fandomhigh | Library, Thursday (4/9)

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Library, Thursday (4/9)

Cosette was still poking at the bits of solar generator from class on Monday; there was something she was doing wrong, and she had a fairly good idea that there was some circuit she'd missed out on connecting, but as for what exactly it was, she hadn't narrowed that down yet.

She was in no mood to let that discourage her, so she had several books on basic electronics out on the circulation desk, along with close to a dozen tabs open in her phone browser.

If not for the constant crashing noises coming from the section with all the bowling books, she might have even made some progress on figuring out the problem. But no, she kept having to make trips into that one section to reshelve the bowling books and ask them nicely to behave themselves.

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Hopefully the tennis books don't get ideas from the bowling books.

When she's not resetting the bowling books, that is. They haven't invented an automatic resetter for this, probably.

Edward had vague memories of hearing about Cosette having a library shift on Thursdays. By noon, he'd finally decided to stop by and poke his head in. He'd promised a meal, aye, but he hadn't scrounged up the coin for it yet, and with something else around the corner...

"Cosette," he called. "Good morning!"

Well. Not quite morning anymore.

It wasn't quite afternoon yet, so it still counted!

"Good morning yourself, monsieur Edward," she replied, in a quieter but still cheerful tone. "What brings you here today? Are you looking for any book in particular? I'm happy to help you, if so."

She was a little bit enthusiastic about doing her job. Just a little bit.

That reception alone was enough to draw a laugh and a smile out of Edward. "You're enjoying yourself here, aren't you?" he asked.

"I am indeed," Cosette confirmed, and swept an arm around to indicate . . . well, the library at large. "I have an entire day every week to spend among all these books, and I like helping people find the ones they want."

Or just being helpful in general, really.

"Well, unfortunately, I must impede on your joy," Edward said, walking up to her desk. "I'm not here about a book. I hope that doesn't leave you with too great a disappointment."

Cosette pretended to pout for a moment, but that was as long as she could maintain that expression.

"Only a very little one. I'm glad for the company in any case. At least --" There was another muffled crashing sound from the bowling books section, and she shook her head.

"-- at least it will save me from having to pick up those books again, at least for a few minutes, as they're set on knocking themselves over time after time today."

Intermittently, but they were more obnoxious about it after they somehow came up with a 7-10 split.

"Regardless, if you don't mind my asking, what are you here about then, if not books?"

"Well, as I recall, I discovered a rather terrible piece of information about you recently," Edward said, grinning.

Though not before darting a glance over to whatever the bloody hell that noise was.

"I'm proposing a change to the terms of our agreement," he said loftily. "Instead of a meal, how would you feel about attending the dance with me, instead?"

"And here I was looking forward to that meal, but prom, do you mean?" From the surprised but pleased expression on her face, Cosette didn't seem to mind the change in terms. "I'd like that, yes. I think that's a perfectly reasonable change to make, and I'll gladly accept that proposal."

"Your willingness to cope with me does you credit," Edward teased. "Aye, prom, it is."

Now he'd be in a good mood all day. How terrible.

"I'll pick you up shortly beforehand?"

A good mood? HOW AWFUL.

"Oh, it's no hardship at all, I promise you that," Cosette said, laughing. "The opposite, in fact. Even if this will be very different from climbing trees. Tomorrow evening then, is it?"

And now she'd have to come up with something to tell her father about why she needed to go find a nice dress -- she'd be lying out of kindness, really, since even the vaguest and most oblique of implications that she might go away someday did not go over well with him at all.

"Tomorrow evening," Edward agreed, and took a little bow, just because he could. "We'll find a table or something hideous to climb on, instead. Considering our student council, I'm sure there'll be something."

"And see how everyone looks from up there?" No, Cosette couldn't quite keep a straight face while saying that, though she did return Edward's bow with a little curtsey of her own. "Well, even if we don't find something I'm sure it will be a nice time, and I'm looking forward to it."

"So do I," Edward said, flashing her a smaller smile that was no less genuine. "I'm not entirely certain if I've mentioned, but I rather enjoy your company."

You know, in case all the flirting he'd been doing these past few weeks didn't make that entirely clear.

Clear enough that Cosette's cheeks went a little bit pink. "I would hope that was the reason you had been seeking it out," she said, because she might be blushing but she wasn't so flustered that she couldn't tease. "And as it happens, I quite enjoy yours as well, so I'm glad you asked."

Edward grinned, and leaned his arms on the desk.

"But, now that that's settled," he said, "Tell me about this love affair with books you have."

Cosette moved the solar generator components aside and raised her eyebrows quizzically. "I -- well, I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, truly. I didn't have many of them before I came here. We weren't allowed anything at the convent but religious texts, and my father got me a few stories and history books before we left Paris, but until I got here, I had no idea how many kinds of things one could find in books."

If she'd been a Disney princess this would have been the cue to start up a musical number, she was that excitable about it.

"So I've years of lost time to make up for, do you see?"

"Aye, I can understand that much," Edward said. His voice dropped a bit as he continued. "Didn't really get my letters until I got here," he admitted quietly. "I'm trying my best to catch up myself."

He didn't generally go about admitting that to everybody, but he had a feeling she'd understand.

"I didn't learn until I was eight or so, myself, when my father took me in," Cosette answered with an understanding nod, and not a hint of anything negative. "It isn't always expected of girls to know, not where I'm from, but he made a point of teaching me, and I'm glad he did. People now seem to take it for granted that we know."

"I know, it's odd," Edward said wryly. "I mean-- good, that such a thing is now possible. But used to be you could get by without reading signs or squinting at letters on glowing screens."

Not that he'd been content with his level of education back home, but still.

"Or knowing how to put together electronic things," added Cosette, gesturing at the solar panel with a playfully exasperated sigh. "Or, for that matter, having to read the instructions for them. For all that there are devices to make life easier, it's still an awful lot of new things to learn just to be able to use them, isn't it?"

Which she did enjoy, because it was a challenge, but it was a challenge.

"I don't know if the people here fully realize how much they're building on the works of their ancestors," Edward mused.

He took a look towards that solar panel. "I reckon it's a lot easier to master when you've grown up with things like it."

Hi, John.

Nooooo how are my two weeks off almost over? D:

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Library, Thursday (4/9)

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Talk to the Librarian

OOC [Library 4/9]