wasn’t a lie -- he was going to work there before he was put in charge of said company. 

“So -- at least one less person competing with you for promotions. All yours.”

“Obviously I don’t care,” The blonde scoffed with a raise of her eyebrow. “I’m gonna point out a fashion faux pas when I see one, your taste in fashion is the first thing someone’s going to know about you ― that’s the last thing you want looking … well, like that.”” 

🌹

“Really? Well, thank goodness you told me. I was about to go do some networking and then head to a first date.” he said, tone full of dry sarcasm.

He dropped the act with a roll of his eyes. “I’m just trying to find somewhere to study. You don’t care about coming across like an asshole? I don’t really care about anyone’s opinions on my taste in fashion.”

♕ —- ‘Sorry,” she mouthed and she meant it. She was never really one to interrupt anyone when they were focusing on something but her bosses had been insistent that they get a few more books for the drive. “Yes, of course,” she nodded as she pointed to the front desk. “We have a box for it. It’s the one in the obnoxious red and green wrapping.”

♕ —- She looked back at him. “The last day is next sunday,” she explained, “I’m sorry for interrupting. Do you have everything you need for,” she nodded to his laptop.

🌹

“Box in obnoxious green and reed wrapping. ‘Cause that narrows it down,” he said dryly, looking over to the box in question. It was recognizable enough, he knew there were some books he could bring by before the deadline. Mom will be thrilled. 

“It’s homework for marketing. Trust me, you weren’t interrupting much. Mostly people arguing about algorithms.”

Alexander just watched the other, eyebrow raised at his response. “Do I? Well, thank you for that observation.” He rolled his eyes, bringing his glass to his lips. “Defensive much?”

Jacques grit his teeth. He hated that the other did have a point -- his reaction might’ve been harsher than the situation needed. But it wasn’t as if he was about to admit that now. “I’m not the one who freezes people’s drinks for looking at them funny.”

~

Jia flinched at his outburst, but he apologized for it so she shook her head, waving it off. “It’s alright,” she said. She wasn’t the type to bite someone’s head off after a rough day, but it happening once and apologizing right afterwards got a pass for Jia; everybody gets one. Then, she smirked at his careful word choice. “That bad, huh?” She wasn’t trying to pry, but his annoyance was very clear on his face, and as long as the annoyance wasn’t at her, she was hoping she might be able to help.

~

“Eh, dealing with entitled assholes, but hey, what else is new?” he retorted. He’d noticed her flinch. Another reminder that he should be more careful about who ended up on the receiving end of his temper. One reminder out of many he’d gotten in his lifetime. 

“Did things go any smoother back in the kitchen?” he asked, figuring that by now it was his turn to return her questions with one of his own. 

~

Jia’s smile faded into a sympathetic expression. She was lucky to never really have to deal with inconsiderate customers, just the poor waitstaff who did have to deal with them. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “That was a bit inconsiderate. Was your day good outside of that, though?” Jia had never had a full length conversation with Jacques before, but she did always look up whenever he came in for his tables’ orders and she was helping at the pass. She figured now would be a good excuse to see what he was like?

-

“Inconsiderate? It’s rude as fuck!” he said with a huff before catching himself. She wasn’t who he was mad at, after all. And she had been sympathetic. “I...Sorry, that was...uncalled for. It’s not even your fault.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn’t been expecting her to ask a second question, but he found himself in this impromptu conversation all the same. 

“My day was...busy,” he said, deciding to leave out just how close he had been to returning some of the yelling he had received. But he hadn’t. Which meant he’d still keep his job another day, for whatever that was worth.