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The chaos of the beginning of the semester, a job, and generally just existing came at expense of her school work. The only time she managed to work on anything productive came in the odd hours of the night. The hydrokinetic went to several different places to work on her projects. She had to compile a portfolio by the end of the semester utilizing a number of techniques and she couldn't find inspiration in her apartment alone. She found value in the places with history, with torn up booths and flickering road signs. The diner she happened upon a few weeks ago offered a perfect starting point.
Rya looked at her phone and it read 2:21 am. She had class at 9 that morning, so she resigned the idea of getting any sleep. She reached for the coffee sitting in the corner of the booth, and found that it was nearly empty. There was a single young woman on the floor, and she picked up her hand, "Hey," The hydrokinetic called to gain her attention, "Sorry, but can I have a refill on the coffee? It's going to be a long night." The brunette couldn't imagine working the night shift at a diner, but she figured people did what they had to in order to survive.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Lux usually reserved her late nights for her bartender gig, but when someone called in sick and they asked her to cover the shift, she didn't really have the heart to say no. Her hours were already skewed after working several days at the bar. In a row. So really, she didn't mind.
Lifting her gaze to the movement, Luxanna nodded. With a smile, she carried the coffee can over and filled the cup up. She stopped then, head tilting; She recognized the girl. She didn't remember her name, but she definitely recognized her.
It took her a moment before she realized she'd been staring. "Uh, oh, sorry."
The brief acknowledgement turned to outright staring with a look the hydrokinetic couldn't quite decipher. Rya like to believe she was more observant, but that momentary blank that the waitress seemed to have left her genuinely confused. Did she have something on her face? Sometimes she had marks on it from putting the pen the wrong way, but damn, she'd been more careful this time around... she thought? The stuttered apology did little to ease the confusion,"Is everything alright?" Rya asked, setting down the pencil on the table.
The Brit forgot to thank her, to which she quickly remedied, "And thanks, by the way."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
A sheepish smile formed on the brunette's lips when she got caught; She wasn't embarrassed, per say. She decided to simply be honest. "You're..." She paused, brows furrowing together. "Rya, right?" She knew the name was short for something, though, she'd never known what it stood for.
"Friend of Carter's?" She pointed at herself then. "I was his roommate at Bellefonte." She explained. She wouldn't mind the girl not remembering her. Few people usually did, considering how Luxanna's life at Bellefonte had consisted of hanging out with Jack.
Rya placed the coffee she pressed to her lips down slowly. Her eyes traveled across the waitresses face, trying to pull a face to a name. "Yeah, the name's Rya." For a few moments, she felt the frustration of a nameless recognition bubble up and she grabbed her bottom lip with her teeth. As soon as she mentioned Carter and how she, at one point, was his roommate, it all came back. The many nights she bypassed the brunette in the living space to get to the blonde came flooding back, and a name came to mind.
She nodded, "Yeah, yeah." Who would have thought, out of everyone that she could have come across, that Rya'd be recognized through her affiliation with the blonde. She laughed, shaking her head, "You're... Lux-" A pause, "Luxanna? Or am I just completely wrong?"
In truth, Lux hadn't expected the girl to remember her. Few people usually did. Unlike many of her peers, she hadn't spent her school days making herself known. She had been much more comfortable staying in the shadows were no one paid her much attention.
She was surprised though, to hear the girl speak her name. A smile formed on her lips and she nodded, clearly happy that she'd remembered it. "Yeah, but you can just call me Lux." She offered. "It's easier, and sounds... Less strict." She added with a laugh.
Rya pushed the work on the table off to the side then, far more interested in this familiar stranger that filled her coffee cup. The fact that she even remembered still intrigued her, and the once frustrated clench of her jaw eased when the young woman offered an almost relieved smile. The Brit didn't mind much - most people didn't expect her to be the remembering type - so when Lux confirmed her name, Rya was just glad that she didn't completely butcher it the first time around.
"Small world," She exhaled on a quick laugh, "But yeah, makes sense. Lux does slide off the tongue nicely."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Putting the coffee can down on the table, Luxanna moved her hands to her apron, fiddling with it. It was a bad habit - she didn't know what else to do with her hands. At least the girl seemed nice. Nicer than she remembered, but that was hardly fair. At least four years had passed since she'd seen the other brunette and four years was a lot of time for someone to change.
"Beats the alternative." She offered with a simple shrug. "Did you just move back?" She asked, head tilting. She couldn't remember seeing her around before, but then again, Luxanna hadn't been part of the school for the past two or so years, so she could easily have missed the brunette. Especially as their only common friend had moved away after graduation.
Rya spent much of her life acting like she had no concern for other people and did everything she figured would get her in the most trouble. Nobody heard her name, even today, and considered her the nice girl, but that didn't mean she was a complete asshole at all times. She took a sip of the cooling, bitter liquid, "Fair enough."
It seemed that throughout the years, the two women managed to unintentionally avoid the other. She shook her head, "Been here for a while now." Rya had no inclination to return back to England, "Been studying art history and studio art." The brunette gestured to the closed sketch book, "Sometimes this time of night is the only time I can get things done, hence why I'm here."
Luxanna had always envied those who seemed to have it all figured out. And while that might not be the case, Luxanna didn't even know what she wanted to do with her life. What did she want to study? What did she want to work as? What made her happy? She had no idea. She just went with the motions of life.
"Can I see?" She asked then, gesturing towards the sketchbook. Her mother had loved to draw and while she'd never been good at it, she'd taught Luxanna to appreciate art. "As long as you don't mind, of course." She didn't want to bother the girl, after all. Nor did she want to impose. She knew that some artists were incredibly secretive about their works, whether it came from a place of low self esteem or not.
The request surprised her. A person requesting to see what sat in her sketchbook (aside from professors and friends, of course) didn't happen often, especially from a person who seemed so soft spoken. Trying to make the conversation continue, Rya assumed. She had absolutely no issue with showing a few pieces, but only those that were meant for strangers eyes to see.
Too much of her heart sat in her sketches, so she didn't enjoy displaying them too often.
"Not a problem," The hydrokinetic nodded, opening up to her current WIP. The outline of a building sat on the page, only half showing the exterior. The other half sat open faced, small doodles in the middle depicting various, nearly undecipherable actions. "Rough sketch right now, but it's getting there."
What else did Lux have to do at this time of night, when she was (or she assumed as such) her only customer?
