Anna might be (elatedorgassy) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-04-21 18:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, anna of arendelle, emma frost (white queen) |
Who: Emma Frost and Anna of Arendelle
When: Recently, March
Where: Cafe
What: Anna’s made a mess of things, like always
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Anna was in a cafe, desperate for something sugary, warm, and full of caffeine. A huge exam was approaching in one of her many classes, and with paper-writing and all her other homework, she wasn’t sure she was going to have time for this if she didn’t pull all-nighters. So that meant caffeine. Lots of it. Maybe taking eight classes this quarter wasn’t the best idea in the world.
The beautiful barista behind the counter passed Anna’s drink to the sleepy redhead, and Anna turned to take it to a table… but the cup caught the edge of the bar and went toppling over, spilling hot, mocha goodness all over the floor! Anna was distraught as she started tugging napkins from the machine to try and clean it up. She thought she might cry.
Emma just managed to remove her cream Jimmy Choo from the carnage that was about to spill over the floor. Coffee plus satin designer shoes was not a good combination. Had the spill actually caught her it would’ve been an eruption of apocalyptic proportions.
Thankfully it missed, and the flustered redhead attempted to clean up the mess, which apparently wasn’t entirely unusual if the eye roll from the barista was anything to go by. “Dear, why don’t you stand up and let the girl with the mop in.” At least then the sea of mocha would stop spreading. “Would you please make her another coffee rather than stand there staring?”
Emma’s finely arched brow gave the barista the indication that it wasn’t a suggestion either.
Anna was still bent over, trying to clean things up when the woman with the white blonde hair came over and started giving employees instructions. Thank God someone was here to help, because the redhead couldn’t have done it on her own. As baristas scrambled to comply, cleaning the spill and making Anna a new drink, the younger girl stood up straight again and started straightening her clothes.
She felt relieved, but also embarrassed. This whole mess was her fault. “Thank you,” she said, breathlessly.
It was as if they’d never seen a spill before. Honestly. “That’s quite alright,” still, Emma’s benevolence only happened because her shoes weren’t ruined. “Why don’t you sit yourself down, and this lovely young lady here will get your coffee over to you, hmm.” And the look Emma gave the barista brokered no argument, leaving her no option but to prepare the drink to bring over to Emma and Anna, “I’ll have another skinny latte while you’re at it, dear.”
Hand on Anna’s back, Emma steered the girl away from the carnage, getting side eyes the whole way and mutters. Whatever, it wasn’t like Emma didn’t know exactly what they were thinking. “You’re the young Arendelle girl, aren’t you?”
Anna had no choice but to move over and take a seat where the white-blonde woman led her. It wasn’t like this was a traumatic experience, but it was quite shocking and a little embarrassing, so now she was a bit outside her head. She gave the woman a nod and a little smile. “Anna,” she said. “You… you know the company?”
Emma just took her own seat opposite, making sure the barista’s were moving swiftly to replace the drinks. “I do, I worked with your parents,” a brief partnership, mostly because she was working through Sebastian’s company at the time, but it had been a pleasant working experience, “I was shocked and saddened to hear of their passing.” After all, people who actually cared and were good at their jobs were hard to come by.
“I’m Emma, you seem to be having an off day.”
Anna had brightened a little when she learned the blonde woman--Emma--had worked with her parents. But the mention of their passing dimmed her smile a little. Anna still wasn’t over it. She felt like an orphan more often than not. And though she had Elsa, she was still alone. A lot.
“Thank you,” she said, nodding once. That’s pretty much what she said when people talked about her parents’ death. It was weird, and she still hadn’t processed it all. “I’m Anna,” the smile spread a little, becoming more genuine. “Thank you for noticing. I mean, it’s just… a weird day. Bad day, I guess. Everyone has to have one to appreciate the good ones?”
“I suppose, that’s one way of looking at it,” at least then Anna’s replacement coffee was brought over, the barista a little awkward looking as she placed the drinks down, just for Emma to hand over a bill and wave her off. It was spare change to the business woman anyway.
She didn’t miss the downturn in mood, of course. Some parents were better than others, and clearly Anna’s parents were in no way like Emma’s. “Perhaps a little time to calm and settle will help, hmm?” At the very least the replacement coffee would.
