Closed Above and Beyond

[Timothy De Luca]

Timothy De Luca was travelling around Paris, France taking pictures for a commission that he was doing. It had been taking up a lot of his time, and when he finally got time to relax he went to a small cafe and ordered an espresso. He had made sure to keep his digital camera in its case and placed it in the center of the table that he was sitting at. He had been thinking a lot about how busy he was with working freelance. It was harder than he had expected. It took a lot of organization, which he had because of how he was born and raised. He took a sip of his espresso and grimaced. He hated coffee, but it was the only good thing around here. He hated tea and smoothies, so coffee or water were the only thing that he was able to drink. He wanted some flavor, so coffee was the best option in his opinion. Timothy was still working on putting up with things that he didn't like. It was going well he could say.

 

[Ember Michaels]

Ember was a little stressed. She was about to graduate and she didn't have any idea what she wanted to do. Nothing seemed worth her time. There was the family business, but that sounded boring. Besides, she was pretty sure Jasper wanted to be next in line after her dad. And Amethyst wanted to be some sort of journalist. That made her the odd one out. She was sure cousin Onyx was the only one who got her. But he was like five years younger. He could make up his mind and leave her alone again.

So when Uncle James had said he was going to Paris for a photoshoot, she had eagerly tagged along with him and Onyx. She had hoped to find something here that might catch her interest. She was having no luck. She trudged into a coffee shop, tired and frustrated. Not that she really cared for coffee. She ordered a hot cocoa with a dash of cinnamon in it. She'd acquired the taste when Damien had made her help him plan his stupid date with Danielle.

Even the drama king had more of a life than she did. She was looking for a seat when she noticed a bloke with a nice camera sitting by himself. She approached his table, curiousity peaked. "What's the appeal to photography?" She asked absently, studying the camera. It wasn't too different from her uncle's. Was the bloke a professional too?

 

[Timothy De Luca]

Timothy was enjoying his time by himself. He was thinking about his sister, Israel, who was growing up so fast. He felt like she was going to be going to school pretty soon. However, she was only 5, but she acted as if she was an adult. He felt that most children wanted to hurry up and grow up, but Timothy had never been like that. He wished he hadn't grown up to be the way he was. However, he as a grown @ss adult now. He needed to deal with it. Timothy was taking another sip of his espresso when a girl started making comments about his camera. He looked at her with an irritated look. He was enjoying himself. "It makes me money, and rich people will pay anything for something that makes them feel better about themselves." he said bitterly. He looked at the girl closely. She looked like trouble. Timothy hated trouble.

 

[Ember Michaels]

Ember was a little startled when the bloke answered her, but she supposed she did ask. She took the seat across from him. She sipped on her cocoa as she considered his answer. "I suppose that makes sense," She spoke idly, "Though me uncle says he's in it to capture beauty." She shrugged. "He works for a travel magazine, so I guess it does have its perks." She took another sip of her cocoa. "Name's Ember. Ember Michaels." She held out her hand.

 

[Timothy De Luca]

Timothy nodded at the girl and took a sip of his drink again. Once he thought about what she said he chuckled and set his espresso down. "Capturing beauty doesn't make money. Hard-work makes money." he told the girl. It was very Hufflepuff of him to say something like that, but Hufflepuff had been his house when he attended Hogwarts New Zealand. She introduced herself, and Timothy sighed. He decided he was going to play nice. "I'm Timothy."

 

[Ember Michaels]

Ember snorted at his response. "I can agree with you. Try telling my uncle that." She rolled her eyes. She loved the bloke, she did, but he was much too emotional for her liking. She nodded when the boy said his name, not bothered when he didn't shake her hand. If he didn't want to, he didn't want to. Deciding he was tolaerable and more entertaining than sitting alone, Ember decided to try and make conversation. She didn't bother with any of that 'pleasure to meet you' nonsense. She hadn't decided that yet. "What are you drinking, Timothy?" She asked, sipping at her own drink.

 

[Timothy De Luca]

Timothy watched the girl carefully. He still thought that she looked like trouble and right now she was a bit boring. However, he needed to play nice, especially since he was a freelancer and her uncle was a photographer as well. He could not have her going around telling people that he was rude. That would be bad for his work. Timothy looked down at his drink and looked back at the girl. He thought it was quite obvious what he was drinking. "Espresso, which should be clear by the abnormally small cup." he told her. He motioned his head towards her drink, hoping she would say what she was drinking. "Where is your uncle now?" he asked curiously. He was wondering what she was doing around all by herself when her uncle was supposed to be supervising her.

 

[Ember Michaels]

Ember snorted at Timothy's response. "Which would be clear if I actually cared about coffee. Hot chocolate." She wiggled her cup a bit. "It's really the only thing worth drinking in here." She grinned a bit. She had been bored out of her mind. Maybe she just needed a challenge. She wondered idly if this bloke was up for it. She shrugged when he asked about her uncle. "No clue. He gets pretty caught up in his work so I stay out of his way."

 

[Timothy De Luca]

Timothy disagreed. "Coffee is not the best, but there is some good coffee. I tend to like Indonesian coffee the best. Very syrupy." he told her. Perhaps it was because she was young that she did not have an affinity for coffee but for hot chocolate, something childish in his mind. Timothy nodded at her next statement. Timothy understood as well. He got that way too. "I feel like most artists are that way, Ember." he told her. He took his art very seriously.

 

[Ember Michaels]

Ember considered what he said for a moment. "Well, I don't like plain coffee. I should try the other kinds before deciding it's all bad." She figured that would be something that could keep her busy over the rest of the trip. She'd try and find a coffee that wasn't horrible. She looked over to him again as he said most artists were the same as her uncle. She nodded. "Hey, the way I see it if you don't enjoy what you're doing then what's the point?" She sipped on her hot chocolate again. The only thing she really enjoyed was her music. Maybe she could attempt to make a thing out of that?

 

[Timothy De Luca]

Timothy nodded. "And most coffees kind of taste like chocolate. You just have to look for it first." he added. Coffee was an artform as well. It was not one that Timothy himself was that interested in, but he admired people who were in it. So far, he had found that they were good at their jobs. "Money. That's the point. I don't do it for money, though. I was just born different, so I need art in my life. It helps me think and explain myself when I need to." he added.