#∘₊✶────── aviva abrams ; interaction

[innocentcurse]

Aviva might have envied artists even more than she envied writers, so Devin being the former absolutely captured her interest, and left her feeling impressed. "That's really neat," she told him, an enthralled smile on her face. "I always wished I could draw, never really had the talent for it, though," she told him, mostly just making conversation now - something that Aviva did more often than not. "I'm not too shabby when it comes to making up ideas or stories or whatever, but the execution just isn't something I've ever nailed, you know?" She continued. "What kind of artist are you?" She questioned, not practiced herself, but still knowledgable enough to know that it wasn't as simple as all artists being ones who drew. "Oh, you sure?" She double checked the offer on keeping the Sharpie, an offer that she admittedly didn't want to refuse due to how handy they were to have around - particularly in the presence of such a problematic washing machine.

"Oh, not quite. I'm an artist," he explained. Devin had only referred to the various pens, pencils, and markers he had on him at any given time as a writing tool because that's what their relevance was to her in the moment. Just because he preferred to use something like a Sharpie to sketch out a quick goblin or fantastical vial didn't lessen it's most common use. "You're welcome," Devin said. He was just glad he could be helpful and hopefully prevent another washing machine mishap in the future. "Oh, you can keep it," Devin said. "I've got a million of them," he went on and he really did. Even though he didn't often work with Sharpie in a serious capacity he still seemed to acquire them in bulk and one was never far from him. He was sure if he searched a little deeper in his neverending backpack he'd probably be able to find another one of those markers on his person. It sounded like it would get more use with her and he didn't mind sacrificing it to the greater good.

[innocentcurse]

Aviva laughed at Nova's comment about the washing machine, absolutely sure that neither of them would forget about the debacle with the faulty machine any time soon. "Thank you - but really, I'll be one shake of a lamb's tail," she told them, assuming that no one would even have the time to show up to the store while she was gone. True to her word, Aviva quickly scurried off to the back room, where she stored many things, including the clean laundry of her own that she had washed at the beginning of her shift. It took not long at all for her to change into a dry, clean outfit, and once the task was completed, she returned to talk all things book lover with the customer.

"See, now that's the attitude I wish more people had," she began, shaking her head in disbelief, wishing more people shared the same mindset as Nova. "Hopefully these books will always be available, so what's the rush? And if I'm considered late to it, I'd hate for that ideal to stop people in generations to come from picking it up." Clearly, with the way that Aviva so quickly shared her thoughts in that very passionate tone of voice, it was a topic that Aviva had thought about before.

"It's real wordy so far, but I'm enjoying it," she nodded. "I usually follow up with any sequels - unless the first one I read was beyond awful," she chuckled. "So I'd say so, unless the end of it goes real south." Aviva couldn't imagine any unpleasant surprises to the extent of her no longer wanting to read the second book coming up, however, not from the things that she'd been hearing about Dune so far. "Oh yeah? You enjoying it?" She asked, genuinely interested. "I haven't picked up anything beyond the original trilogy yet."

“Sure, yeah, I don’t mind.” They admitted. “I’m used to holding down the fort like this. My parents run a bakery back in Florida.” However long it took, they genuinely didn’t mind standing by. “I know for sure not to let anyone near this one–” they pointed to the malfunctioning washing machine. 

 Nova nods enthusiastically at the question. They have indeed read Dune, and similar science-fiction novels. “Late? Never! Honestly, I believe that literature never expires.” That’s one of the best things about books. That information is written, and will forever become part of the literature landscape forever. “Whenever you get to it, you get to it.” They shrug. Nova loads more clothes into the washing machine while they interact. “The world within those pages will still be there for you to immerse yourself in, even if you picked it up on release day, or years later.” Pausing, they retrieve their coin purse to load up the machine with the required change. 

“Dune is a pretty heavy read. Are you planning on getting book two?” Nova asks as they place the purse into their backpack. “I started the Foundation series late too,” they say in reference to Isaac Asimov’s work. “I was gifted the trilogy box set, and the rest was history.” Nova explained. “I’m on the fifth book now, I think,” on their fingers they started to count the titles off the top of their head, but was getting nowhere.

