Vitam et Mortem IC - Arcadia Coffee Shop

BrookeDi

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In the corner of Arcadia's massive library, there is a large section taken up by a Starbucks coffee shop. It's large enough for three registers, several tables (ranging from two-six seats per table), and a little caddy in the middle of the entire set up with all the sugars, creams, stirrers, and oddball toppings that are common at Starbucks.

Even between classes business remains fairly consistent through out the day, though the tables remain mostly open. Early morning and around lunch time are the busiest and most difficult times of day to find a table.
 
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Kennedy Alice Sparks

Kennedy arrived to the Library right at twelve, fluffing her hair in the window before entering and taking a direct left to the modest sized Starbucks tucked into the library. She looked around, hoping to spot the potential roommate, and when she didn't spot her right away she pranced on over to the counter, placing a simple order of a sweetened black tea, hot. She had a bright green backpack over her shoulders and a large tote purse hanging off the crook of her arm. This is where she fished out the cash she used to pay for her drink. After her drink had been purchased and the receipt tossed, she waited idly by the counter to collect her drink.

The hot beverage was handed over soon enough and Kennedy found a two person table, letting both of her bags fall to the ground before she took her seat. The tea was set aside and she dug out a small notebook from her purse, flipping to a page and began taking notes. Mostly about Margaret's potential.

During her wait, though, she found herself pondering her last meeting in this same Starbucks. She wondered why Margaret hadn't made it to that meeting, but she'd be meeting Freddy soon enough, she supposed. This train of thought, though, led to her wondering what level within the group she actually was. It was too late now, though, to change her requirements to someone higher in the Society. It was fine, she supposed, the important thing was living with someone she could be both a sorceress and a VeM member in her own home with.

When the next person wandered into the library coffee shop, Kennedy's eyes rose locking onto the person, a charming smile at the ready in case the stranger made eye contact and it either happened to be a cutie or her potential roommate (who also could be a cutie, who knows).
 
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Margret walked into the coffee shop for the second time that day, her phone held in a hand with the screen facing upwards and the picture of the girl on the screen. She glanced at it every so often to refresh her memory. As soon as she walked in, she turned her head to look for Kennedy. She hoped in the back of her mind that she wouldn't be there yet - then she could get another coffee - but she caught her potential new roommate smiling at her. She returned the gesture with a charming smile of her own, and made her way over to the other teen.

"Hey!" She greeted cheerily as she took the spare seat. She gently put her backpack on the ground and subtly put her phone away. "You've not been waiting too long, have you?" She asked, tone worried and a slight wince already on her face. When she'd seen the picture of the girl, there had been something nagging at the back of her mind. She thought she'd maybe seen her around campus a couple times, but now seeing her in real life she didn't know if that was quite right. She opened her mouth, hesitated for a second, then decided to go for it. "Sorry if this is wrong, but did you go to Altsoba?" She leaned in as she spoke. She wouldn't have mentioned it if she wasn't one hundred percent sure that the girl wasn't at least a sorceress, and the request for a VeM member was proof enough of that.
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

While she was waiting, her phone buzzed again and she blinked in surprise at the back to back to back text messages. She shot back a quick reply:

I am interviewing a potential candidate right now.
Spamming is perfectly acceptable. Would you like to meet sometime this evening?
I may be willing to open up the third room depending on how this meeting and our meeting goes. Would you still be interested if that is the case?

When she next looked up, she was staring at a vaguely familiar face. Breaking out into a jovial smile she waved her hand a little to flag the girl down. Kennedy knew exactly where she knew that face from; it was hard to forget a face from VeM, even if she couldn't place the name. "Hey," she greeted in turn with a slight shake of her head. "Not at all. Just long enough to get a drink. Oh! Did you want something? I'll wait in line with you so that we can chat." She was already getting up, despite the face that the other girl had already taken a seat.

Leaving both her bags she got in line with the Margret. "Absolutely." She grinned, "Graduated almost a year and a half ago from there." She beamed, bright. Living with another sorcerer would definitely be so much better than living with some mundane. "So, tell me about yourself. We already established that you have no pets... oh! Would you be interested in the apartment if it became a third roommate situation. I have a few others interested and might decide to do that." She shrugged one shoulder, "If that were the case I'd want all three of us to meet at some point and for the two of you to agree with living with each other before moving forward, but I just want to figure out who would be interested in that if it came down to it. It absolutely will not effect my decision for you to live there."

