Doing the Right Thing

[Stefano Rice]

While Seth had had a great Christmas break with his parents and grandparents, he knew that now he was back at school he really needed to knuckle down and get the assignments finished that were due... well, next week. And he decided the best way to do this would be to take up an area of the school library. He could have used the academic centre in the rec building, but decided that the library had a little more history... ok, ghosts, and he would rather be here than in some modern room, and with his laptop he kind of had everything he needed. And there were more things here that could distract him if he needed it.

Once he was set up, he pulled out the folder that he was using for creative cooking and read through what he needed to do. He pulled a face at the idea of creating a five course meal, but he knew that with a little inspiration he could work something out. And what better place for inspiration than a building that was completely filled with books, and an entire area that was dedicated to cookery.

Leaving the folder on the table he had set up as his command station, he grabbed a smaller notebook and made his way into the stacks, in search of cuisine books. He knew that before he made any plans on food, he had to decide what culture he wanted to take the food from and how he wanted to cook.

[Geraldine Cliff]

Geraldine walked over to the library, a list in her hand of the books she was hoping to find. She was almost all caught up on her homework, except for a geography project she had to finish, and for that, she needed books. The teacher had told them they could only use two websites as sources, which had driven her to the library.

As she walked in, she saw a lot of students already sitting around. She was busy craning her neck, trying to find the geography section, and so she missed the blond boy who was also walking around. Missed, that was, attention-wise. In reality, she hit him completely and fell backwards. Scrambling back up to her feet, she looked at the boy with concern, "I'm so sorry, I should have been watching where I was going. Are you okay?"

[Stefano Rice]

Once again abandoning his table, Seth walked back into the stacks, this time for books on Spain and Spanish culture, as that was the food he had chosen. With books in hand again, he once again made his way back to his table, his mind already working through the things he needed to read. "Woah!" He gasped as he stumbled backwards, the safety of the books more important than how he landed on the ground, and he grunted as he landed on his butt.

He grinned and shook his head at her apology, his reaction would have been completely different if she had blamed him for the collision, even though he was pretty sure that it had been his fault, at least in part. "No, no, that was my fault too." He place the books on the ground as he picked himself up and scooped the books up again. "Other than a bruised pride, I'm great. Are you alright?"

[Geraldine Cliff]

Gerri was glad to see that the boy had at least survived the fall (Okay, they hadn't collided that hard.), and watched him sweep up his books again, too slow to offer assistance there. She smiled weakly at his joke, then nodded, "I'm fine, thank you." She took a glance at the titles of the books he was carrying, "I know those aren't for Spanish class, or maybe I've forgotten about an important project. Just for fun or for a different class?"

[Stefano Rice]

He bowed his head when it seemed that she was also unharmed, or at least not sharing if she was.

He grinned at her question about his books and shook his head. "No, I'm looking at the food side of the Spanish culture for Creative Cooking." He assured her. "And I felt that these books would allow me a deeper insight to the ins and outs of that side of things. That, and I don't take Spanish." He flashed her a grin. "Though we do share Geography."

[Geraldine Cliff]

Gerri nodded as the boy told her what class the books were for, "I know you aren't in Spanish. I don't tend to forget projects." She smiled at him, "Although that sounds like an interesting project for creative cooking. Maybe I should look into taking it next year." She had stuck to the foreign languages just because she liked a chance to practice, but she was attaining mastery in those, so hopefully by the next school year, she could go for another class in one or the other.

As the boy said they shared Geography, Gerri frowned, taking a good look at his face, "Seth. I think?" She couldn't always pair names with people, and she had to admit, she wasn't great at paying attention to her classmates in class, unless they were asking or answering a question.

[Stefano Rice]

He grinned when she confirmed that he indeed wasn't in the language class, which made him wonder if she was, though he didn't bother to ask. "It's a really fun class!" He agreed. "And the one class where you're not dying of starvation afterward! Though it is hard when we make things that have to set in the fridge or can't be cooked until the next class. I've learned that ice cubes had so many more uses though, than just making ice!" He held the books up "And then you get projects where you have to design and cook your own three course meal, not always so much fun... other than the eating side of it."

He smiled and nodded as she put a name to his face. "That would be me." He lifted his eyebrows in question. "What brings you down to the stacks on a day like this?" Not that it was the middle of summer and being outside would be a better option than this, but the words were already out there.

