Fancy Meeting you Here.... [Jun]

[Scarlet Diaden]

A few days had passed since Scarlet’s eventful evening at the Mall Arcade, and she still found herself thinking about it every once in a while. The day after she’d barely managed to keep her mind off of the events, to be honest. Thankfully, as the days passed, she thought about it less and less, to the point where she was only reminded of the Dance Dance Revolution match when she saw someone that looked similar to the Asian.

When she did think about the night, it only brought up more questions , her personal favorite being ‘Who was he?’. She was also insanely curious as to how he could move the way he had. Maybe he was an acrobat of some sort? Oh well, she’d never find out. It wasn’t like she’d ever see the guy again. Too bad, he’d been pretty cute.

It was a very, very slow day at work, which was nice since it gave her a chance to work on some of her homework she was behind on. To make matters worse, said homework was due at the end of the week, and she’d barely even touched the subject! So, sitting behind the counter, she scribbled away in her notebook with several thick textbooks open in front of her. Every few minutes she would stop to reread a passage from one of the books, think for another few minutes, before writing like mad. Every once in a while she’d be forced to get up to help a customer either find what they were looking for, or ring them up.

Her shift ended early today, getting off at about three, when her boss came in to man the shop. For a while, Scarlet had thought the older woman was odd, since she insisted on doing just as much work as her employees. But, after working for the woman for several years, Scarlet had come to accept this as normal. So, packing her bag, she stepped out onto the busy streets of New York…

Now, she had several options here. The first, head to the library and try to get this paper done. Not to appealing…. The second, hear to her apartment and get the paper done. Again, didn’t sound too great. Third, check out that Chinese restaurant her boss had suggested the week before, and work on her paper as she ate a very late lunch. Her stomach grumbling was more than enough to convince the young woman. Food first, paper second. She liked this idea. Now… Where exactly was the restaurant again…?

Scarlet was forced to head back into the Antique shop to get directions to the place from her employer, before finally heading out. To her surprise, it wasn’t that far from her work! Since the young woman didn’t own a car, most places had to be in walking distance for her, and this restaurant was exactly that.

Twenty minutes later (she seems to think a twenty minute walk is walking distance…. Actually, everything short of an hour was walking distance for her.), and she’d reached her destination, a traditional Chinese Restaurant in China Town. It wasn’t overly crowded as she walked in, but it wasn’t empty either, which, to her, spoke volumes. It was good enough to draw in a good crowd. One of the servers, a teenage boy (who, because of his Asian descent reminded her a little of the guy from the other night), quickly approached her, asking if she would like to be seated, and for how many. Within about thirty seconds of entering the restaurant, she was seated with a menu in her hands.

The British born young woman was generally unfamiliar with Chinese cuisine, if only because growing up her parents had banned anything that wasn’t prepared by their personal chefs (who only seemed to know European recipes), and when she was on her own, it was expensive. She still thought it was expensive, to be honest, but that didn’t deter her. For some reason, she just had a good feeling about this. About today, even though it had been so slow and boring.

With the help of the waiter (who must be used to this kind of thing, because he didn’t even blink when she told him she didn’t know what she would or wouldn’t like.) she finally managed to order something, a dish that she couldn’t even pronounce (the waiter did assure her it would be good, regardless of her inability to form a proper Mandarin word.).

Now all she had to do was wait for her food. She took this opportunity to pull out one of the text books, and the same notebook from earlier, and continue reading and writing. She seemed almost absorbed into her study, ignoring all the other diners in the place, and only looking up when the same waiter from before came to refill her drink and reassure her that her food would be out shortly. Smiling, she just nodded, thanked him, and turned her gaze downward once again, scribbling away.

[/justify]

[Jun Lee]

The soft sound of scribbling pencils on paper filled as the pulsating second hand on a clock steadily kept rhythm to it all. What couldn't be heard, however, were the thousands thoughts of the couple hundred students pouring over a test that was sitting in front of them. What was worse, was that it was a history test, causing most in the room to visible strain their brains as they struggled to remember dates to random events throughout history. Among the mentally sweating group of teenagers was none other than Jun Li, fortunately for him though, his master had always raised him with a fond embracing of historical texts. In other words, Jun loved history.