She was bright, bubbly, and full of energy, despite having not yet taking a drink of her caffeinated tea. The blonde smiled prettily and moved up in the line. "What are you majoring in?"
 
Margret

Her head followed Kennedy as she stood up. She hesitated, and eventually gathered herself and replied, "oh, thanks!" She followed her potential roommate into the line, the order for the barely-coffee already in her head. The queue wasn't too long, but with lunch time approaching it was only going to get busier. She slipped her hands into the big single pocket of her hoodie, smiling slightly. "That might be where I know you from, then. Well, apart from the other thing." The double eyebrow raise at the last word would hopefully make it obvious what 'the other thing' was. "I was at Altsoba just last year. I've got a little sister who's still there, and my other little sister'll be going up in a couple years."

She was a little hesitant about the idea of another roommate. The higher the number of people, the higher the possibility of conflict. She wasn't going to trip an idea at the starting line, though. She smiled, hoping the pause wouldn't be noticed. "Sure, seems cool." She nodded. "As long as we all get along," she added lightheartedly. "Just to be sure, that means that the rent written on the ad would be split three times?" She held up three fingers, looking a bit stupid. She put her hands back in her pocket.

"Nothing crazy. Double majoring in Acting and Potion Making," she more mumbled the last part. She laughed a little. "I know, they're not related, like, at all, but I really like them both so..." She shrugged. "If we do end up sharing the apartment, I promise I'll keep all aspects of both courses in my own room," she promised with a laugh. "What about you?" The length of the line was short enough that Margret managed to get her order in. She moved to the side of the counter, waiting for the coffee while paying more attention to Kennedy.
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

While they waited in line Kennedy sent another text to the other potential roommate:
It's a pretty decent sized 3 bedroom. I think we could manage :p
I can meet you in OA at The Bar? 8p?

Then she tucked her phone away, giving her full attention to the current interviewee. "Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about another roommate, just yet but I'm willing to say maybe to the possibility. If this meeting goes well, I'd like for you to come see the apartment, maybe this weekend." She nodded, "But yeah, if there's an additional roommate, rent is then split three ways and will come down to..." She paused to do the mental math, $1,255." Which would save all of them about $600 a month.

She moved along to follow Margret to the end of the bar to patiently wait for her order. "Oh, both good choices, though and I don't mind if it bleeds into the common areas as long as it's not too much. So, important things. I'm a bit of a minimalist. The living room currently has a few pictures, a bookshelf and then the other general furniture you find in living rooms. I like the counter spaces open and cleared as much as possible. It can't be avoided one hundred percent, but that's fine." Once Margret had her drink she'd once more lead the way back to the table. "Since you'd have your own bathroom as long as it doesn't get gross I'm okay with you keeping it how you like. I do occasionally host parties and sorority stuff. Sometimes it's in the apartment sometimes it's out elsewhere. You'll always be invited but you'll be given advance notice in case you need to study or don't want to be around a bunch of people and all I ask is that you return the courtesy. You can have friends, parties, whatever, just give me a heads up."
 
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She wasn't going to admit it, but Margret was glad that the feelings on the roommate were shared somewhat. Her face visibly lightened at the decreased price. "Nice!" She said with louder laugh. She paused, and hurriedly said, "not that I wasn't able to pay the original amount. It's just pretty awesome to get a lower price, ya know?" She heard her name called and turned around to pick up her paper cup. "Thank you," she said to the barista, despite the fact that she wasn't really paying attention anymore. Her short and still cold fingers wrapped around the cardboard cover, blocking out parts of her wrongly spelt name ('Margaret' - a pretty common mistake that she barely even noticed anymore).

As they passed the little condiment island, she picked up a couple packets of sugar and a few of the little milk pots, shoving them into her pocket. She rushed to catch up with Kennedy. She nodded with what she said, nothing sticking out as particularly bad. She could be a bit messy, but as long as she minded herself, things would probably turn out alright. She fell down into her seat and popped the lid of the coffee off. She took a few cautious sips from it to make room for the milk, wincing at the strong taste. She upended a couple sugar packets and milk pots into the drink, stirring it with one of the disposable stirrers. She took a few careful sips of the barely coffee, smiling at the sounds of the parties. "All of that's fine with me."

