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 Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:56 pm
Careful not to swing the grocery bags that she carried, Aria hurried through the crowd, trying her hardest not to accidentally hot anyone. Her gazed was glued to the ground as she slipped past people, murmuring quick apologizes every time her shoulder even brushed that of a stranger'. Large crowds made her uneasy and this, to say the least, was indeed a large crowd.
She had woken up this morning to be greeted with a nearly empty fridge. Upon seeing this, she had decided that - after an hour or two of writing her novel - she would go out and do some shopping. Unfortunately, it seemed that she wasn't the only one to run out of food as the moment she got to the store, she found that it was surprisingly - and uncomfortably - packed.
If she could, Aria likely would have turned right around and gone back home, but she couldn't ignore the fact that, without ingredients, she wouldn't be able to cook for herself as usual. As for going out to eat...well, it'd be somewhat fun if she had someone to go eat with, but going alone all the time had gotten boring. Not to mention somewhat depressing.
Aria yelped in alarm as she felt someone shoulder past her roughly. To her great dismay, she found one the bags she carried slipping from her fingers and dropping. Oranges rolled across the pavement as she scrambled to pick them up, embarrassed as those who walked by only turned to stare at her. One or two people would pause to help her, picking up a couple of the fruits before turning and resuming their own business.
'I'm no good with people...'
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 4:00 pm
An orange rolled and stopped at the hem of her skirt. Hae-min stared at it for a moment before picking it up and looking for the owner of the orange. The only prospective one she could see was a young lady with hair as dark as hers (though it was nowhere near as long; she preened for a moment). She was picking up a couple more oranges and putting them back in a bag, and looked quite distressed.
She cut her way across the stream of Americans passing by and placed the orange that had bumped into her and a few more that she had picked up into the bag as well. "You need help, neh?" With a cute tilt of her head, she tucked her small handbag into the crook of her elbow and offered both her hands to the girl. This one couldn't be older than her, definitely not. Hae-min's critical eye also considered that she seemed...
Well, that wasn't her place to think about.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 5:22 pm
Looking up in surprise at the voice, Aria seemed to jump back slightly. She took in the sight of the other young woman, before smiling somewhat nervously. "I...th-thank you for the help." She murmured when she noted that she had returned some of the oranges. Giving a half-bow - and belatedly realizing she was still kneeling on the ground - she stood up quickly, waving her hands dismissively.
"Ah - no, it's okay. P-please don't trouble yourself. I'm...I'm alright." Red-faced, Aria offered her another smile, her gaze flickering down to her grocery bags. "It...happens kind of often. I'm a little nervous when it comes to big crowds, is all..." Trailing off slowly, she coughed softly into her hand, looking a little embarrassed.
"Anyways...I - uh - should probably get home soon. I'm not a great cook, but I'd probably starve if I don't eat something soon..." She said, aware that it was nearing lunch time.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 6:49 pm
Hae-min smiled pleasantly. She firmly believed in passing favors on (as well as paying the one who did the favor back) so she picked up one of the bags. "Non-sense," she said, splitting it into two separate words. "It take you long time cook, neh? If you not mind, my house not far. You come eat with me?" If the lady said no, then she said no. But if she said yes, there would be someone to fob off some of the large quantities of American food her staff made onto.
"It not crowded at home," she added, looking at Aria. "So you not need worry."
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:14 pm
Aria stared at the other young woman, startled by her offer. She was asking her to have lunch? Having never been asked such a thing, especially by someone she just met, she was unsure how to answer. While her mind was telling her to politely reject it, a small voice in the back of her head was encouraging her. This young woman seemed kind - perhaps she'd make a new friend.
Before she realized what she was doing, Aria nodded. "That...that would be pleasant. If it's really no trouble, and you wouldn't mind my presence..." She smiled, still looking somewhat flustered as she dipped her head. "Um, I probably should have done this sooner...but I'm Aria. It...It's nice to meet you, miss."
Pausing, she rubbed the back of her neck shyly, "And um, thank you."
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Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 7:11 pm
She bowed a little. "It not problem, miss." With a little tilt of her head to show Aria the direction in which they should walk, she pattered off towards home. "My name Mhin Hae-min. You call me Hae-min, neh?" It seemed to be an American tradition to call others by their first name, so she'd give her first name as the name to use. Even though it was rude... She frowned a little and turned onto her street with a glance behind her to make sure that Aria was still there behind her.
"What size your shoe?" It had just occurred that she might not have guest-sized slippers for this girl. One of her own spare pairs might fit, but if she needed a larger pair then she would like to be able to call ahead.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 4:13 pm
"Hae-min?" Aria repeated, just to make sure that she got the young woman's name right. It was a nice name - did it mean anything, she wondered? Deciding she may come off as rude if she asked, she only smiled and gave another dip of her head. Hae-min certainly seemed kind, and Aria intended to be on her best behavior. Not that she was ever on anything but her best behavior...
Aria really needed to get out and loosen up some time.
Caught offguard by the question, the girl blinked in surprise. "My...shoe size?" She glanced down at her feet as she walked, looking thoughtful, "I think around a 5 or 6?" She was puzzled as to why she needed to know but, as usual, kept her mouth shut. Still, the curiousity shone in her dark blue eyes as she followed after the young woman.
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 8:45 pm
"You only a little bigger than me," she said pleasantly as she climbed the steps to the door of her brownstone, pulled out her keys, and tripped lightly inside. Just to the left of the entrance was a small tower of cubbies with soft-looking slippers inside; Hae-min pulled out a pair of purple ones and traded them for her socks and sandals, then put a pale yellow pair before Aria. "Change shoes." It was a Japanese custom, but her family had adopted it just because slippers were more comfortable than shoes. While Aria did that, she looked around for one of the servants to take the girl's bags and put them away until she was ready to leave. After all, she didn't want anything to rot.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:52 pm
She followed the young woman in smiling as she was given a pair of slippers. "Thank you..." She hesitated, "Hae-Min." It always took her time until she became comfortable to call someone by their name.
Obediently, she slipped off her shoes, and put on the slippers. This was likely one of the only Japanese custom she and her parents kept. For everything else, her parents had assimilated into the North American culture. If it had been up to Aria, she would have preferred to keep most of her family customs, but - having been born in a North American country - wasn't very knowledgeable about Japan, to say the least.
"You have a very lovely house." She commented, glancing around a little. It seemed far more pleasant then the little room Aria usually spent her time in at home to write.
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