[innocentcurse]

"Thank you," Aviva took the piece of paper gratefully, not taking the other's kindness for granted at all. It would have been so easy for unpleasant people to lash out in anger at Aviva over the troubles caused by the faulty machine, so to have quite an opposite reaction was greatly appreciated. "Oh yeah?" She raised her eyebrows. "You a writer or something?" She wondered, basing the guess off of the other's comment about having every writing tool in his bag. Finally as the Sharpie was produced, Aviva's smile grew wider and fuller with relief and gratitude. "Thank you thank yoouuu," she sang, taking the marker and immediately getting to work on writing up a sign that hopefully wouldn't go missing this time. "Don't worry, I'll get this back to you in no time," she promised with a little laugh as she wrote. "I swear I haven't been able to own my own Sharpie for longer than a week before someone's taken off with it."

"I do, yeah," Devin confirmed as he turned around to face his table again and reached for his sketchbook. He flipped it to a page towards the back to ensure it was a fresh page and tore it carefully from his sketchbook. He then turned his attention to his very cluttered bag as he blindly reached into the bottom of it for his pencil case. He thumbed through the various pens and pencils he kept in there but alas he couldn't find a sharpie which meant he'd have to delve right back into his backpack. "Well, here's the paper," he turned back around as he offered it off to the woman.

"I swear I have a Sharpie somewhere in this bag. I've got nearly every writing tool known to man in here," he joked though it wasn't that much of an exaggeration. Even though Devin relied on his favorite tools of the trade didn't mean he hadn't tested a bunch out and kept a lot of spares and second best options around if he was ever in a pinch. Few things could copy that of a sharpie though so he knew he had to have one somewhere. Devin dug through the mess in the bottom of his bag until he felt around for a familiar pencap. "Aha!" he declared quietly as he turned around again to offer her the pen. "Here you go."

[innocentcurse]

Aviva raised her eyebrows as the other told her where they had come from; it was just about the same distance as Aviva and her brother had travelled, an equally long journey. With a smile on her face, she couldn’t help but wonder how many of the same roads they had travelled upon. Cardinal Hill had been pleasantly welcoming to Aviva, but she couldn’t help but crave company that shared more with her than most of the locals seemed to thus far. “That’s a mighty impressive road trip for your very first one. I don’t imagine there’s a lot left to see, anyway,” she joked, though she selfishly enjoyed the fact that the other wasn’t in a rush to take off again. Newcomers had to stick together, now.

“I actually do have a change of clothes,” Aviva confirmed. It was so convenient, to do her own washing while on the clock, and so she had a basket of clean laundry out the back from when she had first arrived that morning. “You really wouldn’t mind holding down the fort? I’d only be just a second.” Normally, Aviva would have just left the store front unattended, or else put off getting changed if she was really needed, but with the puddle of water yet to be cleaned up, Aviva would greatly appreciate Nova there to warn anyone else if they arrived in the short duration in which Aviva got changed.

Her face lit up tenfold as the customer asked her about what she was reading. Aviva was an avid reader, and better yet, an avid talker. Getting to talk about what she was reading was truly the best of both worlds. “Dune - I know, I’m seriously late just starting it now, but I figured it was finally time to stop putting it off and to stop buying other books and reading them first instead of picking it up. Poor thing gathered so much dust on my shelf, I’m telling ya. You read it before?”

Nova too has found their experience similar with the townsfolk. So far, so good. “It is a drive,” they concurred. “I journeyed from Florida, and while it was tiring, I got to see so many sites along the way.” As daunting as the entire concept of roadtrips were, it turned out to be worthwhile. “This was my first ever roadtrip!" She proudly admitted. "I don’t think I’d be embarking on another anytime soon. I need to recuperate,” they chuckle. "Besides, I wanna see if Cardinal Hill has potential for me beyond the summer." It's a good thing she has teaching to fall back on.