Though, unfortunately, this wasn't the kind of history Jun enjoyed. It contained nothing about ancient cultures, ancient wars, or even modern cultures or wars. In other words, it was none of the cool stuff about history. This class was the intolerable, unbearable, frustrating, infuriating, diabolical... Art History. It was required, he needed the credits and this was a class that he was basically forced to take. What was worse was that this wasn't the actual test, it was just a prep for a test in two days. Supposedly you took it to learn where your weak points were so that you could study harder in those areas for the test. However, Jun was lucky that he already knew his weak point... it was Art.

Jun put his hands to the temples of his head and pushed in, all this focusing on stupid subjects was making his head hurt. Like now he was filling out questions on that Picasso guy. What was so important about him? Did he ever fight and help win a war of freedom or justice; no. Did he ever write a piece of literature that helped form or reform a government; absolutely not. Did he help in tyranny; nope. Did he ever develop a cool fighting style and rip someones spine out; not even close. So why in the world was he important? Just because he put a few colors onto a canvas and made a picture? Big whoop if you asked Jun.

Sure, Jun was a bit caustic about it all, but it was just art and artistic things were really hard for him to understand. It would seem as though his suffering would soon end though as a loud ringing sound resounded throughout the class and the teacher told everyone to put their pencils down and leave their papers on the desk.

"Remember, the test will be on Friday, so study hard for it. For those who want to study ahead, tomorrow will be on Claude Monet. Have a good evening everony." The demonic teacher of art hell spoke cheerfully to her prisoners, or students as the school called them.

Jun quickly grabbed his back-pack and ran out of class before the devil woman could stop him. Some of the students come out of the class were talking about how much they loved some of Picasso's work, or talking about different aspects of art, or what a certain artist was trying to 'say' in his work. It was a bunch of bull crap to Jun, though he knew he shouldn't be so harsh. His master always said that beauty was all around in the world, but so many people refused to open their eyes to see it; always commenting on how artists of all varieties were gifted to be able to see that beauty and help us to see it better through different mediums.

His master always said if more people could appreciate the beauty in the world, less people would try to harm it. Though, his master was sitting twelve feet under ground so you could see where that thinking got him. Jun paused for a moment at thought, almost ashamed of himself for thinking that. His master was an amazing and wise man, and the closest thing to a father he ever had, how dare he disrespect his memory like that. Jun said a quiet apology before quickly heading out of school, it had been a really long day and while Jun was trying to control his emotions, he had been a bit... grumpy, to say the least. He just needed something to cheer him up, who knows, maybe work would help.

After about an hour of walking (because Jun owned neither a car nor a bike), he began to enter China town and after another ten minutes or so of walking he could begin to see his work in the distance. Soon enough he was walking through the back door into the kitchen, sliding his back pack off, and making his way to the bathroom to change into his work clothes real quick. Really his work clothes only consisted of taking off his shirt and black jacket (yes, he wore a jacket even during the summer, because it covered his neck), and putting on the black shirt with the golden dragon and the waiter garb around his waist. In only a couple seconds he was done and stepped back out, adjusting the collar of the long-sleeved shirt to cover his neck better, and made his way deeper into the kitchen.

"About time you got here, my shift ended fifteen minutes ago!" An Asian boy about Jun's age said, handing Jun a notepad, change-belt, and other essential waiter gear.

"Sorry, I hit red light, all way home." Jun said in his usual broken English.

"Whatever, you got three orders up. Tables fourty-two, eight, and nineteen. Mr.Lin is out in the dining area, talking to all the customers as usual, see ya later Jun... Oh, by the way, table fourty-two is a major hottie. Maybe you can 'woo' her like you did the girl at the mall." The boy laughed loudly at the last of his comment before waving to Jun and walking out the door.

Jun simply grimaced at the comment, seems his boss had taken it upon himself to relate Jun's story to everyone at work, and Jun had gotten a lot of teasing because of it. Regardless, it was work now, he had to focus on other things. Quickly he grabbed the massive serving tray and loaded it up with several plates of food and drinks as well as a note on each to make sure each got to it's proper table. Shift changes were always tricky when you were in the middle of an order, food tended to be mixed up sometimes.

With tray in hand, Jun pushed open the door from the kitchen out into the dining area. It was a full evening, not a huge crowd but a good number, and more would likely come in the next couple hours. Jun glanced around and saw his boss was mingling with a few of the guests, the man liked to personally ask the patrons how their meals were. As much as he annoyed him sometimes, Jun had to admit, the man was a very good manager, and very good to the patrons as well; you could always tell they really mattered to him.

