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 Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:43 pm
Some people performed community service as a way to 'repay society for their sins'. They had to, or else they would end up in some juvvie hall. They were easy enough to pick out of a working crowd as well. With their vibrant orange vests, the disgruntled looks of anger and righteous indignation. Not to mention the very shabby looking cloths they wore. What was up with this generations dress style? When did dressing like you were poor become the norm?
Naois shook his head as he tucked a stray strand of crimson hair behind his ear. Unlike the others in the park today, Naois was there because he wanted to be. He had listened to the boastful nonsense that they shared, but did not chime in. He did not agree with their ways of thinking, and he had made this clear when someone had said something negative about the officer that was present in the part. Persons of authority were meant to be respected. Rules existed for a reason. This was how society worked. Naois wiped his brow and gave a glance around where he had been toiling for the past three hours. Actually it had been a pretty fun job for him. He had emptied out one of the park fountains, then collected the coins inside and put them aside according to denomination. After that, he had spent the rest of his time scrubbing the tiled inside on his hands and knee's until every last trace of green had been removed. It was a job well done, and he felt a good deal of pride in restoring the fountain to it's clean state. Smiling to himself, he crawled out of the fountain and turned the spigot on in order to refill the fountain.
"Now that is satisfying." He spoke with pride. His blue eyes peered into the crystal clear liquid pooling within. His good deed was done for the day, and the park looked a little nicer for it!
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:03 pm
Freedom wasn't a word that Tobias often thought of with regards to himself, but being outside in the warm sun, by himself after a long few days of frantic studying for tests that were far less challenging than he'd been made to believe, was the correct terminology for whatever it was that he felt. So here he was, laying on his stomach watching the kids in the orange jumpsuits do their mandatory community service.
But one kid stood out the most as he climbed out of the fountain that had years worth of algae grow. His hair was a bright red and he wasn't wearing an orange jumpsuit and he actually seemed satisfied with all the hard work he'd been doing. Tobias had been watching him for the past hour or so that he had been there. He himself had done community service, but it wasn't anything like this. He had just cleaned animal cages at the local humane society and animal rescue.
He wondered what the other was thinking as he stood to refill the fountain.
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:45 pm
As the fountain refilled, Naois only watched the water for a few moments. It was clean on the inside, but that did not mean he felt like he was finished. The longer he stood by the fountain, the more this itching feeling that he had missed something began to grow. It was not too long before he gave into the feeling and knelt on the outside of the fountain with his bucket of less then sudsy water. He dipped his hand into the bucket to grab the bristly scrubbing brush he had been using on the inside of the fountain, and took it upon himself to start scrubbing the dust worn outside of the fountain. Ah-ha! See! He knew he had forgotten something. The grey of the stone had made it easy to overlook the dust that had worked it's way into the small pocked surface of the fountain. As Naois made his way along the outside of the fountain, he glanced up from time to time to look out into the park.
"Huh..." He murmured as he finally realized that the number of orange jumpsuit wearing offenders had dwindled. He really must have lost track of time. Though he paused, he did not stop at his task. He needed to finish this first before he packed everything away. In his glancing, he spied Tobias watching a distance away. At first he did not truly see him...not until, after his third look up, it dawned on him the boy was still looking in his direction. Naois hesitated in his scrubbing and sat up on his knees. His red hair flopped against his head as he looked behind him and around. Was...someone watching him? Really? There was no one behind him...or in his general line of sight right now. Uncertainly Naois looked back over at Tobias and lifted one wet hand in a half wave. Oh god... maybe they had met before and he had just forgotten? That would be incredibly embarrassing if that was the case!
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:32 pm
As time passed Tobias had laid his head on his fist, ignoring the faint itching sensation that came with laying on the grass for so long. The community service kids were slowly trickling away as their allotted time for the day came and went. But the one kid with the hair in the fountain merely continued to work. This time he was scrubbing the outside of the fountain, which seemed to be moot point to Tobias. The gray stone was still the same color it had been before he'd taken the scrub brush to it.