“Yeah.” Anna said, wrapping both hands around the cup that was set in front of her. “Thank you,” she added. Again. She was starting to feel like a broken record now, with all the thanking. But Anna was grateful, and she wanted to make sure that got across.
“I’ve got class this afternoon, so I want to make sure I’ve got my head on straight for that.” She’d need a couple of minutes to calm herself before running off to school.
“It can be overwhelming at times, studies do tend to need a lot of attention.” And usually some support system, but sometimes that just wasn’t available. Like when your parents suddenly vanished from your life, Emma would assume. “What classes are you taking?”
She knew that the elder daughter had taken over most of the company, Emma hadn’t attended funeral services because she’d been overseas on something for Sebastian when she’d heard the news, and even then, Anna’s parents were only business associates, so she doubted she’d had done more than send a flower arrangement anyway.
“I’m studying art history and hospitality management this quarter,” Anna replied. At her best she was a well-spoken and intelligent young woman, albeit a little excitable. At her worst she could be flustered and scatterbrained. “I want to open my own art gallery one day, I think.” She beamed at the idea of her future career. “But there’s a lot to learn about owning a business.” Especially to a girl who had been so sheltered for so much of her life.
Business, any kind, was a complicated venture. Emma could attest to that. Although she’d been groomed for it from her youngest. While her father was a controlling, manipulative, misogynistic beast of a man, he still was an ambitious and ruthless type. Using his children to attain more wealth was merely a strategic move in his part.
“That sounds like a fascinating class load, and you’re enjoying it?” Emma took business and psychology, it was less for enjoyment and more for a means to an end. She was going to run her own business empire, and she would do it well, the psychology was merely an attempt to understand the inner workings of her future opponents minds.
“I’m loving every second of it,” Anna said, beaming brightly. “I like staying busy, and looking at fantastic art is my favorite thing to do in the whole world.” It made sense that she’d want to do something that combined art with business. She had to make money to live, and she didn’t really fit into a lot of the roles that were pre-established in the world.
“I think if you can join your interests and your career together, it’s the best way to go.” Kept things from really getting frustrating and boring, after all people always said to do things that you love. Find a career in a hobby, earn money doing something you enjoyed doing. Emma wasn’t sure if that translated well for everyone, but it seemed to be a good aim to have.
“Although, I dare say you’d be finding that coffee is one of the only ways to really keep yourself going? I remember college, all that running around, the classes. Barely a chance to stop and just relax for a moment.” She assumed that was where the slightly frazzled clumsiness with the coffee came from at least.
“Oh, yes,” Anna said, sheepishly, going a little pink at that thought. “I mean, I’m on campus for ten to twelve hours every day, so I spend a lot of time and money on coffee. And Red Bull.” She wasn’t really ashamed, though Caroline and her ex-boyfriend tried to get her to stop drinking Red Bull. The bastards. Red Bull was freaking amazing.
“When finals time comes around, it gets that much worse. Sometimes I run on four hours sleep. If I’m lucky.” Thankfully, Anna was one of those people who could do such a thing. She just needed a nice shower to get started in the morning.
It sounded like a massive undertaking, but some people were far better suited to it, at least when they had the drive to do well. Which Anna appeared to have. The dangers to her liver and kidneys didn’t seem like too much of an issue for her just yet. The merits of youth.
“Well, you’re best doing it all now, while you’re young and can handle it.” Emma got to the point in life where she would beg for a few more hours in her bed in the morning -not entirely just because Jean was right down the hall either. “Especially if it paves the way for your future.” The sooner the better with a lot of people, wasn’t it. Additionally college years wasn’t always what someone wanted.
“That’s the plan,” Anna said. For a girl who didn’t really have much future when she was a small child, she was putting together something of a name for herself now. It was exciting to be Anna, really, when she was having a good day. School was good, her home life was good, her sister was happily married, and Anna was on the brink of her future. “Thank you again, for everything. I really should be getting back home so I can get back to my studies.”
“It’s no problem,” a single cup of coffee and a small chat, it did wonders for people, “I do hope we run into one another again.” Because yes, Emma was entirely fine with exploiting her own good will at times if it meant she could endorse someone else. If Anna was going to build up her own artistic future, well, that might require a little investment here and there.
“Take care, Anna.”