Latest Posts by ofzahras - Page 3
Zahra remembered the first time she had been told she needed to ask for help when she needed it. She had been six and stuck in a tree for most of a family cookout, too stubborn to admit she was indeed stuck and not simply enjoying the solitude. She could now feel the same pride as an acid in her throat, tempted to lie and say she had everything under control. She might have just done it if her arms and back werent's quite so achey. "Yeah? Okay, that would be appreciated. It is pretty heavy," she admitted with a careful nod of her head. "And it is hot."
@ofzahras
Isabelle sucked on her lollipop slowly, watching her with a little look of amusement. It was too hot; the kind of hot where the air sticks to your skin like a hand, stifling and white-hot, scorching. Her neck was kind of red and there was the faint outline of her bikini straps on her bare shoulders. She had her hair gathered-up in a messy bun, and her sunglasses atop her head. She said, not really giving it much thought either. "I've nothing to do... I am just killing time, waiting around for my girlfriend to get off work, so I could help you." she offered, sticking her lollipop into her mouth again, shrugging one shoulder.
"You've got a keen eye, Rosie," she replied, careful not to sound snappy, "but I guess this combines strength training and cardio. Saves me a trip to the gym." Not that she had actually frequented one after moving back to the city, nor was she particularly interested in doing so. Admittedly it might have made her trip to the library just a little less torturous. Zahra tilted her head to the side as Rosie voiced their offer. It was a sweet gesture. "Thank you. I might take you up on that if I ever grow really tired of these pilgrimages." Zahra sighed at their question and shook head slowly as she studied the books in her bag. "I have honestly lost count. Way too many?"
“zahra, are you behind again?” rosie was not so much asking as they were just making the assumption. if it was them, they certainly would also be having late fees. this was one of the pluses of owning a bookstore; they could read whatever it was they wished directly as it came in. so long as it didn't interfere with the customers coming in. offering smile for sheepish smile. “y'know, if there's something you want, you can always ask me for a favour to order in. a copy you'd get to keep, and like, not worry about returning and all.” nervous chatter immediately boiling up; even though rosie could keep friendships, it often filled her with doubt to be social. as though she might ruin something by accident. “how many do you even have in there this time? the box is bigger than last time.”
"They really should include a portion for late fees on research grants," she mumbled, wondering just how much cash she had funnelled to various library systems. While she would usually consider it money well-spent, her current state of annoyance and frustration made her wish she had done just about anything else with those hundreds of dollars. Still, there were bigger problems in the world and Zahra couldn't help but notice the shift in Ryan's mood. It was evident his work-life balance left something to be desired. "Oh? That bad?" she asked, wincing internally but hoping the look on her face didn't betray her. "Is there anything you can do about it?" She paused for a moment, nose crinkled up in irritation at herself. "I'm sure you've already gone through all your options. Sorry." She remained silent for a moment, not sure she wanted to shift the focus back to herself. "Not really," she admitted after a lengthy pause, "but I'm teaching a class in the fall. I guess that's fun."
—he smiled at the comment a little; turning to her when she responded to his query. “certainly not,” he agreed with a nod —frankly, those were a lot of books to pay any fees. Nodding a little at her response, he could agree. working had been his priority as of late. very wrongfully so. “same…” he muttered; work kept her busy and he was, in fact, keeping busy with work, rushing to complete a set amount of hours each week that were a lot more than his usual shifts, prior to the move. “I have and Neva is not happy about it…” he admitted, laughing a little, but it was a humorless sound. Neva was pissed, not just not happy. they made their way inside and his partner went further in to talk to the manager, while he accompanied Zahra towards the front desk. “have you been working on anything new?” he inquired.
"I guess you're partially right. I just wish I had actually read these instead of just hauling them home and now bringing them right back." Obviously no one knew - or cared - that she hadn't even cracked open most of the books, but the shame was palpable nonetheless. The shame seemed to be her constant companion, increasingly so ever since her brain had decided it no longer wanted to partake in any additional reading or writing. The feeling only grew as she thought about future deadlines and word counts, the threat of falling behind making her sick to her stomach. "I am sure it's just a writer's block," she muttered, mostly to herself, before snorting in amusement. "See, I like where your head's at. I could smuggle Circe everywhere and become the ultimate cat lady."
