The Depths of the Dying Earth-- Katherine

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Following speaking to someone at the main office, Curtis had been sent to one of the main show barns to speak with a woman by the name of Katherine; last name he had written down somewhere, he was sure of it. In between, however, he decided to rush back to the motel he had stayed overnight at to let Dr. Sawbones out to relief himself, but despite what Curtis had hoped, leaving the room again unaccompanied was not an option, especially when his knuckle-headed pit bull unrelentingly blocked the door being closed with his face, desperate to go with him. Curtis finally gave in, and he now was pulled up in the parking lot, leaving Bones in the car with the windows cracked and letting his dog curl up in the backseat to guard the car, knowing Bones would do nothing but blink indifferently at people passing through the parking lot.

Making his way down the aisle, Curtis came to the office, hesitating before knocking tentatively, unsure if there would even be anyone on the side of the door.

"Hello?"

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine was sitting at her desk. Half of her attention was on what was happening in the arena that she could see through the large window, that gave her a view of the area in front of her barn, and the other half was on the email that was up on her computer screen. She drummed her fingers on the desk as she thought of how to reply, returning her complete attention to the screen.

It hadn't happened for a few weeks, but her escape artist of a gelding was beginning to become a bit more than a joke and she had decided that Picasso needed to find a new home and the email she was reading was from a ranch that raised and trained gymkhana ponies (so-to-speak as they didn't have a stipulation on the heights of the animals they trained). She knew that she would need to do some more research on their ranch before she replied with a definite answer. So, rather than saying yay or neigh, she sent back a very polite email, thanking them for their interest and that she would get back to them with an answer in the next week.

She lifted her head from the computer and listened to the sounds of the active barn outside her door.She'd always had an open door policy, so that the staff and students knew that if her door was party open she was free for anyone to walk in, and if the door was closed then she was in a meeting (either with another person or on a phone conference).

She shook her head with a small chuckle as she heard a knock on the door, followed by a male's voice. "Come in." She said warmly as she rose to her feet to reveal her normal uniform or a burgundy polo shirt and breeches, with boot socks in the same burgundy as her top, which were visible as her field boots were by the door.

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Hearing a woman's voice on the other side of the wall which he hadn't yet peered into the room on the other side out of respect and just general common decency, Curtis poked his head in the room and finding the woman on the other side who he could only assume was Katherine Carr; the very person he was told to go see, standing by the desk. Curtis made his way into the room with a smile in acknowledgement toward her.

"Hi--Ms. Carr? Curtis Bennett. I'm not sure if it was you who I spoke to over the phone or not, but I'm here about the barn hand position? Provided it's not already taken." He added sheepishly with a light grin, offering a hand following introducing himself. Dressed in a grey buttoned up shirt rolled up at the sleeves and a black t-shirt underneath it only visible at the neckline, jeans and converse, it was pretty evident that a prestigious barn or riding academy of any sort was not exactly a place he had spent too much time in. Hell, once Curtis had graduated high school he'd moved almost instantaneously, and his high school had been public. College was not in the cards for him, not in any way, shape or form, and merely because he wasn't interested. He figured if he were to go, it would be later on and on his own terms, wanting to start his own life on a clean slate and get as far away from his family as humanly possible.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine shook the man's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Curtis. I'm Katherine." She gestured to the two comfortable looking chairs that were positioned to the left of her desk. So that she didn't have to deal in a "school principal" fashion she had always preferred the guest chairs to be at the side of her desk rather than behind the desk. This way she could talk to people while looking at them, without having to look over the top of her desk.

She sat back down and gave Curtis a quick once over. "Can I offer you a drink?" She asked. "Tea, coffee, water, orange juice?" Once he had replied, she went onto more important matters, her barn. "Before I just give you the job in this barn." She said with a warm smile. "I would like to know a bit about you. Why, out of all the jobs the world can offer, would you like to work in a barn?" She knew that quite a few people were thrown off balance with this very question, but not only did it give her a good idea of a person's character and work ethic, it also gave her a good idea about how this person would be at working as part of the team in her barn.