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Post by DarkSideCookie on Mar 3, 2023 10:10:05 GMT -8
Brian had only slightly smirked into himself at her further joking remark, assuming that the girl was about to escape the classroom as everyone else did before her soon anyway.
"So um...I heard about your daughter. I'm so sorry."
Her speaking up again made him turn his full attention back to her after all, one eyebrow cocked in slight surprise, even more so at the straight-forward topic that Brian wouldn't have thought to have made the round here already. His features were clearly telling of his guess of where she got that information. Of course. Emmett. He had learned that they were good friends.
"We were friends. Well, sort of..."
At that, now both eyebrows raised in surprise. Not only was Brian surprised about a university student been friends with his daughter, but also because he knew Jewel well enough. Unfortunately, he didn't have a lot of friends, especially not in the real world. On another note, Brian was more than happy to hear that he seemed wrong about that, no matter the girl's addition. It truly warmed his heart that somebody cared enough to call her sort of a friend at least.
"We were coworkers, on our way to becoming friends..."
The expression on his features changed once again as he focused on another element of her remark. Co.. workers? Confusion appeared on Brian's face. "How do ye mean-- coworkers?" As far as he knew, and he should know about this, Jewel didn't work anywhere but only went to school. Was it possible that this girl was mistaking her for someone else? For the sake of Jewel's loneliness, he hoped not. But still, this was weird.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Mar 4, 2023 12:21:13 GMT -8
Journey mistook his confusion, assuming it was over the word 'coworker', because it was the only logical reason to have found any confusion over what she'd said. She found herself suddenly confused in turn. He had an accent, so maybe English wasn't his first language, but wasn't it a fairly enough common word, particularly in the workplace?
Shifting uncomfortably, she tucked her hair behind her ear as she thought of the most tactful way to proceed. Journey kept her voice as friendly and as light as possible, treading carefully and showing that she was trying hard to inform, yet in no way, insult or make someone feel dumb for not understanding. People could be really sensitive about not understanding something, then having someone try to educate them. "Um... 'co', as in the prefix for 'together', and worker, well, of course, you know what that is," she said on an awkward, uncomfortable chuckle. Why did she even have to mention that part? 'Oh my god, please open up and swallow me, ground,' she mentally cringed at herself, "So, um, as in, someone you work together with?"
She watched him expectantly with a slight cringe on her face that silently begged, 'please don't be mad at me'.
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Post by DarkSideCookie on Mar 21, 2023 11:29:26 GMT -8
Brian couldn't help but react with even more confusion to her sudden shifting and obvious uncomfortableness. Had his question or the tone of it been too harsh or something?
"Um... 'co', as in the prefix for 'together', and worker, well, of course, you know what that is,"
At that, once again, both his eyebrows were rising, this time not in confusion but a bit of amusement, although with no hint of a smile on his face just yet. Instead of breaking into the girl's words, stopping her funny assumption of him not getting the meaning of the word 'coworker' - did he really look so dumb? -, Brian let her go on even.
"So, um, as in, someone you work together with?"
Finally, he smirked a little, shaking his head slightly in now visible amusement. "Thanks for teachin' me that, kid, but what I meant was," Brian paused, thinking about how to phrase this without coming off as a father who didn't know his own child. It was not at all due to disinterest but to her, obviously, having gotten secrets from him, about working somewhere at that. Why would she? Had she thought the money he'd earned for them wasn't enough anymore? That she had to chip in by working as well? Brian really hoped that hadn't been the case. "Where- are ye working- exactly? Ye know, she... Jewel lately had the habit of keepin' things to herself," he added a bit more quietly, almost to himself only. "I just- didn't know that would include havin' a job."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Apr 1, 2023 21:28:56 GMT -8
"Thanks for teachin' me that, kid, but what I meant was,"
"Oh, the accent, I thought... Sorry," she quickly apologized in his pause with a matching 'my bad' cringe as she broke off. He looked serious again and distracted in thought, which got her caught up in her own thoughts again. What had been the confusion? Could it be that he didn't know that his daughter had a job? Wasn't a young adult getting a job something that either the parents had nagged them into getting into, or on the reverse side, an achievement a kid proudly told their parents about?
"Where- are ye working- exactly? Ye know, she... Jewel lately had the habit of keepin' things to herself," "I just- didn't know that would include havin' a job."
