âNice.â The word was echoed back mindlessly, little pullstring doll with no immediate thoughts, at least not towards the action. All pulse rate and buzzing caffeine before the dam broke, rushing in another wave of wondering regret. Nice! What was nice about it?! Nothing to do about it, now, except sigh and try not to make it sound like a groan. âUCLA! Thatâs like⌠actually really good⌠Not that I didnât think you werenât smart or anything like that just like.. ItâsâŚâ Better than hers? She wet her lips for a moment, brows pulling together while she forced her head up high to answer. âJournalism and Media Studies from Rutgers for me. Youâre from Cali orâŚ? I mean, itâs totally a lot cheaper when youâre in-state.â
She glanced at the pastry, last tiny bite just hanging there, waiting to be consumed before she looked back up at him. Probably didnât mean it to be as much of a compliment as it was taken as, but all conscious understanding of it took a backseat, sparkles in the eyes to create blinders. âOh! âŚThanks! I mean, just part of the job, right? Heh!â Did he read her articles? Did he really like her writing? But then why say no offense? Play it cool. Last bite was stuffed into her face instead, slamming it down with a strong sip of mocha. It managed to force a belated second between his words and her answer as her throat was pushed to its maximum speed. A swallow of breath to gain her voice. âI know, right?â she joked, thought she was joking back. Didnât he know Birdieâs laptop was super secure? Not that she had really tried. Not that she really would! âBut we share a Netflix account, so we kinda call it even!â It wasnât the same, but who was she to complain when her roommate was her own personal tipline, too?
âSeriously? She was your neighbor? Lucky! Sheâs pretty big news lately. You could totally use it for an article still! Was she a pretty good neighbor?â Claudia Marshall was interesting anyways. So much backstory! So much potential! Didnât seem like there was much of a limit of how far she could go nowadays, too. She liked to think they were similar, maybe if it only was in the sense of being tenacious and a last name. âI mean I donât know about favorite favorite but like I use the eyes emoji kinda obsessively, but what flower do you mean? Thereâs a huge difference between all of them! Cherry blossom 100% means something completely different from like⌠a rose or something, you know? Very Bachelor territory.â
ânah iâm local. donât worry.â where was rutgerâs? it sounded like it could be just about anywhere on the continent, but guessing the state? thatâs what he had a computer for. if he needed the information on zoe, there it was, willingly given and available to check. at least it meant that she was probably smart. he didnât exactly take the time to look at the other people in his field, all it did was distract from a story that he might write. âmedia studies too, does that make you a double major?â did it matter? sure why not, keep it light and complimentary. not worth ruining the conversation so far, considering the muffin was almost gone and the task was within accomplishment reach.Â
ânetflix huh.â he paused, taking inventory if he cared to ask what they were watching, if there were any recommendations. but it didnât seem like he needed to ask any more questions that might win her over to giving him her number. so heâd save it for the next time the topic of digital streaming came up. heâd probably have to text soon enough, what better than some small talk. ânice of you to share.â easy, said while he scrolled through the pages of emojis, trying to select the one that might fit zoe.Â
âyeah she was alright.â if he caught her at the right time she was conversational, but it was kind of like rolling a die. you never really knew how much she would be willing to actually talk. and if her boyfriendâ sorry, director, was there, well then all bets were off. âlistened to a lot of music, iâll tell you that.â and at odd hours. but hey, he wasnât the one being interviewed here. there was no problem with them. and she didnât even live there now. moved into her megamansion. lucky. that was the kind of place that would take a lot more work to get an invite to.Â
âwait whatâs the cherry blossom mean?â who knew? there was no emoji dictionary. he hardly ventured past the drinks and the forever useful peach. it was versatile and fun, and he didnât text many people anyways. public record and all. still, held up the uppercase âi was totally going to pick it for you. reminded me of those fancy coffee shops.â