A realisation lit up Zahra's face as Julia admitted she was only heading in. She laughed, shaking her head softly. "Ah, there you go. It's good to know some things don't change. Are you looking for anything in particular?"
Julia didn’t comment on her helping because if the roles were reversed the last thing she’d want was another person drilling down on how they’d had to lend a hand. Too many people took pride in their independence for her to risk saying the wrong thing. Instead she just gave her a small smile with an incline of her head, picking up the handle nearest to her.
“I don’t know if this can be considered a walk of shame, I mean what part of being well read is meant to be shameful?” If that was the case then maybe she should just bury her head in the sand right now because she’d much rather spend time with a stack of books than another human most of the time. “Or you could get one of those ones that old people take to the grocery store, the old lady shopper bags. Then no one would even know what was in it.” A shrug of her shoulders as they headed into the library, realising that Zahra didn’t realise that she was arriving rather than leaving. “Oh you know me better than that, I’m on my way in to pick up a couple I’ve had set aside for me. Don’t worry - I’ve not been replaced by an alien.” Julia joked softly. @ofzahras
"Ah, I see. Well, it seems to be a warm reunion, both literally and figuratively," she replied with a tired smile. God, it really was uncomfortably hot and the fact that she had dragged a small library worth of books from her home in Queens hadn't exactly helped.
Zahra's hand travelled to rub the back of her neck, clearly somewhat uncomfortable with the question and possible follow ups. "Research. I'm doing a postdoctoral fellowship, so, you know, a lot of reading and writing should be taking place."
"I love this library, I haven't been here in a while." Matt started explaining. "I was born in New York but upstate and then I lived in LA for over ten years so it all seems new to me now, even if I've even here many times before."
Matt looked at the volume of books and how big they were and turned back to her. "What do you do?" He asked curiously, always looking for a character in the people he meets randomly. It all helped his creativity. The best stories came to him in random encounters with strangers.
"I hear you. And I am sure you're making the world a better place one client at a time." Zahra has absolutely no reason to doubt Violet's professional abilities, especially if her clear enthusiasm and dedication were anything to go by. While she was delighted for her, Zahra couldn't help feeling just slightly jealous of just how much enjoyment and purpose her friend seemed to get from her job. She had been like that before, living and breathing her chosen career path, but lately finding any joy in research had been near impossible. "Yeah, I know. I'm sure it's not all that unusual, you know," she spoke with a shrug, dark brown eyes reading through the menu once more, "but it's frustrating. I thought it would get easier, you know." Zahra rolled her eyes playfully at Violet's offer of help. "Oh, God no. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. You just enjoy the fact that you're done with it for the time being. That being said, I might have to take you up on your offer of drinks and snacks."
"Haha, I agree. I think the world would be much more peaceful. But it's my passion in life so of course I want everyone to come see me." she agreed, settling back in her chair. The summer air was around them, warm but not oppressive, and there was a lovely breeze. "I'm sorry you've been having trouble. I'd offer to help but I doubt I'd be much of one. I haven't thought about papers and dissertations in years and frankly, I don't want to. But I'm always here for moral support. Available at any time day or night with snacks, drinks, 2000s romcoms, and a hug." Violet teased, taking on the voice quality of an old timey superhero show narrator. "Maybe a change of pace will help."
Zahra noticed the way the man studied their surroundings and nodded as if agreeing. “It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?” She had spent a good chunk of her life in libraries and the Main Branch of the New York Public Library was easily one of her favorites, even if her last few trips there had been less than fruitful. When she hadn’t been able to concentrate on her writing, Zahra had spent hours people-watching and wandering around the building, desperate for any sort of distraction.
An unintended yet quickly contained laughter escaped her as he described his sister. "I have to keep that in mind. Hopefully I won’t be needing any legal counsel anytime soon, but it's good to know there are options." She turned to glimpse at the books, a look of faint disgust spreading across her face. "I guess they are. Didn't read most of them, though. They're for work."
