Coffee. Coffee. Gotta get coffee. It was way to early to wander this formerly infested Ministry without at least one cup of joe in hand, and William was on the hunt for the hot beverage.

"Coffee," he actually said aloud as he stumbled out of the lifts and moved, zombie-like, toward the cart ahead of him. Mmmmmmmm coffee. Yes. He gave the barista a very goofy grin, and rubbed one of his eyes to try to wake up and see the menu. Coffee? Coffee? What size coffee? Brew? Words?

Too hard to read on a Monday.

January was following him.

Well, not really.

Well, yeah. She kind of was. She had SEEN him, like, 30 seconds ago and hadn't want to shout across the entire Ministry to get his attention. So she kind of followed him until she finally caught up with him at the coffee cart, just in time to hear him talk to himself, or the barista.

"When did you learn how to read?" she teased, coming up behind him to peek over his shoulder at the menu. Hehe. Hi, Willy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

January was following him.

Well, not really.

Well, yeah. She kind of was. She had SEEN him, like, 30 seconds ago and hadn't want to shout across the entire Ministry to get his attention. So she kind of followed him until she finally caught up with him at the coffee cart, just in time to hear him talk to himself, or the barista.

"When did you learn how to read?" she teased, coming up behind him to peek over his shoulder at the menu. Hehe. Hi, Willy.

"When did I --- what? How did you do that?" William stared at the barista, because he was pretty sure she hadn't moved her lips to get that sentence out. He staaaaared pretty hard, squinting at her and everything. Was he really taking that long to decide on something to drink? Or was he really that out of it?

OH. NO. It was January. The tall man practically JUMPED when he realized there was a ginger standing behind him. Naturally, the tops of his ears went red, and he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Hi January," he mumbled, shuffling slightly to the side to talk to her. "Happy Monday."

.... Oh boy. Somebody was out of it today. January waited for William to realize it wasn't the silent barista that was talking to him. Waaait for it.....

There it was.

January smiled and wiggled her finger in a wave to him. "Good morning," she said, trying not to show him just how amused she was at the moment. He was adorable when his ears turned red though. January ordered herself a simple cup of coffee before turning her attention to her dear friend.

"Have a long weekend?" she asked. It kind of looked like it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

.... Oh boy. Somebody was out of it today. January waited for William to realize it wasn't the silent barista that was talking to him. Waaait for it.....

There it was.

January smiled and wiggled her finger in a wave to him. "Good morning," she said, trying not to show him just how amused she was at the moment. He was adorable when his ears turned red though. January ordered herself a simple cup of coffee before turning her attention to her dear friend.

"Have a long weekend?" she asked. It kind of looked like it.

Yeah, it was a good morning. Grunt. William ordered a light coffee with an extra shot of espresso in it. At least January was a nice person to run into in the mornings. Easy on the eyes, easygoing personality... yeah. He was glad she worked here too.

"Heh," was all he said in response to that, at least at first. "It was a good weekend. You?"

January hadn't realized it, but she was grinning. Oh, she loved dear Willy. He was one of her greatest friends. And even all groggy morning-eyed like that, he was so very entertaining and lovely.

"My weekend was good as well," she said before blowing on the coffee cup she had just received. "I was with Vic, mostly." Was that a surprise? Nope. Speaking of significant others... January tilted her head and looked at William. "How are things with Alysson?" January hadn't talked to him recently about things outside of work, so naturally she was curious.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

January hadn't realized it, but she was grinning. Oh, she loved dear Willy. He was one of her greatest friends. And even all groggy morning-eyed like that, he was so very entertaining and lovely.

"My weekend was good as well," she said before blowing on the coffee cup she had just received. "I was with Vic, mostly." Was that a surprise? Nope. Speaking of significant others... January tilted her head and looked at William. "How are things with Alysson?" January hadn't talked to him recently about things outside of work, so naturally she was curious.

Somebody sure was smiley. Willy might be a little more cheerful like JanJan after a few cups of coffee. Speaking of, he accepted his from the barista with a nod and a few coins, to pay for January's too.