Making his way to table eight, he set down a couple plates of food and some drinks. Then to table nineteen with three plates of food and a few drinks, making sure that each of the two tables had everything they needed before making his way to the last order, table fourty-two. There was only one plate of food and one drink, which usually meant a solo-er, someone that came in alone. They didn't always bring in the most money, but a lot of the solo patrons were generally loyal customers, so it made up in the long run. As he approached the table, he saw it was a red headed girl sitting with her back to him, it reminded him slightly of the girl from the mall but there were a lot of red heads around so he quickly pushed the thought out of his head.

Approaching the table he set the massive serving tray down onto the legs that were attached to the bottom of it, his back to the girl. "Sorry for wait, here is yo food." Jun said politely as he carefully grabbed the hot plate and drink and turned to set it on the table.

As he did so, he glanced over at the patron, "Is there any- <HOLY HELL>!!" Jun literally shouted in Mandarin, which wasn't a surprise, but the fact that he cussed, even if it was very minor, was an incredible surprise if you knew Jun. Why did he swear? Because the red head at the table that reminded him of the girl from the mall, WAS THE GIRL FROM THE MALL! Chills ran down his spine and he could immediately feel his palms begin to sweat as many of the patrons turned to see what Jun had shouted for... Including his boss who was several tables away. Jun had to react VERY quickly... Maybe she didn't recognize him! Yeah, maybe she wouldn't and he could pull off not knowing her.

"I mean... Is there anyting else I can get fo you?" Even though his voice shook a little, he thought it was convincing enough. After all, all of the patrons turned back to their meals. Smooth Jun, smooth as butter...

[Scarlet Diaden]

Scarlet was enjoying herself. It wasn’t overly loud, which was ideal for getting this paper done, but it wasn’t deathly quiet so there were moments where she could eavesdrop on other people’s conversations instead of study. She kept this routine up, study and work on her paper for a few minutes, then use that heightened sense of hearing of hers and listen to what other people were saying. From her constant eavesdropping, she came to learn that the elderly man that was moving from table to table, speaking with all the customers, happened to be the owner. She couldn’t help but instantly like the man for that trait alone, he really did seem to care about his customers.

Okay, back to studying. She’d spent longer than usual listening, and she still had a lot of work to do. After all, the paper was due in a week! And she was still on the rough draft/ idea process. Letting out a sigh, she focused on the text book once again, rereading the entire page while lightly tapping the end of her pencil against the book. What in the world had made her procrastinate on this paper for so long? She’d never done that befo- Okay…. Now she remembered why. She’d planned on writing it all out the night she’d gone to the mall, and when she’d gotten home, she was already late for her second…. Job. Obviously, by the time she got home she was more focused on sleeping then getting homework done… After that, she’d just completely forgotten.

Scarlet had just read the same paragraph about four times while lost in her thoughts. She lifted her gaze, and sighed. She needed to focus on getting this paper done instead of why it wasn’t done already! Shaking her head slightly, she looked back down with a newfound determination to get back to work. At least, until the waiter was back. Wait, was it the same waiter? No, it couldn’t be. The other guy had been taller, with an American accent. This new guy spoke like a foreigner (seeing as this was a Chinese restaurant, her guess was Mandarin was his first language. Be kind of odd if it wasn’t…), and was on the shorter side (he was still taller than her though, but most people were.).

Quickly she closed her text book, sliding it off to the side so the waiter would have a place to set the plate and drink. It was then, as he turned around, that…. She recognized him! It was that guy! The one from the Arcade! Apparently he recognized her, because he’d actually yelled in another language. Obviously she’d startled him. She blinked a few times, wondering just why he’d reacted like that. She was incredibly surprised to see him as well, but not enough to yell!

After only a moment’s hesitation, she smiled brightly. ”You’re the guy from the Arcade the other night!” She sounded just as chipper as always, and for some reason didn’t seem to realize that the guy might not want her to recognize him! She did, for some reason, realize how awkward it must be for him having to serve someone he knew outside of work, which, in her mind was why he’d been so shocked! ”I’m sorry for startling you, I didn’t know you worked here.”

[/justify]

[Jun Lee]

Shocked was an understatement for how Jun had reacted to see the fit red head. So shocked in fact that in the bottom of Jun's stomach he could feel a swelling of undesirable urges (I.E. killing, maiming, so on). Almost immediately Jun had to take a deep breath and quickly calm himself, gaining control over his spiking emotions of seeing the girl he never thought he'd see again. You see, it was strong emotions that triggered his "dark side" so to speak. So when Jun was startled it was like an instantaneous trigger to his murderous side. Thankfully, his master had taught him a lot in terms of controlling himself and made it nearly impossible for him to be startled. That doesn't mean it didn't almost happen a few times, like now.