He grabbed the bag in his arms when he noticed it was about to hive out any moment now and followed her into the library. He hadn't been in here since he moved to the city and started working so he looked around the beautiful building for a moment as he walked. He almost bumped into her even. "I'm sorry." He left out a chuckle.
"Oh yeah, my sister is a nerd but hey, if you ever have some legal troubles she's amazing." He looked at the mountain of books in his arms and back at her. "Are all these yours? Someone's been busy."
“Of course not. That would be really boring and unrealistic,” she agreed with a small shake of her head. “I like reading about people who have flaws and who do dumb or morally questionable things, but framing definitely matters. None of those shortcomings are interesting if it feels like the author actually believes that being a shitty person is some sort of a virtue.” While Zahra could be quite withdrawn and even standoffish to a point, she genuinely and evidently enjoyed a good chat with almost anyone as long as she didn’t have to discuss her personal life in any particular detail. “Oh yeah?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, the corners of her mouth twitching, “well, I can’t blame you. Can’t say I’m the biggest fan of that book myself. But I suppose there’s some merit to it.”
She nodded along as the stranger spoke, grateful she seemed to take the lead. “Could’ve fooled me. So, you know, I am sure you would make an excellent bookseller as well. You seem to know your stuff." It wasn't a lie; she was clearly passionate about literature and had no problem approaching strangers to recommend things to them. "I suppose that's true. I wish I had more time to read fiction."
"i do fully believe that not all characters have to be likable in order for the book to be good. i will say, however, there's something so bothersome about them being framed in a way that suggest they're supposed to be likable. i try not to judge too hard, but sometimes i can't help it. catcher in the rye? i think that's maybe the worst book i've ever read," she rambled. she could go on, but she cut herself off with a shy laugh. not everyone wanted their ear talked off about books. "well when you make your assessment, you're definitely going to have to give me an update," she replied.
maddox flushed ever so slightly at the question. it wasn't the first time she'd been asked it. "ah, no i don't work here. i'm actually a tattoo artist. but if i weren't a tattoo artist, then working at a bookstore would probably be my first choice. i do read quite a bit. i've tried to tone it down though. i've learned the unfortunate truth that the more you read, the less stories feel unique."
Glancing at the woman who appeared quite pregnant, Zahra hurried to shake her head. She couldn't possibly involve this kind stranger in her dumb mess of a situation.
"Oh, I can't expect you to help. I made my bed, now I must lie in it, or however the saying goes." Of course she had to oppose, embarrassed she appeared as if she needed help carrying the books she had been dumb enough to check out and now return in one trip. That being said, Zahra had to admit she was just about to give up and escape, leaving the bag and its contents behind. She had to admit defeat and accept the helpful offering, no matter how mortifying.
Nodding, she picked up just a few books, the ones trying to make their own escape. It was a miracle she hadn't actually lost any of them on the way. That acted as a small consolation at least. "Actually, that would be really helpful. Carrying this would be a lot easier if I didn't have to worry about some of these getting lost," she admitted, a hint of defeat in her voice.
For as long as Sage could remember, libraries were one of her happy places. While many of the memories she had of her mother eroded with time, she could remember spending hours of her early childhood happily perusing the many shelves of their local library while her mom held her ever-growing stack of books with an amused smile. Walking up to the library the only thing she looked forward to more than finding a new read was the air conditioning. While summer felt like it had barely begun, it was already kicking her ass. “I hate stairs,” she grumbled as she trudged up the steps, one hand on her lower back and the other fixing her ‘I’m not like other girls, I’m worse’ tote that threatened to slip off her shoulder. She had only borrowed a couple books this time but was already a day late to return them. Something that was minuscule in the scheme of things, but stressed her out endlessly. Finally having made her way up the steps, she stopped beside another patron to also catch her breath. How any person chose to have a baby was beyond her. Even more baffling were the people who chose to have a second baby knowing damn well the little fuckers made it so much harder to breathe. Taking in as deep a breath as she could, Sage glanced down and noticed the tote spilling over with books. “Damn,” she said before she could stop herself, her gaze darting from the overburdened Ikea bag to the breathless woman with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I won’t ask. Plus, I can’t judge. I usually look like I robbed the place when I leave,” she added though even she had yet to take out quite so many at the same time. Truthfully, it made her feel like she should step up her library game, but seeing how winded the woman was had her reconsidering. “Do you need help? I can’t carry all of them, but I can lighten your load a little.” She held up her practically empty tote as she spoke. Sure there wasn’t far left for her to go, but she knew that if she was struggling, she would have been happy for the help. Hell, if it had been socially acceptable, she would have asked someone to fireman carry her up those damn steps just so she could avoid the struggle.
