WHO: Penelope Clearwater & OTA WHEN: Wednesday afternoon WHERE: Ministry of Magic tea room/offices WHAT: Complaints? Polite conversation?
Penny's week had already taken a toll on her emotionally and she had a feeling that the early mornings and long hours she was to be working would soon start taxing her physically, as well. While a majority of the Chinese guests spoke decent English, some did not. Even the ones that spoke some English needed her help on occasion: medical terminology was hard to translate at times. Her day had been spent touring different parts of the Ministry and St. Mungo's with those guests who wanted to see the facilities before the lectures and other activities started. She hadn't known she would be something of a tour guide during the week; the classy heels she'd worn today were starting to leave some classy blisters. Some nice, flat sandals were on the horizon for tomorrow.
Finally, though, she'd been let off the hook as the Chinese guests decided to go for dinner and explore part of Muggle London for themselves - at least one of them had visited the city before and they'd told her take a break. Penelope was following this advice and resting her wounded feet in the tea room while she enjoyed a cup of coffee and one of Baxter Bakery's croissants. Multiple packets of cream and sugar were stacked near her mug. The only bad thing about getting a break was that now she had time to reflect on her week and Penny really did not want to go through that right now. Or maybe ever.
Taking a huge bite of the croissant, she attempted to distract herself by going through the names of every guest she'd met today. She could have sworn there were at least five with the last name Li. This lame distraction seemed to work, however, as Penny nearly jumped out of her dress when someone sat down at the table with her.