Thinking Time

[Preston Paine]

Whenever Preston needed time to think, he always made his way to Takorakaro Park. It was calming to him, a departure from the noise in the village. It reminded Preston of a park he'd lived next to when he was much younger and still living at home with his parents. As he took a seat at a bench near a small pond, the man pulled a bag from his pocket. Along with it fell a letter from his parents. He sighed as he stuffed it back into his pocket. It was from his father asking him to make a decision once and for all on whether or not he wanted to inherit his father's business. Lesson had been putting it off for years now, and he wasn't exactly sure why it was such an urgent matter. His father was well. They had assured him he was and that this was all just in case.

Opening the bag, Preston removed a piece of almost stale bread. He set about breaking it into small pieces and tossing them into the pond at a duck that was hovering nearby. Quickly enough, he and a few friends were munching on the pieces of bread. Preston watched them, trying his best to not think of anything else. His parents knew he loved his job even if he always seemed to have a fresh cut when he saw them on top of the burn marks he held from his time working with the Skrewts. They also knew he had a girlfriend, but they were less accepting of that. His mother hated her. His father seemed to like her when he met her in person, but proclaimed her odd when he received their next letter. They both thought that Preston was under some sort of spell. The man hadn't wanted to explain her being part-veela, knowing that wouldn't go over well so he simply hadn't. Paige was amazing regardless of that. He was sure of that. Yet, he hadn't even shown her the letter, hadn't spoken of it at all.

 

[Khalanee Koa]

Khalanee was finally happy with her place, she had decorated it to her heart content. Even though the room was small, she managed to add some pastel colored paper lanterns and some sparkly white lights to make her room bright. She had even placed a baby blue mixed with yellow polka dots bed sheet and pillow case. It took her about two hours to finish decorating her room and in the end she was satisfied on how it looked like, she just somehow wished she had a spot to place her couch. Tired and hungry, Khalanee sat down on her bed and wondered about her career back at home. Could she still do modeling even though she's here in New Zealand? Can she get a new agent and have some type of opportunities? After all she needed the money, although her parents offered her money to pay her rent and other bills, Khalanee still felt guilty to be asking for her parents money and living with it. Her modeling contracts were fulfilled, her agent had not signed new ones, and that meant just one thing for her. She was free. Modeling did not come with many days off, as the world didn't know: she was usually in a shoot, headed to a shoot, or recovering from a shoot. Those were the days but now all she wanted was to fulfill her dreams of owning a coffee shop and introduce the local beans from where she came from.

Today stretched out before her with nothing at all to fill it. That was fine, or at least, it was until she woke up from after she fell asleep and realized she still had no plans. When her phone dinged, calling her attention from a half-hearted attempt to read a book, she was almost relieved to answer. Of course she knew who was calling, it was her parents. Khalanee didn't want to hear their voices today for she knew they'll just talk and talk for hours, making the remaining hours of the day wasted. In a heart beat she stood up and took a show, changed into her yellow dress and white wedges. She brought her umbrella with her and locked the door behind her. Without anything in mind, Khalanee went down the endless stairs of her apartment and decide to let her feet walk to somewhere she didn't knew. It didn't tool long that she found a park full of witches and wizards. She even saw some people walking their pets, even a cat. How she missed her dog, Melon. If only he had a passport then she might have packed him and brought him along with her. Passing by the other dogs, Khalanee saw some ducks hovering nearby. She knew it was silly but she followed them, leading her to a guy throwing some bread towards the ducks.
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[Preston Paine]

Preston had just reached the bottom of the bag, the ducks congregated around all the pieces of bread he'd thrown into the water. They quacked happily, a sound that was music to the man's ears. As he aged, he was beginning to realize how much easier animals were to deal with. When they were hungry, they ate. When they were tired, they slept. They didn't really have an allotted time for worrying like humans did. Glancing up, Preston spotted a woman standing not too far. She had an umbrella in hand, and Preston tried to nonchalantly take a look at the sky. Had rain been in the forecast for today? He was always terrible at checking, relying on Paige to let him know how to dress for the day.

Clearing his throat, the man turned his attention back to the ducks. The woman didn't seem familiar, but she at least didn't seem as if she was going to shoo the ducks away. Finding a stray piece of bread he'd dropped by his feet, Preston had to speak to the woman. "Excuse me" he began, before making a gesture as if he wanted to throw the bread. That was exactly what he wanted to do, and she had unknowingly, he was sure, ventured right into his throwing path.

 

[Khalanee Koa]

Yesterday, Khalanee was following a toddler wearing an adorable jumper and now here she is following ducks. Who knew that she had a thing for following cute things, she laughed at herself for doing this to herself. It was not her fault that all the cuteness of animals and children made her happy. One duckling looked at her and they stared at each other, now only if she could read the ducks mind. The ducks led him to the stranger standing there, throwing bread for the ducks to enjoy. It was until she heard him talking to her that caught her attention. "Yes? Can I help you? she asked the man then her eyes landed on the pieces of bread he was holding. She knew exactly what he wanted, Khalanee smiled and nodded. She reached out for the bread and twisted a few piece and threw it to the ducks as well. It felt nice seeing them munch on something, she remembered her dogs and how they were doing. It felt nostalgic at the same time but she tried her best to appreciate what was in front of her, even the stranger.

"Do you come here often?" she asked while still throwing some pieces of bread, she wasn't ready for an eye contact especially when she already peeked at the guy when he was looking. He was obviously handsome, but she didn't want to sound creepy by telling that of course. She let both of her hands slide her dress, they were started to sweat again, it was normal for her hands to sweat of course. When the bread was gone, she stole another peak at the guy but this time, she wanted him to look at her and she wanted to wait if he'll look at her. It was a strange thing for her to do but she didn't mind, she was far intrigued by the color of his eyes than the ducks anyway.

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston had expected the girl to move out of his way, perhaps even ignore him, so he was pleasantly surprised when she reached for the bread and joined in. The man watched her silently, his mind half on watching the task and half on his own worries. Eventually, he realized he was staring, and he ducked his head for a brief second, lifting his gaze when she addressed him. She was looking away at that point, but after a moment she glanced back up in his direction. Preston smiled. He was fully aware that he was considered good looking by most, handsome by some. He'd used it to his advantage in the past and likely would in the future. It was part of his Slytherin nature to take advantage of such things.

"I do" he replied easily, the smile still on his face. It wasn't often that he was disrupted when he was here. "It's my favorite thinking spot" he added with a slight shrug. Preston figured that she probably had her own favorite place. "How about you? You come here often?" he asked. Preston was in the park more days than not. He and Paige jogged here on their off days, had picnics here on their happy days, and they'd even argued here on their bad days. The park had a lot of memories for the man.