[Geraldine Cliff]

Gerri listened as Seth extolled the virtues of the creative cooking class, chuckling as he then listed the downsides, "Sounds like my kind of class. I'll see about taking it next year." She could appreciate a class that involved food!

She beamed as she got his name right, then shrugged, "I need sources for my geography project. Two websites didn't have enough information for me, so I came here to see if I could find any info on sustainable development." She had picked that topic because it had sounded interesting, but there were probably topics where two online resources were enough. "How are you doing on that project?"

[Stefano Rice]

Seth grinned when it sounded like he had sold the idea of creative cooking on Gerri. "And there's a bit of art and craft thrown in there too." She added with a shrug.

At the mention of the grography project, his eyebrows flew up in mock panic, and he nodded to her reasoning for being in the library, though he groaned when she asked how he was doing. "With only the two websites, it's been a little luck and chance, but I think I'm getting there. Once I have this task finished, I'm going to get the geo one completed too." Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, while he was in the library. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

[Geraldine Cliff]

Gerri watched the boy's reaction, smiling as she worked out that he was joking, "Yeah, two websites is tough. I think they're all stuck in the past." She grinned, "Pretty much everything's online now, and it's not going to change anytime soon." She nodded as he said he'd do it once he'd finished his current project, "That sounds reasonable."

She was about to leave him to his work when he asked about her Christmas. Her smile vanished, and she shrugged, "Can't complain. I stayed on campus, my dad had to work." So she hadn't been able to see him, "He said he could stop by here on a break soon, though." The weekend that he had off. She was looking forward to it, they could do something together! "What about you?"

[Stefano Rice]

He nodded. "Two websites is stupid, but I guess this way, we have to do proper research, and with this library it's not too hard." He preferred looking through books than webpages anyway, which is why he was in here rather than the Rec Centre.

He pressed his lips together when Gerri's smile vanished and he suddenly wished he could take the words back. "That's rough that your dad had to work. The plus side is that you got to spend the break with your horse." He scuffed his tow on the carpet when she asked about his holiday. "We have a tradition where we spend the hold with dad's parents in the mountains..." He'd never suffered car sickness until four years earlier, and it was only on the journey to and from his grandparents'. "As much as I love seeing them, I would rather have stayed here. I shold...um... I should let you get back to your project." The conversation had skidded way off course, and he kicked himself for asking about Christmas. "You can share my work space if you ant to?"

[Geraldine Cliff]

Gerri snorted but nodded, "That's probably the reason. And yeah, at least there's a good library on campus. This would be a lot harder if we had to go to town for something halfway decent." Not that going to town was impossible, but it was still easier to just walk over here.

She shrugged, "It wasn't a surprise. He's busy a lot." She smiled, "But yeah, I got to work some with Genie. Maybe eventually I'll be confident enough for a trail ride." She listened as the boy talked about his break. She wasn't left with a chance to comment as the boy abruptly changed the subject back to their work, "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll find a quiet corner." She grinned abashedly, "I get distracted easily, sorry."

[Stefano Rice]

His eyebrows shot up at the thought of not going on the trails. "If you don't want to go on the trails alone, I wouldn't mind riding out with you sometime? I ride Solo, another one of the Academy horses." Though he would ask Ms Carr is he could borrow Raisa if Gerri agreed to go on a trail ride with him, as it would be his luck that it would be a day that Solo would decide to be Mr Hyde, rather than the slighter saner Dr Jekyll.

He grinned as she turned down the offer to share his table. "Ah, you caught on to my idea of distracting you the entire time." He Joked. "I'll have to be more evasive next time. I'll see you around then..." He paused as he pressed his lips together. "Would you mind if I asked for you opinion on my creative cooking assignment when I've finished?" After all, if she was in Spanish class, then her insight would be more than helpful before he handed it in.

[Geraldine Cliff]

Gerri grinned as the boy offered company on a trail ride, "That'd be awesome, and I'd appreciate it!" That made two people to head out onto the trails with, because she was definitely not ready to go out on her own.

She chuckled at Seth's response to being turned down, glad he wasn't offended, "Yeah, I'd rather get it done." She nodded as he asked about her checking the assignment, "Sure. I'll be back there somewhere." She gestured vaguely to the back of the library, then frowned, "Uh, if you can find me. I'll be near the geography stuff." With that, she smiled, then waved as she walked down, leaving that row and glancing at the topic labels on the shelves, until she found 'Geography'.