I Don't See the Problem

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth didn't usually go to bookstores to read. She liked going to them to bulk buy the books and then devour them at home. Today was not one of those days. Her spacious apartment suddenly felt a little too lonely so she decided to be among people.

The Nook was rarely rowdy, which meant whatever noises were made, it was quite obvious. That didn't seem to bother Elizabeth as she pored into her newest obsession, curled up in one of the big comfy armchairs as she gasped and mumbled to herself at certain paragraphs in the book.

She must have really struck a nerve when she realised someone was glaring at her. She paused from reading to drink her hot cocoa to see someone shooting daggers at her across the cafe. She raised an eyebrow in question.

[Thane Thompson]

Thane quickly looked away from her gaze. "Nothing." He grumbled under his breath as he read his own book behind the counter. Thane was a blonde haired youth with sparkling green eyes. He wasn't used to conflict; so when she turned around it had suprised him slightly. ::"Hopefully this doesn't escalate...":: Thane thought to himself. As she read he started taking stock of the shelves.

"...maybe keep it down a bit..." Thane muttered under his breath as he took a book off the shelf to examine its title and placed it back on the shelf. Occasionally glaring back at Elizabeth. He didn't even understand why he was angry at this point; he just knew he was and that Elizabeth was at least in some way causing that.

[Elizabeth Edison]

When the young man turned away, Elizabeth felt childishly victorious. But she did realise he was still giving her dirty looks and when she saw him mumbling, her eyes narrowed and she returned to her book once more.

At one point, she realised he wasn't going to stop staring so she went over to him and sat beside him, ordering another mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows.

"Hi, you okay there bub?" She asked, a little too cheerfully. "Couldn't help noticing you glaring at me."

[Thane Thompson]

Thane sighed and turned around. "No problem at all, ma'am; allow me to get you that hot chocolate for you." Thane said smiling brightly - if fakely.

He poured the hot chocolate out of the pot and added tiny marshmallows. He then added whipped cream to it. "I suppose it's just the stress of working towards my tuition." Thane said once again very cheerfully.

"...perhaps it was just the fact that if you read any louder; someone in Kansas could hear you..." Thane muttered. Adding cinnamon sugar to the top of the whipped cream; he set it down in front of her. "There you are. Can I get you anything else?" He asked straining to stay nice. He couldn't afford to lose this job. Not now. He was so close. He had to stay nice.