"Sooo are you two living together?" With Vic. Of course. He still didn't know this Vic guy, so he didn't know whether to approve of him or not. Hmmph. Oh how's Alysson? "Good, I guess," he shrugged. "I don't think we see enough of each other." In his humble opinion. She needed to work less and have dates with him more.

January was just reaching into her pocket to pay for her coffee, but William beat her two it. Aww. "You didn't have to do that," she said. But it sure was nice.

She sipped her coffee and definitely felt her cheeks turn pink when William asked his question. "Vic and me? Erm... no." Ahem. Although they did spend quite a lot of time together and a lot of alone time at her place, but... that was a big step. When it came to relationships, January was a bit over-cautious.

Soooo, back to Willy and Allyson. They didn't see enough of each other, apparently. January frowned. "Busy schedules?" she asked. That was a bummer.

"Eh, it's alright." William smiled at her, much more genuinely now that he had a cuppa in his hand. "They pay me to be here, did you know?" He scratched an ear idly and took a biiiiiiiiigggggg sip of his frothy, warm beverage. It felt great just to hold in his hands.

Hehe, was she blushing? "I'm usually the one to blush, not you," he pointed out, not so subtly either. Woops. Must still be that weekend effect having a hold of him. "But you waaaant to live with him, doncha? Huh? Huh?" He nudged her elbow with his playfully, though not enough to spill their drinks obviously. OBVIOUSLY because he had JUST PAID FOR THEM and still reaaaaaaaaaallllllllllly needed the caffeine.

Back to him. Shrug. "I dunno, we've just sort of been on and off for so long... maybe more off than on." So it was weird, and he had no idea how to explain it to people. "She should come work in our department, basically." Where was he getting this from? Random idea, but if it meant getting to see his girlfriend more....

...maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all!

January shook her head with a smile. "They pay me, too." Didn't HE know? So, next time she was paying for his drink, whether he liked it or not. Hah.

Awww, he pointed it out. January nudged him back and side-eyed him while she took a sip of her hot drink. January rarely blushed, but apparently talking about Vic made her do that. DID she want to live with him? Why, yes, she did. Very much. But she didn't tell Willy that, no. "We're taking things slow," she said instead, carefully avoiding the answer to his question. They were taking things VERY slow.

January was curious about how long "so long" was, but she wasn't sure if she should ask. "Even now?" Because it kind of seemed like it, the way he was talking about it and not being all cute and happy like he SHOULD be. She gave him an amused look when he said she should just come work in their department. "Does Alysson even like animals?" Just a question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

January shook her head with a smile. "They pay me, too." Didn't HE know? So, next time she was paying for his drink, whether he liked it or not. Hah.

Awww, he pointed it out. January nudged him back and side-eyed him while she took a sip of her hot drink. January rarely blushed, but apparently talking about Vic made her do that. DID she want to live with him? Why, yes, she did. Very much. But she didn't tell Willy that, no. "We're taking things slow," she said instead, carefully avoiding the answer to his question. They were taking things VERY slow.

January was curious about how long "so long" was, but she wasn't sure if she should ask. "Even now?" Because it kind of seemed like it, the way he was talking about it and not being all cute and happy like he SHOULD be. She gave him an amused look when he said she should just come work in their department. "Does Alysson even like animals?" Just a question.

"Ohhhhhh dooooooo they? You're not just a volunteer?" William grinned at her like the goober he was. He didn't mind paying for girls' stuff. It was what the guy was supposed to do, even when the girl was *just* a friend.

Taking things slow was girl code for something, Willy was pretty sure about that. He'd been friendzoned by enough girls to understand. "Sure, sure, I can understand slow," he said instead. Trust him: his relationship with Alysson was glacial.

"Even now," he confirmed somewhat reluctantly, taking a deeeeep sip of his coffee. PFFT, does Alysson even LIKE animals. "She LOVES them," William informed her. "She has a pet DOG, I'll have you know. And her favorite class is Care of Magical Creatures." The class HE had TAUGHT! "MLE's just too boring for her. She needs to work with us." He was deciding this, yep. Plus, Aly's boss was like... a weirdo. That was fact.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

"Ohhhhhh dooooooo they? You're not just a volunteer?" William grinned at her like the goober he was. He didn't mind paying for girls' stuff. It was what the guy was supposed to do, even when the girl was *just* a friend.