Thankfully though, he wasn't so shocked that he couldn't quickly gain control and calm himself down. Unfortunately, nervousness began to swell inside him. What was he going to say to her? What was his boss going to say if he figured out this was the girl he bragged about? Well, even though nothing had happened yet, Jun had learned a very important life lesson. Lying is bad, no matter how small the lie is, it can always come around and bite you right on the butt.

Only seconds after his shout, the red headed girl beamed brightly, looking all to happy to see him. Then came her familiar, sing-song, flowing voice and accent. Why did her voice make him want to smile and at the same time run back into the kitchen? Regardless, his face remained as stoic as usual though this time there was slight worried expression hidden among his features.

"Arcade?"Jun said quizzically, trying to act as if he had no idea what she was talking about, as if he hadn't thought about it quite a bit these last several days. Ok, she knew it was him, no point in hiding it now, "Oh yeah." Jun cleared his throat slightly and grabbed his serving tray that was now empty, and folded it under his arm.

"Everybody works somewhere, when there aw bills to pay." Not the best way to respond, at all... Great, he was being awkward again. He stood there awkwardly for a moment before quickly walking away, only to be met with his boss blocking his path, an unnerving smirk on his face.

"<Jun! Did you forget to say something?>" The old man was a barely taller than Jun, but could make himself very imposing at times. Jun knew immediately what the man was talking about and slowly walked back to the red heads table, with a look on his face similiar to a dog in trouble or scared, and if he had a tail it would be tucked between his legs.

Jun stood back in front of the table, awkwardly, again, "Sorry, my name is Jun and I will be server for you, let me know if there anything you need." As he said this, he tapped his name-tag which did indeed have "Jun" carved into it. One of the reasons Jun was so awkward talking to people was that he knew he didn't speak English well and most people made fun of him because of it. So it really didn't help with his awkwardness when he was constantly nervous about talking.

Incredibly embarrassed that his boss made him go back to the table after walking away so quickly, an ever so faint blush could be seen on his cheeks. Largely from feeling like such an idiot. With a quick bow to the red head, he left before she could laugh at him. As he walked by his boss, the old man nodded his approval, "<That's better>." Jun didn't say anything to the man, simply muttering under his breath in Mandarin, talking very quickly with words that would probably be best to leave untranslated. Jun quickly walked into the kitchen, set the tray down, and leaned his head against the wall in shame.

"Smooth man, real smooth. No wonder women like you." Jun could hear the cook behind him saying with a loud chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah." Jun muttered, taking a step away from the wall and grabbing a couple more orders that were up and heading back out into the dining area. Thankfully these orders were on the opposite side of the restaraunt as the red head so it would give time for his face to cool down, because it really felt like it was on fire. He seriously had to get his emotions under control before he went all apocalypse...

After a several minutes and talking to a couple other patrons, Jun's boss had made it over to the red heads table. Making sure he wasn't interrupting anything, he took a step forward and cleared his throat politely.

"Good afternoon madam, my name is Mr. Lin, I am the owner of the Jade Dragon." The old man said with a stooped bow, revealing a head of balding gray and black hair and the faintest hint of the same accent that Jun possessed, "I hope everything is satisfactory for you and I apologize for the outburst from our waiter. He has been with us for some time now but still makes a mistake every now and then, though he does try hard." The man glanced over at Jun on the far side before turning back to the red head, "If you would like a different waiter, I can arrange that." While the old man seemed like he was just being a kind and concerned owner, in reality, the man was devious and always working some sort of angle. At least, that's what Jun would say if you were to ask him...

[Scarlet Diaden]

You know, Scarlet was having a really hard time reading this guy. Sure, she wasn’t amazing at reading people in general, but she really had no idea what he was thinking. If he even liked her for that matter, or thought she was annoying. It didn’t happen to often, but there were some people that just couldn’t stand her. Maybe he was one of them? Why else would he look more interested in putting as much distance between them as possible than actually greeting her. It was a little discouraging, because she honestly had no idea what she’d done to make such a bad impression..