She cradled the coffee between her hands. "What's other expenses are there? Water, heat, wifi?" She asked.
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

"Great!" Kennedy would take a sip of her black tea and then squint a little as she recalled the other detail of the apartment. "Wifi is included in the rent. Water is charged separately but it gets paid with the rent. The CPS bill also comes at the beginning of the month. I generally keep the temperature in the apartment around seventy-four or seventy-five all year round. It's generally warm enough in the winter and cool enough in the summers. Since I'm very particular about the temperature, I'll pay the CPS bill separate and you won't have to worry about it. Most people complain that it's a little cold when they come over, but I like to bundle up in warm clothes or blankets. If that seems like a fair trade off then we can stick with that arrangement. If you must have the air or heat at a higher or lower temp than we can split it fifty, fifty. Or into thirds if we end up with another roommate."

Another sip of the black tea. "Let's see. I do have a TV in the living room, but I don't watch it much. I, uh." She turned a little pink, "I use it for video games, mostly? But I've been thinking about moving that into my bedroom. If you're a big TV watcher, like if there are shows that come on at a certain time that you have to watch, we can just make a schedule or something so that the TV is free during that time. I do have DVR, so that's also an option if it comes to it." Her fingers drummed against the table. "Oh! Both of the currently spare bedrooms have a matching furniture set. If you have your own, I can move them into storage or sell it--I haven't decided. Or, if you want to look at it you're welcome to either use if for however long you live there or I can sell it to you and I'm willing to do monthly payments for the set, if you're interested in keeping it. It's a full sized bed frame and comes with the mattress and box spring, there's two bedside tables and a matching dresser. Stained gray wood." She brought her phone back up and started flipping through her camera roll. "I brought pictures of the apartment, if you want to see. Though I'm sure, if this goes well, you'll want to see in person."
 
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Margret listened, occasionally blowing or sipping at her coffee or making sounds of agreement. She could deal with a bit of chill. Beside, if it was really that bad, she'd have a potion for it. The TV might be a bit of an issue. "I usually like to watch a movie after work," she admitted. "Either on DVDs or Netflix, which I would be paying for myself. That would be, like, around eight or nine. Would it be alright if I had that time? You could watch with me, of course, if you wanted. It's pretty much always either a Disney movie or a comedy." She rubbed at the back of her neck with a chuckle.

She snorted at the mention of using her own furniture, then realised it looked pretty bad. "Sorry, it's just that I would be glad to leave the furniture in my current place behind. It's really not the best. Maybe I could rent the furniture from you, for a little while, and then if I'm liking it I could buy it from you, properly?" She offered. She casually took the phone when it was offered and set it down on the table in front of her, flicking through the pictures of the room and the furniture. She smiled slightly and nodded. "Nice stuff. I'm definitely cool with using that. Did the place come furnished or did you buy all the stuff yourself?"

She slid the phone back and took a sip of her half-finished coffee. She thought for a moment. It was looking promising. "Do you know how we'd arrange the chores?" She asked. At her current place, it was meant to rotate; the tasks would be split between the two of them, and they would swap every week. What really happened was that Margret did them all herself while her roommate sat in her room like an idiot.
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

The three bedroom apartment contained with three bathrooms (two full and one half). The apartment comes with wood floors, stainless steel appliances, and marble counter tops in the kitchen and bathroom. The living room and kitchen are sparsely decorated with warm colors and obscure paintings. Very little sits in the way of items on counter tops or table space and with the very high ceilings, it gives it an open feel to the place.

Against one wall in the living room there rests a glass bookcase with metal bars. There's a few tasteful bookends and book titles range from academic titles involving plants to things like Grimm Fairy Tales (her DC comics and Lord of the Rings books are hidden in her bedroom closet). The TV is large, flashy, and the newest model Samsung. She also has two different gaming consoles but those are hidden inside the entertainment stand and can be found if he bothers opening the doors below the TV. On the kitchen table there is a bowl with (real!) fruit and the end tables next to the couch each have a stack of custom made coasters. Other than that, there isn't much to pick up and look at. Just some framed art pieces hanging on the wall (one of them more expensive than her car payment).