Taking things slow was girl code for something, Willy was pretty sure about that. He'd been friendzoned by enough girls to understand. "Sure, sure, I can understand slow," he said instead. Trust him: his relationship with Alysson was glacial.

"Even now," he confirmed somewhat reluctantly, taking a deeeeep sip of his coffee. PFFT, does Alysson even LIKE animals. "She LOVES them," William informed her. "She has a pet DOG, I'll have you know. And her favorite class is Care of Magical Creatures." The class HE had TAUGHT! "MLE's just too boring for her. She needs to work with us." He was deciding this, yep. Plus, Aly's boss was like... a weirdo. That was fact.

"Not anymore. Now I get paid just enough to buy cat food." Har har. She was TEASING. But really, a raise wouldn't hurt.

Mmmhm. January didn't know what Willy meant by that, if there was some secret meaning behind what he said or something. She was being cautious. He should understand. January took a sip of her drink and changed the subject. "Hey, you should come over again sometime. And we can actually make food this time." And not get it all over her kitchen. And their clothes.

Oh, yeah, okay. Alysson had a dog, therefore she could totally work in their department. "Mhm, right. She could refill the bloodhound's food dishes," she said, raising her cup back to her lips. Heh. She was just giving him a hard time. Not teasing at all, no. Heheh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

"Not anymore. Now I get paid just enough to buy cat food." Har har. She was TEASING. But really, a raise wouldn't hurt.

Mmmhm. January didn't know what Willy meant by that, if there was some secret meaning behind what he said or something. She was being cautious. He should understand. January took a sip of her drink and changed the subject. "Hey, you should come over again sometime. And we can actually make food this time." And not get it all over her kitchen. And their clothes.

Oh, yeah, okay. Alysson had a dog, therefore she could totally work in their department. "Mhm, right. She could refill the bloodhound's food dishes," she said, raising her cup back to her lips. Heh. She was just giving him a hard time. Not teasing at all, no. Heheh.

"Oh that's right, you crazy cat lady you," he gave her back a consoling pat. "How ARE your forty-four cats?" He knew she only had one, one adorable white wittle kitty. But it was fun to tease.

Come over again? William's brows went up but he took another sip of coffee and nodded. "Sure, let's do that. I'll even bring a spare change of clothes." Joking, joking. But what, he HAD lost his pants around her... how many times now? That was a story for another day when they were reminiscing.

He eyeeeeeed her for that comment. "I think she's a bit smarter than thaaaaat," he drawled, taking a small step closer to her. "Are you makin' fun of my girlfriend?" HUH, PUNK?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

"Oh that's right, you crazy cat lady you," he gave her back a consoling pat. "How ARE your forty-four cats?" He knew she only had one, one adorable white wittle kitty. But it was fun to tease.

Come over again? William's brows went up but he took another sip of coffee and nodded. "Sure, let's do that. I'll even bring a spare change of clothes." Joking, joking. But what, he HAD lost his pants around her... how many times now? That was a story for another day when they were reminiscing.

He eyeeeeeed her for that comment. "I think she's a bit smarter than thaaaaat," he drawled, taking a small step closer to her. "Are you makin' fun of my girlfriend?" HUH, PUNK?

Crazy cat lady. Pfft. "I have ONE cat, thank you, Willy." One cat. She wasn't even going to answer his question because, pfffft, it probably wasn't even SINCERE.

January almost snorted coffee out her nose when William mentioned bringing a spare change of clothes. Luckily, all the coffee stayed where it belonged. "That won't be necessary," she said, trying hard not to laugh. She was determined they would actually make food this time, without getting it all over each other. And she didn't think Vic would be too pleased if he heard about William losing his pants around January this often. Heh.

Was she making fun of his girlfriend? "Oh, is she your girlfriend? I didn't know, because you don't tell me anything." HUH. January leaned in and gave him a LOOK. Some friend he was, huh.

Coffee break.

