Reading Tea Leaves

[Selina Taylor]

Selina snuck quietly to her favorite corner of the library, her hot thermos filled with jasmine tea hidden in her bag. She wasn't entirely sure whether or not beverages were allowed, but most libraries tended to have a policy against liquid being anywhere near their books, and so Selina wasn't taking any chances. She could have easily asked the librarian on duty, but she didn't quite care enough to start a conversation with a stranger on the subject. 

The library was where she came to avoid people, read, or to just enjoy the silence and think, and chatting with a librarian for however short a time didn't fit into any of those categories. Selina sat down in an armchair and pulled out her recent favorite book regarding the history of homoeroticism in famous literature and kicked off her sandals, before curling her feet underneath of her and taking a sip of piping hot tea. Life was so good.  

Life was so good in fact, that she was starting to get a little bored. She may have had constant conflict at her high schools, but in a sense, the fighting had been entertaining. The conflict had always been provided for her before, so she'd never had to go out looking for trouble but now... Selina shook her head slightly to disabuse herself of the notion. She didn't want to disappoint or worry her mother or Maria, so no conflict here was a good thing... mostly. 

Selina briefly pondered whether or not thriving on conflict was healthy. Was it really such a bad thing if she found comfort in having something direct and real to go up against? Social games were nebulous and always changing, while also being completely foreign to her since in America so many social cues and ideals were so vastly different from what she was used to in Chile. Selina, being competitive as she was, also realized that if she were to truly try to play the game, she'd lose. She'd been mostly alone since secondary school so she was really out of practice. 

Thinking of conversations and relationships in terms of competition probably wasn't the healthiest thing either, but what did she care? She could get a man into bed with her for the sake of entertainment (not that that actually took too much skill) and she could maintain a basic conversation for a few minutes until she found an excuse to get away, so really, what more did she need? A functioning and healthy relationship might have its good points, but there were drawbacks too...

Selina glanced up as she heard someone approaching her corner, slightly surprised that anyone would be here at his late hour. It was well after midnight... Then again, this was college where there were no regular sleep hours. She carefully placed her thermos behind her backpack and out of sight before calling out "Hello?"

There was also a chance she was just hearing things.

[Cade Carson]

Cade snorted as he woke up. He looked around.

"Aw crap I fell asleep. Now I'm going to have trouble sleeping tonight..." That's when he looked at his watch and jumped, before sighing and hitting his forehead gently.

"Well I guess that solves that problem." Then he heard the voice and stood up with a groan, stretching his arms behind his head before walking towards the voice. When he found the source, a girl, he snuck up as close as he could.

"Boo."

[Selina Taylor]

Just as Selina relaxed back into her chair, convinced she'd been hearing things, she heard him speak behind her. She jerked around to face her opponent, her heart beating faster than it should, "Who the hell-?" she started before stopping as her eyes narrowed and she gave him a once-over, "Damn you," she muttered with a small smile, not truly irritated with him but more with herself for reacting to him.

He was pretty easy on the eyes, she had to admit... maybe he could be the type of trouble she needed. "So tell me, is sneaking up on women alone at night a hobby of yours?"

[Cade Carson]

Cade laughed when she jumped. Then she asked about the sneaking up on women at night and he smirked.

"Only when they're into that sort of thing..." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Honestly though, I just accidentally fell asleep in the library. I woke up and followed your voice. I figured if you were confident enough to be alone in a library, you wouldn't be too worried about lil' ol' me causing trouble for you. Thought I'd say hi. I'm Cade."

[Selina Taylor]

Selina smiled at him, "Hmm, suppose it could be my thing... but that all depends on you," she added with a suggestive glance. She watched for his reaction, interested if he was going to go along or end it. She wouldn't mind either way, as he seemed to be a rather compelling individual.

Selina laughed at his story and nodded, "That's a safe enough assumption. I'm Selina, it's a pleasure," she replied, offering him her hand to shake.

[Cade Carson]

"Naw I was kidding. Asked me that a month or two ago and you would've gotten a completely different answer. But now..." Now he was trying to win Devyn's heart. Other girls didn't have the same spark. And he did so love that spark. He shook the hand that was extended towards him.

"So what are you reading about? Fantasy? Science? Boring old textbooks?" He laughed.

[Selina Taylor]

Selina grinned at his answer, "Oh? That so? A lucky guy or lady then?" she asked as reached for her hot tea and took a sip. He didn't seem the type to care if she broke library rules, so she wasn't too concerned.

