Bent but not broken

[Adriana Truscott]

Adriana winced as she turned down another aisle in Flourish and Blotts. She placed a hand on one of the shelves to steady herself and let out a low exhalation. She had the lead part and two solos in one of the most prestigious ballet productions in all of London. Last night was their sixth performance. It had run perfectly until an understudy for her original partner, a very skinny bloke who should never have been lifting her in the first place, dropped her during one of the major lifts near the end of their performance. Adriana made it look like it was supposed to happen, easily moving into graceful, smooth lines. However she had landed wrong on her ankle and now it was throbbing. She only needed to make it through one more performance. Teddy, her original partner had already been demoted from the directors favourite choice simply because he had walking pneumonia as well as a pulled hamstring and absolutely couldn’t physically perform. Adriana couldn’t risk any sort of fall out.

She was a scholarship student and this was her moment to shine in the company’s eyes. She had made it this far and she wasn’t about to back down now. She was however going to sit down. Pushing herself off the shelf she stood tall and walked to the group of cushiony chairs, masking her injury. They were all taken. She gave a small defeated sigh.

((ooc: I know that she is in two places at once but I really felt the need to post Adriana more, trying to revive her. Anyone? Everyone?))

[Bradley O'Connor]

Bradley O'Connor being in a bookshop was a sight to behold, truly. He was fairly certain he hadn't ever stepped foot in Flourish and Blotts before this day - why waste your time in bookshops hunting down your schoolbooks when you could send one of the household staff to do it for you? He had a begrudging reason to be here on this occasion. He needed to get his mum something for her birthday this year that wasn't a bath bomb or perfume... since that was his go-to for presents for those of the female sex, he was lost and had looked everywhere, finally ending up in Flourish and Blotts. His mum liked shitty chick lit novels, he could get her one of those he supposed, but somehow he didn't want to browse in that section for too long.

That's why he looked around him quickly, ducked into that section of the shop, grabbed a book whose cover was vaguely pink with swirls and had a 'Recommended by Wonder Witch magazine readers' sticker slapped on it, and got the hell out of there as quickly as possible. So quickly that he didn't realise the book shelf he'd stepped around had become a resting place for a familiar girl. Frowning slightly in confusion as Adriana let out a wince and then sighed, Bradley spoke up, "What the hell's wrong with you?" he asked in his usual polite manner, leaning his arm against the shelf above her casually.

((ooc: Okay he's terrible but he's here! I needed some kind of vague excuse for why Bradley would be in a bookshop, let's go with shopping for someone else, feel free to have Adriana mock him for it haha.))

[Adriana Truscott]

Immediately she straightened. Adriana glanced around and upon seeing Bradley rolled her eyes. “Nothing,” she responded defensively. “I wanted to sit down and… wait a minute,” she switched her thought process mid-sentence, “What the hell are you doing here? This is my one place of sanctuary away from the likes of you. What are you doing here?” she asked, there was a teasing curiosity added to her last sentence.

Then seeing the very pink very obviously chick lit romance novel in his hand a sly smile slowly curved her lips, and her eyes brightened. This was the BEST DAY EVER! “So… reading some good old fashioned chick lit are we?” she asked, unable to hold back a laugh and burst into a fit of the giggles. She was going to hold this over his head for a very long time, let’s assume forever. For years Adriana had been hoping for a moment like this, one where she could ridicule him endlessly.

((ooc: Hehe, I loved it, and don’t worry she has and she will. ))

[Bradley O'Connor]

"Oh come on, don't give me that BS, it's me you're talking to Truscott," he replied, equally as defensively as her tone, as she claimed she'd wanted to sit down. "So go over there, pick one of the nerdier looking guys, flutter your eyelashes and ask for their seat," Bradley piped up in suggestion, looking at her as if this was the most obvious and sure-to-be-successful plan that he was surprised she hadn't thought of it herself. "I know, this isn't my usual scene, believe me the sooner I can be out of here, the better." He saw her glance to the book he held and, too late, straightened once more, clasping his hands casually behind his back and obscuring the book from her view.

Bradley then fixed Adriana with a scathing look, "Please," he retorted, rolling his eyes as if he couldn't believe she'd even suggest something as stupid as that, even if for the purpose of ridiculing him, "It's for someone else, a present if you must know. Why would I choose to read some shitty novel written by a bored, sexually-frustrated, mid-40s housewife who chose to commit her fantasies to paper to help her get through her crushingly boring suburban lifestyle?" Having never read a chick lit book in his life, Bradley was mostly going on what he imagined they were like. His experience of chick flicks (solely limited to agreeing to watch them with a girl he was into purely because he thought he'd have a better shot at getting with her afterwards) wasn't positive; he tended to come away from them feeling slightly off-side and disturbed that girls actually lapped up that kind of crap. He assumed chick lit was the same.