While she had never been great at accepting help, Zahra was grateful she had run into Julia, and even more grateful she seemed to be more than willing to offer a helping hand. "Thank you," she sighed, still catching her breath.
Zahra pulled an amused face at Julia's suggestion. "That's not a terrible idea. Although I hope I won't have to do this sort of a walk of shame anytime soon." Yes, she could have made multiple trips to the library, but somehow that had sounded even more laborious before she had actually started her perilous journey. Now she wholeheartedly regretted making said decision. "But I will definitely keep that in mind if I do end up in a similar situation." Glancing at Julia, she managed a brief yet knowing smile. "I see you're leaving empty-handed."
Julia didn’t know Zahra well - they were both in the library together on multiple occasions seemingly browsing or reading the same section, meaning she recognised her face as they came across each other at the door of the public library. As for judging her for this many books? That would be the pot calling the kettle black so instead she just gave her a small smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Here, you take one handle and I’ll take the other.” Luckily she didn’t have any books with her right now due to being on the way to pick one up, so her hands were free to attempt helping. Not that she was particulaly strong.
“You need to invest in one of those wagons they put kids in to pull them along.” She joked lightly. @ofzahras
"That sounds doable. I guess there's a certain kind of catharsis to reading about someone slightly annoying, especially if they grow out of it." While she didn't seek out irritating book characters, hate-reading could act as a weirdly satisfactory way of distraction. "I think I might have to get it, to check out whether you're right about her being annoying," she admitted with a nod, having made her decision.
She studied the woman briefly before moving on to the next shelf to check out its offerings. Zahra was in no hurry to leave and the peaceful bookshop, having realized flipping through the books kept her mocking thoughts at bay. "I take it you read a lot. I mean, you don't work here, do you?"
maddox nearly laughed at the other's question; one she would ask as well. she looked up at the ceiling as she recalled the beginning of the book. "it's not so much that she's annoying in a painful way. she's just annoying in a 'why are you so pessimistic?' type of way. but the more you get to know her and the more she learns and grows throughout the series, the more you let that annoyance fade," she explained, shrugging on shoulder.
"i'm personally not one to go easy on annoying characters. in fact, the only reason i even continued to read the book was because of how perfect the villain was. so if it makes you feel better, there is so many other things to focus on and it'll be over before you know it," she promised.
A sigh of relief. She wouldn't have dared to ask for help and was still eager to object, but there really was no way she would have managed on her own. Not when she was already beyond exhausted.
"Yes, attempt. Didn't get very far," she admitted, despondent. "Work stuff. I happened to be a bit overambitious when I checked them out." It was clearly and understatement and not something Zahra was particularly proud of. In the past she would have been able to make a considerable dent on her reading material, but lately the overdue fees and looming deadlines had not bee able to motivate her to work. "Thank you. I'm not sure how I got this far."
Henry was just heading into the library to try and do some research when he saw the younger woman practically lugging a huge tote bag into the building. Without thinking, he gently nudged her aside ever so slightly before picking it up with ease. "I saw you were having some trouble, so... I guess today's your lucky day, eh? Hopefully you're cool with me bringing it in for you." He chuckled as he grabbed the handle of the library door with ease, holding it open for the other. "Mercy... How does someone attempt to even read this much?"
