The Reader

Faye watched him stutter, knowing that she shouldn’t have been as amused as she was but she couldn’t help it. She was only human after all but she did hide her smile, still feeling bad for being snarky at him before. After all she should be used to people commenting on her looks, she did have you look really pretty today behind her ear. And so she tried for a polite smile, “Don’t worry about it, I do it all the time and I still don’t know what’s going on half the time. Sure, that would be nice.” 

Sami smiled, knowing full well he's made a fool of himself yet again, "All right. What's your poison?" He could even feel his cheeks burn red. Man, this was not how he wanted things to go. Oh, well. It's already happening. Might as well just try and not get himself embarrassed any further. "Maybe you can tell me about them or something?" He was really blowing it.

“Yes, but I’m really trying to keep a low profile at the moment.” At least whilst she didn’t have work she was trying to. As soon as she was filming again though she could be a total diva if she wanted to– or well if she didn’t know that her parents would murder her for it. “Belle.”

"Low profile?" Sami narrowed his eyes, trying to remember if he's seen her from somewhere. He kept his eyes on her, memorizing her face, trying so hard to recall anything about her but failing to do so. Giving up, Sami sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "Are you a movie star or something?" Sami would love it if she was. If there was anything he loved more than making stories up about strangers, it's hearing strangers' stories.

Walter nodded, he understood that thought process, he loved dualities, parallels anything that showed how the world was not black and white. “I can understand that.” He chuckled, a smile sliding over his lips. “I’ve never understood how someone thinks that we could be just one or the other.”

The coffee shop was unusually packed as Catalina stood patiently in line. She had never really been a morning coffee person, or a fan of caffeine in general. But after working the graveyard shift at the bar the night before, she needed a bit of a pick-me-up before her job interview today. Hopefully she would be getting into a more professional setting, rather than sweeping up spilled beer and fighting off drunk patrons. Not that she could really complain, she hadn’t gone to college or anything. Bartending was something she was good at. She was lost in thought when it was finally her turn to order, much to the dismay of the people behind her. Catalina didn’t waste much more time, ordering and picking up her large coffee before looking around the cafe. Of course, there were no open tables. The dark haired woman spotted an empty seat, though, walking up to the man sitting across from. “Is this seat taken?”

This was Sami's third re-read of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities this year. He had a lot of other books in his to-read list, but this one just keeps drawing him back, over and over again. Maybe it was because Sami really liked the idea of duality. Maybe it was because this copy was a gift from an old friend he hasn't talked to for a while. Maybe it was because it was Charles Dickens. Whatever the reason, Sami didn't want to waste any time on it. This was his day off. He was going to enjoy it like a normal person, one who didn't over-think every tiny thing. Sami looked up from his book to a dark-haired beauty staring at him. He couldn't help but smile. "By all means, take it." His smile grew wide when she did.

He poured the man his coffee and once it was full he set the pot down, giving his hand a rest. “Oh yeah.” He said chuckling. “How can one not love Dickens? He gave us so many classics, and so many good books in general.” Walt said excitedly, like the other, he enjoyed books. He loved to read and he had his own mini library upstairs in his apartment. “Is this your favorite of his works?”

“Thank you,” Belle answered with a smile, sitting down in the free seat and taking a sip of her own coffee. It was so busy in here and she liked it that way, being another face in the crowd. Which was how everything had been for Belle since moving to the town and also why she preferred to live here rather than in LA. She shook her head, “Just a frustrating couple of days. I promise I’m not about to go off on a murderous rampage. Not today anyway.”

"You're welcome," Sami smirked, casting his book aside for a moment, his thumb making for a better bookmark on the go, to comb his hair back. He's always wanted to go bald, considering it was often too troublesome to keep his hair in place, always getting in his eyes or his mouth, but has never had the time to go for it. At least, that's his excuse. Truth was, Sami wasn't sure he'd look decent bald. It wasn't a risk he was prioritizing to take. "Oh, that's unfortunate." He chuckled, amused at the idea of this woman suiting up in leather and kicking random butts like a cool vigilante. Sami should write that down. "I'm Sami, by the way."

“Yeah it’s almost as though the two aren’t mutually exclusive,” Faye answered with a shrug. It came out snarkier than she meant it and Faye covered her mouth quickly, “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear.” She pushed some of her hair back out of her face, shaking her head. “I don’t know, do you know anything about writing and understanding a legally binding contract? All I can say is that it’s not easy.”

Sami was oblivious to Faye’s sentiments regarding his pretty douche-y flirting. Truth be told, Sami is pretty terrible when it comes to the game of romance, which he actually refers to as a game, and most of his romantic arsenal are borrowed from terrible romantic movies, cliches in this day and age, that no woman in the real world would appreciate. Sure, he has some gems here and there, but for the most part, it was all borrowed crap from one-dimensional characters. “Oh, uhh,” Sami realized that he had bitten more than he could chew. The fact was, he only had a basic understanding of the law, mostly where it applies to him. A legally binding contract sounded much more intimidating. It dawned on him that just because he was smart enough to know one thing doesn’t mean he’d be smart enough to know another. He chuckled at that. It was an age-old tenet, but it was easily forgotten, and he did just that, forget it, because of the pretty face before him. “You know what, I might not be the best person to ask about that. If you were working on something that involves machines and robotics, I’d be a better help. Legally binding contracts, not so much. I can get you another cup of coffee, though.” 