None the less, she softened that bright smile of hers. ”I know what you mean…” And…. He was gone. Again. Did he always do that, or was it just her? After a moment though, he was back, after, what must have been a scolding from his boss. Her smile had vanished when he had, but quickly returned. At least she finally had a name to put to the face! Again, he seemed ready to bolt, and before she could work out a response, he was already on the move. Quickly she opened her mouth, saying the first words that came to mind. ”Thank you.” She didn’t raise her voice at all, considering she was in a restaurant after all! But she hoped he’d heard her. She still wasn’t sure what she’d done to make the guy so nervous around her, to the point that he actually did blush! Well, she didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, but she had to admit… He was pretty cute when his cheeks turned a soft pink.

Finally, she turned her attention to her food. It looked… really good! She wasn’t sure what she would think about the food, but after that first bite… She was wondering why she’d never tried Chinese food before now! It was absolutely delicious! Good manners kept her from straight up inhaling the food, but she was already wondering if she’d ordered enough. It was when she was entertaining the idea of ordering more, that the owner reached her table. Setting her fork down (since she hadn’t tried chopsticks before in her life, she hadn’t even considered using them), she quickly glanced towards him, that trademark smile of hers back.

”It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lin. I’m Scarlet.” She stopped, wondering if he might think the same thing as Jun (seeing as she now knew his name, she could finally use it!), before quickly adding. ”I don’t mean my hair color, my name is actually Scarlet.” She grinned a little brighter. Pausing for a few moments as he spoke, her smile softened once again. ”Oh, it’s fine! I think I just startled him, is all!” Another short pause, very short when she heard what he said! ”It’s alright! You don’t have to worry about it at all!”

[/justify]

[Jun Lee]

Jun was on the other side of the restaurant, and had been for a while, his face still felt hot. Though thankfully much less so than when he had been at Scarlet's table. After taking care of the rest of the patrons on the far side of the restaurant, Jun couldn't help but glance back over to the red heads table only to see... Mr. Lin talking to her. No! This was bad, very bad, he couldn't let that old fart stay over there and blab his mouth to her about who knows what! Yet, he couldn't go over there and interrupt them, much less show his face to the girl again unless it was absolutely necessary. Looks like he would just have to face the fact that his boss would likely embarrass him more.

Suddenly it hit him what he could do and quickly he made his way back into the kitchen. Setting his massive serving tray down, he walked over to the cut-out in the wall between the dining area and the kitchen and bent over so only the eyes and the top of his head could be seen. Then closing his eyes, he focused all of his power into his sense of hearing. The sudden explosion of sound nearly made him wince as the conversations of all the people rang through his ears, as well as their clanking of the silverware against their plates, their chewing, and even some heartbeats. Pushing through the pain of the loud sound, he focused his attention on his boss and Scarlet, eventually able to tune out the rest of the restaurant; then he listened in.

"...ean my hair color, my name is actually Scarlet." Jun was finally able to tune in to what the red head was saying, his sweet, melodic voice resounding in his ears as if she was whispering directly into them.

"A please to meet you Scarlet, and I hope everything is satisfactory for you and I apologize for the outburst from our waiter. He has been with us for some time now but still makes a mistake every now and then, though he does try hard." It made him feel even more like an idiot to hear his boss and having his unruly outburst brought into the conversation.

"Oh, it’s fine! I think I just startled him, is all!" Startled? No, if he had been startled she would probably be laying on the ground with her head several feet away. Thankfully all she did was surprise him a little.

The old man quickly continued though, "If you would like a different waiter, I can arrange that."

The old man had barely finished the last syllable of "that" when Scarlet very quickly spoke up, "It’s alright! You don’t have to worry about it at all!" Even after what Jun had done she didn't mind him serving her? Not to mention she was incredibly quick to reply to his question.

Jun could see his boss smile brightly at the red head, as if what she said had made him very happy. "What's on your mind old man..." Immediately ran through Jun's thoughts as he sat there listening in to their conversation.

"Very well then, and I don't think you startled him, that boy is nearly impossible to surprise. I think it was more that he hadn't expec- HEY JUN, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" The sound of the cooks voice exploded in Jun's ears like a hand grenade had just gone off beside him. It was so loud, in fact, that Jun literally hit the ground with his hands over his ears and yelped a little.

"You... uh... Okay man?" The cook asked hesitantly, as Jun slowly pulled himself up he saw the portly Asian was frozen in place with a large bowl full of dough in his hands, staring at Jun.

"Yes, I was just... Scrubbing floor a little." Jun said, rubbing a scuff mark out that was underneath him.