But now it seemed like the kid finally noticed that he was being stared at. When the kid waved at him Tobias replied with a long slow blink, then a small motion with his other hand. He shifted his weight and settled down to do more staring. Though he didn't understand what was so appealing about staring at a stranger, he supposed that it did pass the time.
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:13 pm
He returned the wave...but it was slow. Maybe he did not know him after all? It was both a relief and a curious situation. If he did not know him it saved him the embarrassment of not remembering someone. On the other hand though...it started to eat at the back of his mind. Why was he watching him? Naois paused halfway through cleaning the outside of the fountain and wiped his brow with one wrist. Dropping the brush into the bucket he had been cleaning with, he stood and wiped his hands on his pants. He couldn't just keep ignoring the boy that was staring at him. If it was someone he knew...then it would be rude. Very rude of him to ignore him. And if he did not..well..he could at least find out what was so interesting. Maybe he saw something that Naois had missed?
Naois turned and crossed the space between himself and Tobias. His hands slipped into his jean's pockets and, as he grew closer, he really began to doubt that this was a face he'd forgotten. With scars like that he didn't think anyone could forget that face. His steps hesitated, pausing as a faltering feeling to return to his task overcame him. He had come this far though, and he'd look foolish if he did not finish his approach.
"Ah...hi..." He called out as he got within a polite speaking distance of the boy.
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 7:21 pm
It was...almost amusing the see the boy falter as he cleaned, and the continuous glancing at him showed just how nervous he was making him. Tobias could almost see the appeal of being creepy, because it brought out different sorts of reaction from people. Most tended to try and ignore his stare, because of the scars on his face. Others got angry at him, then faltered when he show minimal reaction to their wrath. But this boy, not only was he appealing to look at, his reactions were different.
He didn't try shouting at him from the distance and as he approached he seemed nervous, before relaxing, then tensing all over again as some sort of realization hit him. Now he seemed awkward as he stood a polite distance away from Tobias and tried out a greeting. "...Hello." Tobias replied, after a momentary lapse of silence settled between the two.
Tobias had taken the time to study Naois, from the way he moved to his facial features, way of dress, to how he kept his body. The boy obviously did a lot of physical work for his physic was slender, and he had some sort of pride in his appearance because he seemed well kept. There wasn't anything sloppy about him. He was polite since he didn't shout and shortened the distance til he was in easy conversation range before speaking to him.
"Why are you cleaning the fountain?" Tobias asked finally, letting his gaze drift away from the boy onto the half finished project. "It will just be filthy again tomorrow when those kids return."
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:47 pm
A greeting was just a greeting. Until it was that it led to something more. That would be a conversation. Naois was relieved that his greeting did not go unanswered. He was equally relieved that the young man carried the greeting to the next step. Naois was not shy by any small margin. He just felt awkward at times when it came to asking such simple and shaming questions. Like 'Do I know you?' Naois forced his hands to remain flat in his pockets so they would not curl into nervous fists.
He had thought at first that Tobias had been perhaps a teen. But being this close to him, with the scars on his face...he thought perhaps he was a bit older then that. He had such a serious air about him. When Tobias did ask his question, Naois face broke out into a faint smile. His shoulders lifted almost in a shrug before he caught himself and stopped it from happening.
"I work for a temp agency and one of the jobs they had listed was for some community services. Most of the people they put to work in the park are mandated by the court, so clearly they do not do a very good job. So I took the posting." Feeling a bit more relaxed, Naois pulled his hands from his pockets and he pointed towards the fountain. "The fountain had a lot of algae or something in it. It's certainly cleaner now. I doubt it will get that dirty again by tomorrow." Naois turned his blue eyed gaze back down on Tobias. Now that the conversation had begun, he felt more comfortable asking his questions.