"She took on an internship at GSS," she said, knowing he'd know what that was by the abbreviation since Jewel had told her he'd had a big presence in the OASIS in the past. "Sorry, I had no idea that you didn't know," she apologized again. She'd have approached this much more delicately rather than the huge dump of shocking information all at once. Journey tried to ease the shock and surprise this must have brought him. "I loved collaborating with her. She's really creative and a wonderful storyteller. Really helpful in worldbuilding in the OASIS. And she is just the sweetest person I've ever met," she stressed with an affectionate smile as she placed a hand over her heart.
Journey had already taken more of his time than she'd anticipated and felt as if he might need some alone time to digest this job revelation, so she got to the actual point of why she'd approached him in the first place. "I wanted to ask, can I visit her?"
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Post by DarkSideCookie on Apr 19, 2023 8:06:11 GMT -8
"She took on an internship at GSS,""Sorry, I had no idea that you didn't know,"
On Brian's features - for once - a mix of emotions was readable. Usually, he did well at keeping everything inside, but this was a lot of information all at once. Not only the job-thing in general but, especially, the place she had been working at. GSS. Of course, Brian knew everything about that company. He knew that Jewel had come up with an immense interest in everything regarding the OASIS but not that it had been so much that she actually would have wanted to work for those creating it. But still, why wouldn't she have told him? Had Jewel thought he wouldn't have allowed it just because he had stopped spending time with it himself? And what was even more important, could that fact have had anything to do with the fact that she fell into a coma while logged into the game?
Brian got lost in these thoughts, so much so that he almost didn't catch the girl's next words.
"I loved collaborating with her. She's really creative and a wonderful storyteller. Really helpful in worldbuilding in the OASIS. And she is just the sweetest person I've ever met,"
He tried pulling himself together and smiling a bit even. "That- sounds a lot like her..." Brian whispered in her pause, more to himself, or at least quiet enough that one might think it was meant for himself only.
"I wanted to ask, can I visit her?"
His eyes were clearing a bit more at that question, realizing only then how absent-minded he'd been. With a quiet harrumph, he replied: "Yeah. Of course. Jewel would love that." Brian was adding a slight smile that looked a bit sad at the same time. Jewel really would have loved that. This girl seemed like someone she would have become friends with, so he really wanted to believe they were close or on their way to becoming close at least.
Brian quickly busied himself with packing his books and pencils back into his bag before she even could say something else, actually just busying himself with anything that would cover the upcoming feeling, or rather panic, rising inside him. Calm, Brian, calm. It's all fine. All fine.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on May 6, 2023 17:18:59 GMT -8
A sadness had come over him and she felt bad for being the one to put it there.
He was packing up his things, no doubt not being comfortable over the feelings he was feeling in front of a relative stranger, a trait she often times saw in people who put on a rough and gruff front like he did. She started slowly sidestepping her way to the door as she spoke.
Journey hiked the strap of her backpack higher up on her shoulder. "Great, thanks," she said softly. "I'll tag along with Emmett next time he goes."
Not liking leaving anyone in a sad mode whether she felt at fault for it or not, Journey turned to take the last few steps backward. With her bubbly positive energy back in place, she gave her usually infectious cheery grin. "Love the accent, by the way," she said, referring to the lilting sound of the Irish accent that made everything they said almost sound like a song. "Even the 'f' word sounds like music to me ears," she added in an impressive imitation of an Irish accent.
Snapping both her fingers toward him, she pushed her back against the door in a flourish of an exit.
***Journey exits to Halliday University - Hallways and Lounge Outside Classrooms***
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Post by DarkSideCookie on May 18, 2023 3:13:32 GMT -8
"Great, thanks,""I'll tag along with Emmett next time he goes."
Brian looked up from his bag, almost finished by now, only slightly. Again, he forced a smile, and, again, this felt like too much already.
Although Brian appreciated being left alone, something inside of him didn't want to be. The panic became worse with each further second. So bad that he, eventually, even physically tried swallowing it down at some point. By the time the girl turned around towards him one last time, a happy smile back on her face, Brian had managed to push it into the background enough to not appear too weird.
"Love the accent, by the way,""Even the 'f' word sounds like music to me ears,"
Brian actually had to chuckle at that, not loud but with honesty. "Ye won't blow the whistle on me, right? Schools don't like the 'f' word so much, y'know," he replies with a slight smirk, not expecting an answer though but, instead, just let a nod follow to serve as a farewell.
As soon as all students were out of the classroom, the smile vanished immediately, making place for hard features, a way of trying to fight any difficult emotion inside of him.
***
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jul 1, 2023 23:43:39 GMT -8
The rest of the morning passes.
It is now late afternoon, Monday, September 29th, 2070.
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