Zahra watched as Ryan went to pick up the bag, quietly grateful he had happened to be there and didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry. "I guess this is my sign to hit up the gym," she muttered, slightly jealous just how easily the bag had lifted. "God no", Zahra spurted as he acquired whether she had actually read the books, "but I can't be paying overdue fees on all of those." Doing a postdoc in humanities wasn't exactly the most lucrative of jobs and there were far more fun ways to spend a good chunk of money. She nodded as Ryan spoke. "Okay, good. There's certainly a lot of flammable material there," she mused, following him quietly. "I'm okay. Work's keeping me busy." It wasn't a lie, not really, even if she hadn't really achieved much in the past few weeks. "I guess you must have been equally busy?"
—those were a lot of books to actually be any lighter than they looked, which made him smirk a little at her argument. “hmm,” was the only eligible response he could give. lifting the bag with ease —contrary to her he has been doing a lot of heavy lifting, daily, and the bag basically weighs nothing for him— he looked at her, a little amused. “you’ve actually read all these?” he questioned before nodding a little to her query in turn. “just a routine check.” Ryan responded as he reached out to pull the library door open, and gestured for her to walk in first. “how have you been? it’s been a while since I’ve been around…” they usually met at unholy hours, that’s how he had ended up meeting her, but his work schedule had been busy lately, plus he wanted to spend more time at home with Neva when he could; it left little time to venture when he couldn’t sleep.
A brief smile appeared, softening her angular features as she handed the bag over. "So you've had training. Lucky me, I guess. I've seen some of those law books, those are pretty hefty, both in size and texts." While her parents would have been overjoyed if their only child had gone into law, Zahra couldn't imagine anything more daunting. Making her way through the doors, she turned to speak to him. "Yes, just this way. I'm returning those. Again, thank your for your help. It's very kind."
Matt shrugged with a smile on his face. "Happy to help. I have a sister who's a lawyer. She made me carry her big books when I was a teenager so I'm no stranger to this." He chuckled before approaching her and offering his arms to her. "May I?" He asked and once he was allowed, he slipped his hands inside the bag and picked up a few of the books to unload the burden. "Lead the way."
While tall and wiry, Zahra had never been the athletic or muscular sort. If anything, her height was of the lanky type, all long limbs and sharp edges. Evidently that was not the case with this stranger who seemed to have no problem carrying the mammoth bag. "Just inside, thank you. I need to return them."
The woman looked down at the bag and picked it up with a perfect ease, the weight not at all a bother for the huge woman. Hazel looked down at the bag and then to the smaller woman before her "Sure, so where do you want it?" she asked casually with a little shrug.
Zahra managed a brief smile as she glanced at the blonde. "I should ask that very same question before I check out this sort of a haul. But I guess reading is a huge part of my job, so I should prioritise it." Should being the operating word. She did read, quite a lot actually, but unfortunately most of it did not have anything to do with her research project. "I understand. Somehow getting books and thinking about them can be much more exciting than actually reading them. I guess we're all just spoiled for choice." She had always prided herself in being well-red and aware of all the new releases, but lately finding joy between the covers of a book had proven difficult. "Two books seems like a pretty sensible choice, though."
it was rare that Tavi had the time to read. Still, she always found them a nice little escape from the real world around her. She knew that many people found comfort in browsing bookstores for hours. There were books she bought too, her favorites lined her shelves at home, but for something like this, a book she might need to lay on the beach with friends for a few days, something simple, she always loved being in a library, a sanctuary for many, and the best public service by far. she's got two books, a little saucy romance, and a biography of a dancer she's been invested in lately, and for her even that feels like a lot, but then, oh. she compares it to the person outside, large ikea bag full of books on their shoulder. "no asking. well, maybe asking, just wondering how you find the time? I feel like my pile of books to read is neverending and truthfully, daunting." she admits, a sheepish smile on her face.
Zahra nodded along as Violet spoke, delighted she seemed to be doing well. "That sounds great. God, I wish everyone had the chance to talk to someone like you. I am sure we would have much healthier, uh, encounters." She had certainly met her fair share of people who could've benefited from a little chat with an expert, herself included. Zahra groaned audibly as Violet asked about her work. She absolutely did not admit just how little she had achieved in the last few weeks, but there was no hiding just how frustrated she really was. "Not going well. I'm teaching a class in the fall, maybe that'll help. I don't know, I guess I'm just stuck."