"I don't mean to be rude, but have we met somewhere before?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 4:10 pm
"Ah, I was unaware such agencies existed." Tobias murmured, shifting enough to pull out the notebook he'd been laying on. The pen that came with it looked mangled and picked at, the teeth marks in the cap were deep and seemed to have been made over time rather then in one sitting. He flipped open the notebook, which appeared to be new, until he thumbed through the pages filled with text to a clean one near the end. He tapped the page with the pen as he collected his thoughts and jotted down a few things. The meeting with Naois and his observations.
"Why do you work for this Agency?" He asked finally, foregoing answering the others question on if he knew him or not. While it was a valid question Tobias simply didn't feel like answering it just yet. The other would probably leave if he answered, since Tobias was sure that they hadn't met before.
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2010 3:33 am
No. That was the silent answer that Naois gained from Tobias when he chose to open his journal and ask him a question. It was more of a thought on Naois part though. He could not recall anyone with a personality like Tobias' at all, so it simply had to be a no. "They aren't too hard to find really. If you go to the local volunteer centers and such you can find postings on bulletin boards."
Naois tapered off in his explanation then. He looked at the opened notebook curiously. Was this boy writing about him? Or his answer? Slowly Naois lowered himself down to sit in the grass before Tobias. His blue eyes looked over the notebook as he considered his next answer. "The usual reason's that any man performs a task for another I suppose. I work so I can earn money. That is not the reason I go through the Agency though. I chose to go through them so I can have a bit more freedom in what job I perform. I like choosing jobs that I feel have a more moral light to them. Like cleaning the fountain. It helps make the park look nicer. I feel good about the task when I am done, like I've done my part for the day to make things better for everyone around me."
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Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:06 am
Heterochromic eyes seemed to glaze over as Naois spoke, his mind thrown back years ago to the various volunteers that had been at the hospital. At the time he hadn't thought much about them, only about his hurts both physical and mental. But as he listened to this optimistic crimson haired male, he could see the virtues of doing such things. Not that he would do it anytime soon, he thought. To become a Volunteer he would have to care and frankly, he had not motivation to do things that benefited his fellow man.
But the longer he thought about it the more appealing the thought about doing something for someone else sounded. But not something that would actually help a person. Perhaps helping animals? Or online tutoring. He was good with his hands and his academic scores were pretty high... He tapped his pen against his notebook as he organized his thoughts. Yes, perhaps he would at least take a look at this volunteer program service that this boy mentioned.
He wrote this all down to take a look at later before looking back up at Naois. With a soft sound of exertion he shifted into a sitting position and offered his hand. "Tsujinda Tobias." He said, finally introducing himself. "Thank you for telling me about this program, I will look into it more."
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:39 pm
Naois left hand rested lightly in the grass as he watched Tobia's face. It was so scarred up. It was horrific in a way to imagine how that could have happened. It surely would have been something that would have made it to the papers. In order to keep from staring too much Naois glanced down at the grass and began to gently run his fingers through the well trimmed blades. It was the sound and the motion of Tobias sitting up that drew his blue eyes back to the other young man.
Naois noted the offered hand, and quickly brushed his fingers against his thigh to remove any possible grass trimmings that clung to his fingertips. Taking Tobias' offered hand, he shook it with a firm grasp and gave the fellow a genuine smile. "Lockheart Naois." He returned the formal introduction in kind. "I'm glad you find the information interesting. I hope you find something offered that appeals to you. The freedom to chose how you spend your time, I believe, is the greatest benefit of working as a volunteer."
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 3:58 pm
He was used to the stares that his scars drew and didn't seem phased at all as Naois studied his face. Instead he stared back at the teen, before letting his gaze slide elsewhere. It was still a maddeningly cheerful day. He debated on telling him how he'd gotten them, but decided not to, he was rather sick of the pity filled looks he received whenever he did speak of them. Besides, speaking of them always brought back those bad memories, of crushed dreams and too many tears.
Tobias felt a phantom pain flicker over the deeper scars on his arms, but the sensation passed quickly when Naois took his hand. "I am not a people person, so whatever I do decide on would have been from rather limited options. He gave the other a bland look, "But I'm sure there are things for people like me to do, the more unappealing jobs."
