Gemma
Human
Departed
Never be afraid to sit alone and think...
Posts: 46
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Post by Gemma on Feb 27, 2007 2:17:16 GMT
Typical.
The morning had started off well enough. No abrupt wake-up call from little Wash, no frantic phone calls from the library telling her to help with some shelving disaster or another. Gemma even had fairly pleasant memories from that dinner last night with Marco and Lorenzo. They'd both been complete gentlemen, even if Lorenzo had seemed jumpy most of the time. And, saints preserve all, Gemma had actually enjoyed being social.
But then, when she'd tried to be nice and offer to make the morning coffee run, something decided to send her day on a downward spiral. "C'mon, baby," she coaxed her little rust bucket of a car; the engine kept turning over, refusing to start. "Just start, please? Don't do this to me..."
There was a series of ominous clanks before the engine died yet again. The young librarian groaned and faceplanted into the steering wheel, not caring that the bridge of her glasses cut into her nose. This was not a fun morning, right now.
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Post by damian on Mar 1, 2007 3:17:53 GMT
He was late. The one thing Daniel Reyes didn't need right then was to be late for work, but of COURSE his shitty alarm clock had chosen that morning to break . . . quite literally. The blasted thing lay in pieces on his bedside table, that very moment. Now, whether it was already busted, or if his yanking it up and throwing it into the floor as hard as he could had done it, the result was the same - one VERY broken alarm clock, and a very rumpled Daniel rushing to work.
He was currently behind the wheel of his own bucket of bolts car, dark hair completely out of place, in what was commonly known as bedhead - and boy was it ever. His forehead rested against the steering wheel for a long moment as he impatiently waited at a stoplight, muttering curses at any and everything he possibly could, blaming them all for his current tardiness. However, his comments fell to a halt the minute he saw the car off in a nearby parking lot, the telltale grinding of the engine breaking into his reverie, loud enough for him to hear over his curses and grumblings.
Well, that looks . . . promising? Yeah, now THAT sounds real good, doesn't it?
Shaking his head a little, the mechanic gave a little sigh and pulled off the road, parking his car near the one in trouble, and climbed out.
"Your transmission's fucked up."
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Gemma
Human
Departed
Never be afraid to sit alone and think...
Posts: 46
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Post by Gemma on Mar 1, 2007 4:33:50 GMT
Gemma's head shot up from the steering wheel, glasses all askew. "My what?"
"Your transmission."
She peered at the young man outside her car, wary for a moment. This was L.A., after all; a girl couldn't trust just anybody. And this guy had a sense of...something about him that made her a bit edgy. Slowly, the young librarian readjusted her glasses and rolled down her window.
"My transmission?" she repeated, then began worrying her lower lip. "You a mechanic or somethin'?"
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Post by damian on Mar 1, 2007 4:43:05 GMT
"Actually, yeah. I am."
The young man offered a light grin, shrugging before he tossed his coat back through the window of his car, revealing his coveralls, the left side bearing his name patch, and Otto's Garage logo. Yeah, he was usually rather embarrassed about the fact that he worked in a garage, but if it got this girl to stop looking at him like he was going to rape her any second, he'd gladly accept the self-loathing for now.
"You were probably leaking transmission fluid, and never noticed. That's usually what happens, and it always ends up like this."
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Gemma
Human
Departed
Never be afraid to sit alone and think...
Posts: 46
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Post by Gemma on Mar 1, 2007 4:47:34 GMT
Oh...
Feeling a bit foolish, Gemma at least had the good grace to blush before she unbuckled herself and stepped out of the car. Nervous habit forced her to tug at the hem of her skirt as she moved forward to greet the so-called mechanic. That slight grin made him look a bit less threatening.
Kind of cute, too...stop that, brain.
She smiled at him, a shy little gesture, and pulled her cardigan closer to her frame. "Well, um...seeing as how you, ah -- I mean, well -- would you be able to take a gander at it?" she finally managed to stammer out.