"Oh definitely, it's much easier to meet up either individually or in small groups. I prefer it." She said, ordering a mimosa for herself. When in Rome after all. "I'm doing well, work is busy but rewarding. I made some really great breakthroughs with a client. I can't go into detail obviously but we managed to help her have a successful sexual encounter with her new boyfriend. It was really great." She explained, perusing the menu for a moment. "How are you? How's your work going? Or do you want to avoid that subject?"
Zahra grimaced as the woman spoke, feeling dumber by the moment for picking such a hot day for her pilgrimage to the library. Not that she should have checked out all the books in the first place considering just how unwilling she had been to start even reading them. Most of them hadn't even left the bag which had at least made gathering them up a simple task.
"Already did, unfortunately. The library is my final stop," she admitted, carefully kicking the bag as if trying to relieve some pent-up frustration. Unfortunately the kick did very little to move the bag or its contents any nearer the entrance. "This weather must be some sort of a punishment from the universe since I didn't even bother reading most of these. So, you know, you have me to thank for this."
in her heart shaped pink shades and jean skirt, Isabelle had been walking back home from a little trip downtown to see her girlfriend at her boxing club and have dinner with her (or more like, try to get her to stop throwing herself at the punching bags like a goddamn maniac for more than five minutes to drink some water or at least something cool with electrolytes in it, eat something, cool off for a while...)
She had been trying to wave down a taxi, but it had been of no avail, the streets too busy and thrumming with activity, burning under a hot July sun, everyone rushing home. Her phone was dead and she had forgotten her power bank back home so she was only growing more irritable by the minute...
Trying to cool off, she stopped at a little café to get herself an iced blueberry slushie, had stood at the window outside afterwards, looking at her flickering reflection in the glass pane as she reapplied her gloss when she noticed the woman near her. Pushing her shades up onto the top of her head, she blinked, immediately feeling bad for her. "oh wow... Don't tell me you gotta haul an entire library's worth of books somewhere further than a block away from here in this heat..." She sounded a little too surprised, her senses somehow both dulled and muddled from the scorching heat of the day.
Zahra nodded in a greeting, evidently preoccupied by her predicament. Thinking through her options, she remained silent for a moment before registering the man had offered to help.
"Oh, no, you really don't have to," she replied hurriedly, "I got myself into this mess, I better get myself out of it." The idea of letting a kind stranger carry her very literal burden sounded nothing short of atrocious to Zahra. Still, she was tempted to accept the offer, if only for the fact that the bag would most likely give out before she actually made it inside. "Actually," she began through gritted teeth, "I could use some help. Thank you. I'm just returning these, so, you know, gotta get them inside."
Sometimes, during his work day in his new job, Matt needed some fresh air to organize his thoughts. Leading a team of writers was starting to prove a little overwhelming and the fact that he was back here in New York so close to his own ghosts weigh on him constantly.
Matt knew the city even before he moved to live here permanently, especially Manhattan. First as a tourist but now as a resident and as he walked around, he tried to focus on his surroundings. Doing a little of people watching always helped his creativity.
That's when he noticed the woman struggling with her bag of, assumingly, books near the public library. He let out a small laugh at her comment and stepped a little closer. "Can I help you with that?" he offered.
"Oh, that's good, then." She did not want to ask for help, really didn't, but there was a chance the library books would soon be all over the ground and possibly under other library goers' feet. Truth be told, it was a small miracle she had actually managed to drag them all the way to the library door. "Yes, I need help." It was clear she didn't necessarily want help despite needing it. "Could you?"
Hazel wasn't used to being around in the daytime anymore, she had existed for so long as a creature of the night that the world of the day seemed like such a strange concept. It almost seemed symbolic of the life that she had gotten herself into over the years. When someone spoke to her, she noted that they were evidently exhausted from whatever she'd been carrying. "I hadn't planned on doing so..." she admitted, looking her up and down. "Are you like needing help or?"