Walking around with the pot of coffee Walter was topping people’s drinks off, chatting quietly with each of the people he poured drinks for. He came to Sami and smiled. “Top off?” He asked cocking his head to the side. As he did so he could read the title of the book. “A Tale of Two Cities? That’s a good one.” He said with a smile. 

         Natalia chuckled, nodding her head. “Yeah. I’ve been in a few, both in stages and the big screens." She wasn’t used to that, not really, but Natalia grew to love singing by now. She laughed, shaking his hand gently with a smile. "Natalia. It is good to meet you – Despite the circumstances.”

Belle was really starting to hate having so much time to herself, starting to feel like she was going mad. She had read more books in the last month than in the years previous and if she had to read any more she was going to snap and kill someone. And so she had been on the phone to her agent trying to sort something out– something to work on in LA. But nothing had come through and so she needed coffee to get her frustration away. And of course the coffee shop was so full so the woman had to find an empty seat at a table that was otherwise occupied. “Sorry, is this seat taken?”

Sami looked up from his book and smiled at the pleasant intrusion, “Oh, no, by all means, take it.” Although he was hoping to spend all this time all on his own, it was inevitable for someone to invade his space. This was a busy coffee shop after all. Here, people tend to come and go. It was actually one of his favorite things about the place, the coming and going part, not just the coming. Sami took another gulp of his latte, noticing the woman before him a little agitated. “You okay? You look like you’re about to crush someone’s skull in between your hands. I recommend the barista over there. He spelled my name wrong.” He flashed her a friendly smile, just to make sure he wouldn’t be her first victim.

Upon realising that she wasn’t actually being spoken to and that Faye had screwed up her face went a shade of red to rival her hair and she looked down at the pages in front of her quickly, “Oh no, it’s fine. I’m just clearly being driven to insanity by all of this work.” It would be worth it, she just had to keep telling herself, things would work out in the end no matter how hard it was. “Oh no, I’m a law student. I’m doing a contract law assignment at the moment.”

Sami was impressed, and it was clear on his face, “Law student? Whoa! Beauty and brains.” He flashed her the best smile he could. He wasn’t that well-versed in the field of law, but he was a mechanical engineer with a specialty on theoretical advancement. He’d probably know a thing or two to help the pretty law student, right? Sami wished himself luck in his head. “Can I help you with anything? I could be useful. I mean, I already wasted some of your time. Might as well waste some more.” He grinned.

Lines, Juliet hated lines. She wished that sometimes shops would have an app where you could order your shit and they sent you a notification when it was ready. They did with some companies but this was not one of them, tapping her foot and looking at her watch she waited as the line dawdled on; “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. I honestly don’t know how you can sit there and read. Isn’t it boring?”

Sami looked up from his book and smiled, "Thank you. It's a good book. Maybe after you're done with that line, you can sit here, with me, and I can show you how exciting a good book can be?" The line wasn't that long, at least not by Sami's standards. Then again, he was the kind of guy who enjoyed reading in line. At least that was true when he was on his day off. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be found anywhere near a line. This one was moving a little slowly, though he would be on that table for the rest of the day. He wasn't in a hurry. The blonde looked like she was. That or she wasn't a fan of lines. Either way, she wouldn't be gone for quite some time. It wasn't that bad of a view.

Lena had every good intention to spend all day with her son, but after the nanny insisted that she needed a day off to herself, she spent the morning with John and then headed out to the cafe she loved, with a large children book with her. She bet that would be a bizarre image to anyone who looked, but she wanted to find the most fitting one to read to the kids at the kindergarten the next morning. So, there she was, sitting on a table with her coffee in one hand and the book in front of her. She was quite absorbed by it, when a small comment caught her ear and she looked up to spot a guy sitting on the table next to hers with a copy of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ in hand. “I’ve always wanted to read this book,” she commented, before she even realized it.

Sami was caught surprised by the sweet voice from out of nowhere. He was so surprised, in fact, that he had to take his nose out of his book and turn to its source. He wasn't disappointed when he saw the beautiful blonde on the next table. Sami smiled, realizing his day had just gone better than he had hoped. It's always a good day when you find yourself in the presence of beauty. Sami might be more logic and reason than sentiment and romance, but he sure knows beauty when he sees it. "It's a good book. I can lend it to you if you want?" Sami offered the woman his hand, still smiling. "My name's Sami."

         Natalia nodded, dusting herself off gently. “Yeah – Yeah, I’m alright. Just – I’m really sorry. I wasn’t paying attention at all." Truth was, Natalia was a little embarrassed. She was tired, a little grumpy and now – her pride was wounded. Frowning, Natalia took a step back, shaking her head. "No, I don’t think so. Unless we have bumped into each other before,” she joked with a smile. “Or if you are a fan of musicals, perhaps you have seen me in one or other.”