A well deserved one, in Adam's opinion, too. He'd already narrowed his paperwork down, a process he hated: chucking patents before test because the ideas were ludicrous made him feel mean. He was pretty sure the so called inventors were like him, you know, when he was eleven.

Maybe there were kids submitting applications. In all honesty, the idea that an adult could think vanishing brooms were a good idea... Well, that just went above and beyond health and safety regulations. The gobstones, though - those he was looking forward to. He was thinking the pranks would be along the lines of causing the subject to grow bad facial hair for a few minutes. That was what he was hoping, anyway. Especially since he was the one working out their effects. He sighed a little, before helping himself to a mug. He really needed to work on getting more sleep.

Davina wasn't much of a heavy coffee drinker. Personally she didn't like the smell of the stuff so she usually stuck to tea. Tea was good and she enjoyed a new flavour everyday.

She wasn't yet half way through working on the league schedule but her body had an automatic timer that alerted her when she needed tea and that time was now. Seemed she wasn't the only one needing a top up either. "Ah, it's Adam right? Adam Stemp?" She had picked that up in the meeting and see she wasn't bad with names at all. And she knew that baby at home didn't get much sleep look that he was sporting too. "Didn't get much sleep huh?"

Ahhh.

The sweet drink (because he'd obviously added copious amounts of sugar - there as something about being around so many children that made you crave it, need it) passed his lips as he let out a little sigh of relief. Within a few moments of his second sip, he turned at the sound of footsteps, offering a smile to the woman that approached. "Adam, it is, Davina." He said with a grin.

He was pretty sure that was her name. That was the name of the only new female employee, so it had to be. He chuckled a little at her recognition, and nodded wryly. "That obvious?" The coffee and sugar should be hiding that.

Back to work, Victoria was happy and sad to be back. She missed the beach, the view, her alone time with Cossy, but she had missed her children and her work.Though she realized how much she needed the break once she was gone. The past year she had really thrown herself into her job with little social time. That would change at least for the rest of summer.

Thinking about her upcoming twins birthday and how the party would go, she decided coffee was the best way to start her day. Making her way to the cart she looked around. What did she want? Maybe a little snack with her favorite drink.

Smiling to Isobel she ordered her items and waited for the young lady to make her coffee.

It had been a rough week for Benji, it seems his return from California had only brought difficulty into his life. He had appreciated Vic leaving him in charge, he felt like maybe it was a test to see if he could handle more and he thought that considering he had only really taken off the day of his father's passing that he did well.

But since then his brain had been all kinds of messed up, messy, cluttered, scattered. Coffee, he needed coffee. Heading to the Cart who did he spot but the returning Vic, and was he happy to see her. "Hey, Boss how was vacation?" She had to have heard about his father? Was she going to send him home? He really hoped she didn't..

Her thoughts had went from her order to clowns or unicorn birthday themes when she heard boss. Not really paying attention assuming they were talking to Mariel, Victoria went back to her own thoughts. It wasn't until she sensed someone up close to her that she glanced back. "Oh Benji, hello." Boss, he was talking to her. That was still awkward. She wasn't he boss just the manager.

"My vacation was wonderful, thank you for asking." She beamed knowing her skin was a little tanner and her hair blonder from all the sun she had soaked up during the two weeks she had taken off. "I hope things ran smoothly here. How was it? Anything major happen while I was gone?" She assumed not since Quidditch was in the off season, but you never knew when a player was going to do something crazy in the off season, so anything was possible.

"Looks like it." He commented on the tanned skin and what not, it was good, he remembered coming back similarly just a week back. "No, nothing major. Just all the graduates trying out for teams, i really wish we were more involved." He wanted to know who all the rising stars were, make friends with them before they were big and then once they were he would have them in his pocket. It couldn't hurt them to be his friend either.

But it seemed she didn't know about his father, he decided to just downplay it. He didn't wanna seem like a drama queen. He was doing okay, kind of. Thinking about a lot of things. Kids, Marriage, things like that. Just as ideas, not as doing them. He wanted to move things forward with Carrie but either of those things were irrational steps, they were supposed to talk after California but then his Dad..so..no talk yet.