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 6:39 pm
Naois slowly shook Tobias' hand. He was looking at him so oddly. Like, he was almost dead with that gaze. There was such a sense of disinterest, or was it detachment? If Naois had been less inclined to respect others personal space he would have leaned in to see if there was any sort of flicker of annoyance or life within Tobias eyes. Instead he merely shook the others hand and formed a faint smile in answer. "You do not necessarily have to take on a unappealing job." He turned to look towards the fountain he had just finished cleaning and nodded towards it while taking his hand back.
"I spent a lot of time working there on my own. It's a pretty relaxing job that doesn't require you to interact with others if you don't want. I'd suggest bringing a MP3 player in that case. Most people tend to avoid disturbing you if you look like your focused on your job and are listening to music." Naois snapped his fingers suddenly and turned to look back at the dark haired boy. "The library. Sometimes they have postings for volunteers to look through books for damages. Like ripped up pages or drawing on the pages that is indecent or makes the page illegible. Or for just basic dusting. Something like that would be a job you could do without anyone bothering you." He suggested with a half smile.
"I'll warn you though, it's not a popular job. It doesn't pay well, the dust can tickle your nose, and there is the great danger of falling asleep from boredom if your not careful."
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:00 pm
Hm, it looked like he was creeping out Naois again, but how? He wasn't doing anything different then normal expect being a little more outgoing a little more friendly. Perhaps he was even caring a little bit more then normal. It escaped him that humans also picked up on the subtle hints of body language and the more bolder expressions of voice and face. That his normally bland seemingly lackluster expression could be anything but the disinterest it supplied.
He listened as Naois started speaking again, tugging his hand free from Tobias's grasp. The library huh? That didn't sound like such a bad place. He already knew about things like the dewy decimal system and how to shelve books from the amount of time he spent studying at the schools library. He didn't get bothered much there, but he wasn't sure if it was because of the way he looked, or the sheer amount of books he usually had piled around him. There was AC and a sense of serene silence that couldn't be broken by what was dubbed 'indoor voices' by parents. It was appealing enough that he hadn't even realized that he'd decided on seeing if he could volunteer for such work until he'd voiced his question. "Do you know if there's an age requirement for it?"
He blinked, seemingly startled at the sound of his own voice. Had he really just..? It seemed so. Well, in for a penny in for a pound. He could withdraw into himself again and...and what? Go back to his normal routine of ignoring the world around him? He thought he was no better then others but he knew that others didn't see it that way. He knew about the labels attached to his name and face nearly as well as he knew what was written in his files in the foster system. No. If he really did want to be free when he turned 18, he had to take forced baby steps.
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 3:23 pm
Naois was sure he saw what he thought was a look of consideration. Tobias was lost in his thoughts for a few moments, and he was content to let him stay there as long as he wished. Naois own thoughts followed along a different trail then the other boys though. Books made him think of the gaming books Indigo had brought over. Which in turn caused him to think about the game and his mind ended up taking a short trip to wondering about finding a used book store. Would they carry the books she had brought over? It would be a way to prove to Indigo that he was serious about remaining a part of her gaming group, or at least learning the game...
"Age requirement?" Even if Naois mind had been elsewhere, he never stopped paying attention to Tobias while waiting for his next response. He was able to easily return to the subject of their conversation. "I think you have to be at least seventeen for most of the jobs. Most people don't want to hire you for anything if your younger. You look about that old so I don't see any problems with anyone accepting your interest." Naois made a small wave of his hand towards the part of the city where he knew the library to be situated. Naois shifted a bit where he sat and drew his knee's up so he could fold them under him Indian style.
"If...you want some help with all this I'd be willing to take you to the places I go to find the jobs? There are two or three good places to check for short term jobs for sure. I can even steer you away from the overbearing employers." Naois felt sure he could give some sound advice when it came to temporary jobs offers. He'd rather take the time to ensure Tobias didn't have his first temp job be a souring one after all.
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