The cook raised a brow in question and confusion, "With your head?... You've been actin' really weird today man. Get your head on straight, you got two orders up..." The large man who looked like he could be a sumo wrestler stared at Jun for a moment longer before laughing and turning back to his grills. The man was always laughing and smiling, usually at Jun.

Jun glanced back at Scarlet and his boss, wondering what his boss had said as he could no longer hear them. Rubbing his ears a little, he grabbed the few plates of food that were on the order table and put them on his serving tray before heading back out to the dining area. Back at Scarlet's table though, the conversation had gone on without any rude interruptions by the restaurant's cook.

"-ted such a charming and pretty young woman to be on his shift." The old man said with a polite smile, "Well, if there is anything that you need please do not hesitate to call me or the waiter an-." The old man was just about to finish when a yelp came from the kitchen area, Mr.Lin glanced over his shoulder but could see nothing but the cook standing there looking at something on the ground.

THe cook probably burned himself, shrugging, he turned back to the girl named Scarlet, "Sorry for any disturbances, we usually aren't like this... But then I suppose it's abnormalities that make life interesting eh?" The man said with a chuckle, Again, thank you for coming to the Jade Dragon." The man said with a deep bow and kind smile before making his way to another table, then another. Then the door rang as the door to the restaurant opened and the old man quickly made his way over to them with a smile, and lead them to a table. It was obvious that not only was Mr. Lin a very social man, but loved to be in a situation where he got to talk alot.

After a bit of time, several people having left the restaurant and several new groups coming in, Jun glanced over at Scarlet's table. He knew he had been away from there for too long and it was time to check on her, but he was very nervous about even getting close to that side of the restaurant. After a few more minutes, he began to work up the courage, taking in a deep breath, he made his way over to her. Who knows, maybe she forgot about it all by now! Hopefully...

Approaching her table slowly, he took a very deep breath, calming his nerves, before finally stepping into her field of view, "How is yo meal, ma'am? Is there anyting you need?" Jun asked, his face and voice both as stoic as ever. After a moment he took a deep breath and spoke again, "I am sorry for yell earlier." A simple apology had to due because there was no way Jun was going to be able to explain it...

"I did not intend to..." Glancing down he noticed all the paperwork spread out on her table and recognized some of the pictures as well as the text. All the books and papers were about... art? "What you study?" A bit gruff perhaps, but politeness was hard to come by when ones face felt like it was on fire. Was Jun blushing fiercely at the fact that he was actually conversing with her? Probably, but he had to push through it... Stupid cheeks...

[Scarlet Diaden]

Scarlet couldn't help but give that signature bright smile of hers as she chatted with the owner. From what she'd overheard before this point, she'd already come to the conclusion that she liked him. He came off as a sweet old man, who honestly cared about every single one of his customers.

She couldn't stop but soften the smile when the man, Mr. Lin, complimented her, but quickly shook her head. "I really don't think that's it, seeing as we've met before." Unlike Jun, she seemed to see no problem in announcing to the whole world that they'd already met. And, seeing as how Jun had told his boss about said meeting.... Well, he probably would have already put two and two together, but there would be no doubt about it now. She opened her mouth to speak when she heard the yelp from the kitchen.

Unable to help it, she twitched a little, if only from surprise. Her first thought was that this was normal for the place, but apparently the owner already knew what was on her mind, reassuring her that this wasn't normal. Quickly she smiled. "What's life with out a little surprise now and then?" She nodded a farewell as he left, waited a few seconds, before quickly returning her attention to her food, her stomach already grumbling at her for neglecting the plate for so long.

She was three fourths of the way finished when Jun finally returned to her table. Her textbook was open once again, the woman reading as she worked on her meal. Swallowing her last mouthful, she looked up before he'd even said anything, having heard him approach. Again, that trademark smile returned. "It's really good! I didn't know Chinese food was so good before now!" Chipper as always, she seemed to say way more then necessary, but that was Scarlet for you. Not a rambler, but she never seemed to consider giving short answers as acceptable.

His apology caught her off guard though, a surprised look replacing that cheerful expression. "You don't have to apologize! I would have warned you I was coming if I'd known you worked here." Suddenly though, his attention was else where, specifically her textbook. Looking down, she stared at the pages for a moment. "This? It's for one of my Art History classes. I have a paper due, so I'm just brainstorming some." She paused, glancing back up at him and smiled. "Do you know anything about the subject?"

[/justify]