Selina shrugged and smiled, "Just your typical study on erotic homosexual subtext in historic literature."

[Cade Carson]

"Damn. Why does every girl I meet think I could be gay? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'm totally straight. Even if the girl I like insists that me liking her means I'm gay." He rolled his eyes with a laugh.

"And...erotic homosexual subtext in historical literature? Are we talking Oedipus Complex, or the things in Disney movies people keep trying to say are subliminal messages?" That's right. He knew long words, what of it? He smirked.

[Selina Taylor]

Selina just spared him an amused glance, "I never said anything about being gay. For all I know you could be bi, poly, pan, or ace. I just don't base my assumptions of people's sexuality on how they look is all. If you were Vin Diesel, I'd ask you the same question," she explained wryly.

"And the Oedipus Complex is so fucking heteronormative I won't even begin to start. Not only that but it's based on Freud's ridiculous theories and you don't want me to get started on Freud either," she added with a grimace. She hated Freud more than most to be honest, and it wasn't just because he tried to normalize abusive incest. "But, sure. Disney has gay subtext, though it's not mentioned in this book," she admitted. "This revolves around biblical text and historic playwrights, etc."

[Cade Carson]

"Heteronormative huh? And yeah...Freud was kind of ridiculous. Like his theory about girls having envy over the genitals of men. That one was really weird when I learned about it. And...historic playwrights. Like ol' Will Shakespeare? Some of his plays hinted at that sort of thing if I remember right. Maybe the culture was the real reason Macbeth was driven insane, huh?" He grinned, chuckling.

"Hey, what kind of tea is that out of curiosity?"

[Selina Taylor]

Selina smiled at him and nodded, "That's right, like William Shakespeare," she admitted as she closed the book and took another sip of her tea. "Oh, this? It's Jasmine tea. Just something soothing to help me focus," she explained. "You won't tell on me will you?" she asked with sly smile.

[Cade Carson]

"Well if you want to be technical, I wouldn't need to tell on anyone. I'm staff myself. Besides being a college student, I'm also a recruiter." He shrugged with a smirk.

"But no, your secret's safe with me this once. I empathize with fellow tea drinkers after all. Although I'm partial to Earl Grey and Chamouille though. Good for stress, and they taste great."

[Selina Taylor]

Selina cast him a playfully suspicious glance, "Hmm, I suppose I should be wary then, huh?" she quipped before taking another sip of tea with a smirk.

Selina nodded in acknowledgement of his choices, "I like them too, but Jasmine's always been my favorite since I was young. My mom used to buy it for me as a special treat and I think the nostalgia probably makes it tastes better than it actually does," she admitted.

[Cade Carson]

"Ha. Hardly. I don't have the power anyways. I told you I was staff because I wanted someone to care I was staff, not because I actually have any authority. I got put on probation not too long ago for threatening a student. And carrying around my family's heirloom sword. I didn't use the sword. I did threaten the student, but he was being a total jerk." He sighed, shrugging. Then he took a cup out of the messenger bag he had slung over his shoulder. It was a thermos.

"Earl Grey made with tea leaves. Everything's better fresh. I guess I'm just a pampered rich boy after all." He laughed.

"Never underestimate the power of nostalgia as a flavour. To this day, I love hot dogs, macaroni and cheese because it was the one thing my mum always made me when I was upset. She made it, not our maid. That always made it extra special, even if she couldn't really cook at all."

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina chuckled at his admission and nodded to him, “Very well then, for your sake, I care very much that you’re staff. I think it’s very impressive,” she teased lightly. “And honestly, if he was such a jerk, good for you. I’ve done more than just threaten those types, and frankly I’m disappointed the school didn’t let you keep your power,” she added with a cruel smirk. Selina realized she was being a tad dark and smiled up at him, “But what was that about a family sword?” she asked in curiosity.


    Selina laughed, “I prefer things fresh too, and I’m from the wrong side of the tracks, so you don’t have to worry about judgment from me for that.”


    Selina stared at him in slight shock at the mention of his having a maid, “Never mind. Totally judging. You had a maid?” she asked in disbelief. She’d heard about rich people having servants of course, but to actually meet someone who'd had a maid wasn’t something that had ever happened to her before. She thought people like that existed only on TV and in Hollywood… or Washington D.C.