@ofzahras
my body is NOT. a “”temple””….it is a CLOWN CAR, and NONE OF THESE BITCHES KNOW HOW 2 DRIVE
Zahra smiled briefly as she nodded at Eleanor. "A wise choice. I am not entirely sure I could explain what's going on here," she admitted, almost cringing as she studied the contents of the bag. While she had checked out the the majority of the books with the best of intentions of actually reading them, Zahra now had real trouble of even remembering the titles or why she had picked them. "But I guess carrying these around constitutes a workout. So, it's not all bad."
Eleanor had spent the better half of an hour searching for a particular book that the library said they carried. It wasn't where it was supposed to be on the shelf and she had almost given up on her search when she just happened to see it on the shelf. She found a spot to sit and read the first couple of pages before deciding she wanted to check it out. Getting up, she made her way to the check out line only to be joined by Zahra a few moments later. Eleanor smiled at her, glancing over to see the huge bag of books she was carrying. She was about to ask what was up with that when Zahra spoke up. A small laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head. "Fine," she said. "I won't ask."
Despite her stubborn streak and tendency to insist on doing things by herself no matter how difficult, Zahra could not hide her relief. Besides, a slipped disc didn't necessarily appeal to her. "Oh, hardly. It's definitely no more than a quarter of my size. And it's lighter than it looks." That was a bold-faced lie and Zahra was definitely grateful Ryan had offered to help her with the books. "That'd be nice, thank you. Can't say I've been doing much of heavy lifting lately." She shook her head slowly. "You're working? Nothing serious, I hope."
—dressed in a casual uniform, black pants and standard FD t-shirt, he walked up the stairs leading to the library meaning to check on a call; they did claim it was a false alarm, but two of them had been sent anyway to ensure there were no issues. a standard procedure for such a call, they needed to do an inspection of the building; this was a library after all, a fire break out in this place would be a pain, for many reasons. “what are you doing?” he laughed as he noticed Zahra —first he had noticed the bag, to be fair. looking at the massive blue bag she was carrying, he arched an eyebrow. “this is twice your size, Zahra,” he teased, laughing. “may I?” he inquired, gesturing towards the bag.
When the other spoke, Zahra couldn't help smiling briefly. "I get that. It's not everyday you see someone carrying forty pounds of books in an Ikea bag. Not even in New York city." She had definitely garnered a few odd looks on her journey to the library, but most New Yorkers seemed to have seen far stranger things and didn't seem to be bothered by the sight.
"I guess you could say that." She regarded the books for a moment as if trying to come up with an excuse for dragging them around the city. "I guess I went a little overboard during my last few library trips. Toting around this haul made me really consider switching to e-books," she admitted, slightly amazed the bag had managed to stay in one piece. "They would probably be far less damaging to my back."
stuck on how to finish the small project she'd started a week earlier, jazzy finally had to admit defeat and do the research on how to best turn her idea into a reality. looking up tutorials online hardly helped because it was too easy to get distracted and go down the cute-kitty rabbit hole, so she typically stuck to how-to craft books.
so informative and full of so many other ideas for potential projects, a trip to the library wasn't really as big of a deal as jazmine was making it out to be. it just made her feel like school was back in session, so when she noticed the woman's large bag, she welcomed the opportunity to postpone her entrance. "sorry," she smiled, "but i have to ask, i do." she peered into the big blue bag, the comical amount of books too amusing a sight to keep her grin from widening. "what's happening here? are you training for some sort of reading marathon?"
Zahra was grateful Violet had reached out, mostly because she was evidently excited to see her, but also because it forced her to turn her attention to something less daunting than the pages of subpar writing she had been managed to produce in the last few weeks. Sitting down, she reached for the menu before letting out a sigh. "I guess that's adulthood in a nutshell. Can't imagine how people with big friend groups ever find the time to meet up." The idea of trying to find a day that worked for ten or so people sounded nothing short of hellish. "Anyway, how are you doing? It really has been a while."
Closed Starter for : @ofzahras
Location: Bluebird's
Violet had just taken a sip of water when she spotted her tall friend walk out onto the patio of the restaurant. She raised her arm up in a wave to get their attention. "Zahra darling, it's so good to see you. I feel like I've been so busy lately and I've missed hanging out with you. This place does eggs so perfectly, light and fluffy like you wouldn't believe." She said, catching a waiter's eye that they were ready to order drinks.
