you got a crayon?!

“There are bars on the windows.” 

He made the curt observation with no regard to the sentence he had been right in the middle of and no true consideration to the person that was closest to him to hear his declaration. It was such an absurd attention to detail, yet that was the special brand of detail Basil was notoriously known for making. He stared at the bars on the windows. Nothing out of the ordinary to the design of a brick-structured building, but Basil made point to give it a stare. He tilt his head some to the left. Then over to the right. “ Bars on the windows....” He repeated out loud once more. A soft crease in his brow was busy challenging the idea, deep in thought. Bars on the windows. Why?  After a long pause Basil rose his voice again.

“Would you happen to know why those windows have bars on them? Considerably, I don’t understand why anyone would put a prison in the middle of a lively town, which is why i’m certain that’s not a jailhouse at all. Is it a day care by chance?” Despite his briskly paced musing his last question was asked with a slight tone of jest to it. His expression remained unchanged however, still relaying his seriousness on the matter. “That would certainly win a vote of confidence with parents seeking a spot to leave their children.”

“So, um....S-Someone told me you’re the person to come to if I wanted....music advice?” 

Their stomach was so fluttery and Timothy rubbed over it in hopes it’d help. Why was it so jittery and jumpy? It was like one thousand ( yes precisely 1,000 ) butterflies had suddenly emerged from their cocoons and were beating all around their tummy. Never one to be shy, Timothy couldn’t understand why they were now. They’d seen Lilo in passing plenty of times! Her sister was very nice and pretty and super nice and kind. Sometimes even she’d make time to chat with Timmy  if she wasn’t rushing off in a hurry to work. Still, Timmy  couldn’t shake their jitters, dropping their head down and giving a scratch behind their ear sheepishly. They took another deep breath to continue. 

“I’d was hoping maybe you could help me? F-Find some new music? I mean I like my music! It helps keep me goin’ when I gotta take super long routes. But um...lately it’s like i’ve been listening the same thing over and over....and I know i’ve seen you listening to music a lot.....so um. Maybe you could point me to some good tunes. Like your favorites!” They perked up at the suggestion of hearing her faves. Then hurried to tone their eagerness down. 

“I-I mean that’s if you wanna....”

Tiana paused, a small smile slipping out at the man’s question. How did he know the exact spot that she liked so much? Perhaps he was also a big fan of the isolated spot? Close enough that it was still within the borders of the park, yet far enough from the jungle gym that the childrens’ screams from the playground were muffled sounds. She nodded, her grin growing larger, a faint chuckle falling from her lips. “I see I’m not the only frequent visitor to that side of the park…” She rinsed her hands, drying them on a disposable paper towel that she then balled up and tossed in the trashcan. There was something friendly in his voice, something that she couldn’t quite place, but she liked it. Grabbing her paper bag lunch from the shelves under the counter, Tia slipped out from behind the counter. She shot him a conspiratorial grin, shaking her head at his comment. Tiana fell into step with Adam, the girl snorting at his question. If she hadn’t been sure that he was teasing, the smile would’ve given it away. “Clearly you don’t either. Or did Curtis just kick you out for getting crumbs in the books again?”

Her comment got a small laugh out of him. That would be a very Curtis move to do if he were present to witness the crumby crime himself. Pleasantly amused he gave a shrug. “Curtis means well. He just....takes his job quite seriously. And sometimes, if you could see some of the damaged books we’ve got returned before, it’s kind of good he’s that way. Or else this place would have no books for anyone to read.” Adam opened up a bit about his friend. He knew people had their own ideas about his uptight friend, but he was a good guy. “But he would do something like that. You’re not wrong. I just....” Then he stopped, looking down to the ground briefly as they walked. He noticed how they synced in step. “Prefer being alone--- at times.” He empathized on the latter of his words. Most of the time was a truer answer...but despite popular belief there were times Adam liked having company to keep him away from his more harmful thoughts. 

His conversation seemed stilted, as if he was uncomfortable around her. Still? Sure, Tia didn’t blame him, after all, she’d shown up to his house unannounced last time, but at least she’d brought food - and after he’d seen her stitches, had discovered that she too had been attacked, well….. she’d thought he’d be a bit more comfortable around her. “Doesn’t sound all that great. Better though, that’s an improvement.” She offered him a small smile, glad that at least he was feeling somewhat better -perhaps happier that he was here. “No, no, no,” Tiana shook her head, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s not work if I’m helping out a friend. So what can I get you?” Tiana reached for her apron, noticing how eager he seemed to be to leave. It was getting crowded in here, and Adam didn’t seem the type to like large groups of people - after all, he did live in the middle of the woods. “You know what, you’re on break right? How about we both grab some lunch and eat outside? There’s a nice picnic bench out in the park around the corner.”

“Is it the bench closest to the water fountain?” He asked for clarification, mostly because he knew that bench. He knew the map of the park better than he’d like to admit, actually. When he needed a change in scenery, when he actually didn’t feel like brooding within the four walls of his home and in the safe shroud of the deep woods, after the library the park was the next best place. There were a few...friends he’d like to visit there when he got the chance. Though, he wasn’t prepared this time to see them and since she insisted on having him along for lunch. Not like he had any plans but what IF he did have lunch plans already?  “Sure.”  There was a small fondness in his voice, a quick side of him hoping that at the end of this she wouldn’t regret inviting him anywhere since, other than his co-workers, no one bothered inviting him at any time. Taking the first step ahead to allow her at his side, he looked back. “So you don’t eat lunch where you work...?” Then he smiled. Was he trying to be funny? It was indeed a light attempt.