Each guest bedroom has it's own matching bedroom set. They were from the same wood bedroom series, one with a dark gray stain and the other a dark brown stain, both complimenting the light colors the room is currently decorated with; a light blue rug and cream colored paint on the walls.

These are the pictures that Kennedy will show, though she won't show the pictures of her room.

Tucking her phone back into her purse, Kennedy sighed a happy little noise. "I picked every piece of furniture in that apartment, excluding the kitchen appliances. Those came with. As for chores, I'm open to any suggestions. With dishes, I'd rather they get washed as they're used, but other than that? I have a maid who comes in three times a week. She does the deep cleaning on Sundays and just keeps everything straightened up the rest of the week. You wouldn't have to contribute to that, unless you'd like her to help clean your room or the bathroom."
 
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The photos Kennedy was showing was really painting a picture of her in Margret's mind. It was such a classy looking apartment, with such expensive looking furniture. The short haired student was willing to put money on the possibility of Kennedy's parents being something really posh, like real estate agents, or lawyers. Something that seriously raked in the dough.

She leant back in her wooden chair when she was finished looking at the phone, taking her coffee with her. Her face changed at mention of a maid, her eyes going as big as marbles. Yeah, this girl was definitely from a rich family. Or maybe she was a sugar baby. She was pretty enough to be one. As long as her 'daddy' stayed far away from Margret. The strawberry-blonde gathered herself from the brief shock. "I can keep my room clean myself, I think," she said with a smile.

She leant forward again, putting her mug on the table. It was very almost finished. She thought for a second, then looked back to Kennedy, smiling. "I think that's all of my questions answered. This is looking really good, I think this could turn out great." She finished her coffee off, then realised that maybe she was moving a bit too fast. "Are there any questions you've got for me? I'll do my best to answer 'em."
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

The blonde definitely came from money. It was obvious by her clothes, her expensive purse, and the fact that until now she'd been leasing a three bedroom apartment at $3765 a month and living there alone. Kennedy considered her drink but left it alone, sitting on the table one hand delicately wrapped around the drink. She watched the wide eyes of the other girl and realized that she might have been flashing her wealth a bit. Not purposefully so, just being honest about the conditions of her home. "The one thing that I don't think I mentioned," she briefly considered the conversation and nodded once. "I don't care if you have guys or girls over, or whatever, to stay the night. But if they could remain..." She hummed, "decent when outside of the bedroom, that would be appreciated. Also, if they start staying over more days than they don't, I might consider having them contribute to the apartment in some way, but only if it feels like they're practically living there."

She smiled bright and then ticked off on her fingers, "So, we talked about the apartment, furniture, rent, amenities--you'll love the pool by the way,-- majors. I think we've covered all the first meeting topics." Another brief glance at the other girl, "Is there anything I should know about you? Are you a night owl? Early riser? Do you frequently make popcorn--I love the smell of popcorn."
 
Margret laughed at the mention of partners. "Girls. And I've not really got anyone in the way of 'serious' relationships," she used her fingers to make quotation marks around 'serious', "so that probably won't be too much of a problem." The last time she'd been in a relationship that actually had any substance was in eleventh grade, and the breakup had been physically violent. "I'll make sure my one-night stands are out ASAP." She laughed, but she was making a genuine promise.

If she'd still been drinking coffee, she would have spat it out everywhere at the mention of a pool (wouldn't that have been a great impression?) She didn't want to interrupt, so she kept the thought tucked away until Kennedy was finished speaking. "My sleeping cycle kinda varies?" she said. "It really revolves around coursework. If I get a potion that needs moonlight, then I'll probably stay up a lot later." She started to whisper as she got onto the more sorcerer-sensitive subjects. She grinned. "I really like popcorn. Like, one bag every time I watch a movie, just about. And since I pretty much watch a movie a day...!" She laughed. "Usually I just get the stuff that's already popped though."