She smiled nicely towards him. "Well I guess I'll take that as a compliment." Maybe she looked a bit more rested too, she didn't know nor care, she just knew she had an amazing time and missed not spending every moment on the beach and with Cossy. The down side of dating and not living together she supposed, but she was liking the way they were and wasn't about to rush anything. She played the rush card once and look where it got her.

Turning her thoughts back to what was being said, "Oh have I gotten a lot of owls with responses on which graduates are coming to the tryout?" She knew they still had some time before it took place, but the seventh years would be sending in their response by now. She hoped at least. "Well usually the teams do all that. With their own managers and scouts, but since Hogwarts had no quidditch this year it was our only alternative to get the players some face time with teams. It's only fair since they aren't getting a chance through their last school year." She really felt bad that they missed out like that, but this would work out well she hoped.

"We will then be busy doing all the paper trials for the draft and trades. I'll be surprised if I don't find a few of those in my mail waiting to be processed. Have we gotten any retirements?" She was extra curious about that. There were a few players she could think of that were close, but Cameron Bayless was the one she was watching at the moment. His contract being up and his age, she wasn't sure what he'd end up doing.

"Good, because it was one." Did that not sound like a compliment? Maybe it didn't to Vic? Who knew women were weird. Benji was just glad she was back, not that he couldn't handle being in charge just that he had other things on his plate in his personal life.

"Pretty much as soon as that mess at Hogwarts was clear enough for people to leave yeah, There's been a decent amount of them." It was exciting, all of these potential new players, any one of them could be the next big thing in the quidditch world. "Shame what happened with all that snow, your boy was all right though?" He knew her son was snowed in there with the rest of her school, her boyfriend as well, but asking about the safety of a grown man seemed silly.

"No retirements as of yet, but there's still time." Ohh the Drafts and trades were Benji's favorite preseason thing. "Hey, you'll let me know about the drafts and trades right? My fantasy team needs new players." He had managed to keep up with his old offices Fantasy Quidditch League of which he was the king of, He wasn't about to go down now, nope.

She just smiled towards Benji with his words. Of course he was going to say that. He was so sure of himself in a way that she had seen with certain men, but at least he was good at his job. She wasn’t going to deny that even if he was a bit over baring in the male department and the need to know personal business at times.

She figured she had a ton of letters to deal with, but that would wait a bit longer so she could get her coffee. “Well it will be easy to run through I think. I need to get everything finalized for that tryout. “ She had to get back to her to do list since she was now officially back. Though her mind was still on vacation she was afraid. Looking back at Benji she nodded, “He’s fine, but that wasn’t why the originally canceled quidditch.” Did he know that? Maybe not since he wasn’t around then. “The school was threatened to either cancel or horrible things would happen. For the safety of the children and staff the headmistress canceled.” Which was probably good after the blizzard or whatever it was went on.

Taking her coffee she listened, “Alright, I won’t be surprised if a few come to my desk soon though. We do have a few older players that I really look to be handing up the brooms soon.” She could be wrong though, they’d have to just wait and see. “Yes, actually now that the season is done you will have some time to help me process the paper work for all the drafts and trades.” He wouldn’t mind some new things to do would he?

"Right, it's quite exciting, all the new players and that ." Benji loved the game, he loved seeing who would make a splash in this community. He just hoped he could see some of them firsthand if they were going to be the new big thing. "Right, i heard about the quidditch threat. Did they find out what the cause of the blizzard was?" Were they related? Hmm. Benji knew he could come across as nosy but he used to be a reporter he was used to digging for info every day.

Benji sighed a bit at that. "I couldn't imagine going pro and then retiring..I never tried out but it sounds a bit sad." He never attempted to go pro because his father had convinced him it was a terrible idea. Some days he wished he might have tried..maybe he'd like to coach sometime or teach kids. Only he hated kids so probably not. "I wanna be as involved with the upcoming season as i can be." He wanted to know everything, plus he was living in the family manor with his mother now that his father was gone and the woman was driving him crazy, Carrie was moving in soon, about another month or two, he hoped the girl was going to be okay and knew what she signed up for, his mother was going to be sure to hound them about marriage and babies as she had him pretty much every day since he moved in.