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Post by damian on Mar 1, 2007 4:56:15 GMT
Why was he grinning so much? Wasn't this a BAD day? So why did he find himself grinning like an idiot, the minute his back was now turned away from her? He quickly shook it off, rolling up his sleeves and brushing his dark hair back behind his ears before he turned back towards the car. This was going to take a bit of manuevering, he knew - there was no way he could fix this on his own, particularly just improvising the way he would have to . . . but he'd give it a shot.
"I think I can rig it to run long enough to get it back to the garage, if that's okay with you. I can't fix it completely here - it'd take more than just me."
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Gemma
Human
Departed
Never be afraid to sit alone and think...
Posts: 46
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Post by Gemma on Mar 1, 2007 5:03:34 GMT
"O-okay," she stammered, then managed to nod and smile once more. "That'd be great, thanks. Um, here, lemme..."
She flitted back to the car and reached into the driver side window to pop the hood of her poor car. For whatever reason, she felt strangely at ease now that she knew this guy -- Daniel, according to his name patch -- seemed to be a good Samaritan. Still keeping her arms crossed over her torso, she moved to stand next to him by the open hood and smiled again, broader this time.
"I'm Gemma, by the way."
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Post by damian on Mar 1, 2007 5:40:30 GMT
"Nice to meet you, Ma'am."
Okay, so politeness wasn't Daniel's strong point, but he was TRYING, at least. It felt awkward and unnatural to him, but he gave it a try nonethless, if only for the sake of the girl standing next to him.
It took him several minutes - and a few mistakes that got oil all over his hands - before he managed to get exactly what he was looking for, and fiddled with everything he could think of that might, together, make up for the fucked up transmission. It wouldn't be pretty, that's for sure, but at least it would get them the few blocks needed to get the car to Otto's.
"Here . . . Why don't I drive the car to the garage, and you can take mine? That way if something happens, you can at least get around until I can get the thing towed."
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Gemma
Human
Departed
Never be afraid to sit alone and think...
Posts: 46
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Post by Gemma on Mar 1, 2007 5:50:04 GMT
"What?! Oh no, I couldn't possibly -- "
"Miss, please -- "
"Honestly, I can walk it's no big -- oh!"
She barely caught his keys when he tossed them, juggling them gracelessly before she finally got her hands around them. Once more pink in the face, she ducked her head for a moment, then looked up and smiled gently.
"All right..."
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Post by damian on Mar 5, 2007 14:42:39 GMT
Daniel wasn't used to taking no for an answer, and this time wasn't going to be an exception. He knew it was best for the young lady to take his car, and for him to drive the damaged one, JUST IN CASE he'd fucked up and hadn't rigged something right. Who knew, after all, what might happen if he HAD messed up, and she was the one driving? He'd really rather not think about that, actually.
Wait- Did I clear out the shit from the glove compartment? Shiiiiiit I didn't! Well, maybe she won't look . . . She shouldn't look . . . Oh God please don't let her look!
Shaking off his momentary panic, he shot her a little grin before sliding into the driver's seat of her vehicle and gingerly starting the straining engine. Come on, baby, he thought, just a couple blocks further, and you can give out on us. I promise . . .
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Gemma
Human
Departed
Never be afraid to sit alone and think...
Posts: 46
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Post by Gemma on Mar 8, 2007 5:06:16 GMT
Gemma watched him curiously, face going pink when he flashed her that grin. The grinding, whining, and generally painful sounds of her poor engine made her cringe and sigh; poor car. It was a junker, but dammit, it was her junker. With Daniel's keys still in hand, she tentatively approached the driver's side window and leaned down the speak again.
"Um...w-when should I come in to pick it up?"
They set a time and Gemma logged it away in her memory. She managed to smile again, waving briefly as Daniel drove off her her little clunker of a car, and couldn't help but wince when she heard something grinding in the engine. Well, at least she knew what she'd be doing with her paycheck.
Thankfully, fetching the coffee didn't take too terribly long; she didn't want to be out driving a borrowed car around the city. She parked the Camaro in a corner away from everything in the hopes that it wouldn't be dinged or scratched. Lord knows, she'd never forgive herself if anything happened to it.
Continued at: Front Desk and Lobby
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