The thought of the pool got a bit louder. "Okay. Rewind. You said something about a pool?" She leant forward onto the table. "Is it like, an outside pool?" Margret wasn't the fondest of swimming, but she could sunbathe. She could sunbathe for days.
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

"Whatever works for you, I just don't want to wake up to stranger genitalia on my couch." She laughed, but there was something that suggested it wouldn't be the first time if something like that did happen. "Mmm. I have this really cute popcorn maker." Kennedy leaned forward, clearly excited about the prospect of a movie friend. "You'll have to try it with me sometime." At the mention of the pool again, Kennedy brightened. "Oh, there's..." she paused to take a mental count, "four or five pools on the premises. They're all gorgeous, of course, and yes outside. There is one indoor swimming pool which is good for the rainy weather and then I'm pretty sure one of the pools is heated, so even in the winter you can go swimming."

She'd finish off the rest of her drink and then beam at Margret. "You'll just love the complex. There's a little shopping center in one area, a ton of nice stores, and there's a spa on site. It's amazing. Feel free to come by for a visit sometime soon before you make any decision, but I definitely think I'd be content with you as a roommate." She still had that other interview lined up and she knew that there would be more to come, but she had a good feeling about Margret. "I'll probably have some kind of decision by the end of next week, if not sooner."
 
Margret might haven't have realised everything she was getting with the apartment. There sure was a lot. Pools, shopping area, spa, a popcorn maker? Sure, she'd seen the price, but she'd thought that that was just covering the apartment and all the furniture that came with it. "It really does sound great," she said with a nod and a smile. She didn't think that she'd need to go see the complex - it sounded pretty damn good - but she supposed it would look unprofessional if she didn't.

She pulled her phone and opened up the notes app. "I'd like to visit. Just to be sure about this being a good place, ya know?" She said, sitting her phone down on the table. She looked up at Kennedy, one finger hovering over the phone keyboard. "What days are you free? I have a free day coming up on Saturday, would that afternoon be good for you?" She asked.
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

Kennedy beamed, pleased. Margret seemed agreeable enough that sharing a living space shouldn't be too hard, and the apartment was big enough. At the mention of dates, she dug through her bag until she could pull out a sparkly blue planner, opening it up to the current weeks activities. Margret wouldn't be able to see much of what was written there, but there was plenty of ink indicating that Kennedy is either a meticulous planner or she has a very busy schedule.

"Saturday afternoon," she mused, reading over her schedule. She had an... appointment on Saturday, but that could easily be rescheduled. After a quick mental arrangement of her schedule she looked back up at her potential roommate. "I could do Saturday between two and three, if that works for you?" She'd glance back down at her planner and nod thoughtfully, "The other option would be sometime between 11 and 12 earlier in the day but that would have to be a really quick tour."
 
Margret eyed up the planner. She'd thought of Kennedy as more of a pink girl; blonde, pretty, sorority, she would just be a school change away from being Elle Woods if she'd used pink instead. She smiled at her own little joke, though she would have probably never said it out loud.

Since she had literally no plans, any time would be done. It would be better to do it when they had more time, obviously. "Two o'clock. I'm kinda slow, so we'll need all the time we can get!" She laughed out loud. She tapped the time and date into her phone - phone volume on. As she did, she noticed the time. She should start heading to her Acting class soon.

She stood up, putting her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. "I should get going. It's been really great to meet you, Kennedy!" She was about to go for a hug, but thought better of it, and instead offered a hand across the table. Once it was shaken - or declined - she would swing her bag onto her back. "If anything goes pear shaped, you've got my number, right?" She asked.
 
Kennedy Alice Sparks

She's definitely more of a 'yellow' person, but the blue planner was too pretty to pass up!

At Margret's agreement, she quickly scratched out what she'd originally had for that time slot and wrote Margret in with her neat loopy script. "Right." It was clear that the meet and greet was over and Kennedy had classes to attend. She capped her pen and stuck both back in her bag. "It was nice meeting you, too." She saw Margret go in awkwardly for a hug and switch it up to a handshake and she smiled, bright. Shaking the hand of the other girl she pulled her in for a very brief one-armed hug. Long enough for Margret to see that Kennedy smells a little like... citrus. Something lemony, before the other girl pulls away.

"I'll see you Saturday and if anything changes, I'll be sure to give you a call." Kennedy affirmed, delicately placing her bag over her shoulder and collecting what remains of her tea before exiting the coffee shop.
 
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