“He is,” Nova confirmed with a smile. Internally though, they fear that they’re going to test just how understanding he is in the near future. Thinking of kind and understanding souls, they are brought back to the current situation at hand. "Do you have a change of clothes here, or at least live nearby?" They wonder aloud. "I could monitor things for a bit while you get cleaned up," they offer. Nova prepared a fresh and functional washing machine, then started picking up the clothing items that spewed out of the broken one.

“Oh! What were you reading by the way?” Nova’s always open to a good book recommendation. If it was enough to distract the attendant then maybe it’s worth a read. With their luck it’s hopefully not a book that she’s gotten around to reading yet. “Not that my book rec lists needs another one, but here we are." 

[innocentcurse]

"Well, you're right on the money," Aviva confirmed with a grin, brushing a stray strand of hair back from her cheek. "Born and raised in Beaufort, South Carolina - lived there all my life 'til this year. My brother and I packed up and rolled into Cardinal Hill just after New Year's, like the wind picked us up and set us down here. Still gettin' used to the place, but folks have been kind, and that helps more than I can say." Her voice lilted with a soft Southern twang, worn-in and familiar, something she carried with equal parts pride and nostalgia.

She followed Nova’s gaze across the laundromat. "Could be mischief, could be gravity," she mused, hands resting on her hips. "Though if someone did swipe it just to stir up a little chaos, I hope they got a real kick out of it - my backside certainly didn’t." That earned a quiet chuckle from her, and she let the mystery be - something very unlike the Aviva that most knew, but her place of residence wasn't the only thing that had changed at least a little bit. "Oh, you too?" She lit up a little at the mention of their similarity. "My brother and I, we had family here once upon a time, thought it would be great for a fresh start. Hell of a drive, though." She chuckled again.

While Aviva caught the hesitation around the word ex, and noted the tiny hitch, she didn't prod. Instead, she nodded with a smile. "Well, I'm sure Devin's the understanding type." The only Devin that Aviva had ever met - in this very laundromat, in fact - had given her the impression of being someone kind, and while she couldn't be sure that it was the same person, Aviva tried her hardest to think positively about others.

"Well, one of 'em definitely tried to eat a quarter last week, only to spit it back out like it was offended by the taste, but that's the only issue I've ever seen with 'em. If any do start spewin' coins at any alarming rate, you just holler and I'll come running with a bucket." Aviva didn't think that it would be necessary, but as her day seemed to be full of surprises already, she figured she couldn't count it out.

Something about her accent was endearing. “You’re from the South,” she absentmindedly notes aloud. Nova recalls the first first time she heard a southern accent, and even then she thought it was fun to listen too. As a Floridian she had the blessing of living in America's local vacation destination. Americans would flock from all over to visit the coastal towns like the one she was born and raised in. Thanks to her family’s bakery, she got the opportunity to interact with tourists of all backgrounds. Nova too wondered where the signage went. 

“It definitely wasn’t up when I came in. Do you think mischievous forces are at play or did it fall off, and is probably beneath one of the machines?” The latter is likely more plausible, as Nova’s unsure if ne'er-do-wells would try something of this nature without being nearby to watch chaos unfold on their unsuspecting victims– her mind’s clearly a palace of elaborate ideas. Sometimes it feels as if she can turn anything into a narrative. 

Nova snickered at the description of her shoes. “A road trip brought you here as well? Twins!” At least it sounded like that— did they share similar reasons for arrival or just the mode of transportation? “It’s going to be fine. Besides, I’m not in a hurry, so it’s okay if my laundry takes a bit longer to finish.” Being on vacation certainly had its perks. Right about now she would have been in the classroom teaching a new concept or something. “I’ll just have to let my ex, um, fr–“ she paused for what felt like a minute. In reality it was just a second where she stumbled over her words, trying to figure out how to label Devin. It hasn’t come up before, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been thinking about it. “–Devin know that I’ll be back later than planned.” The payphone area in the corner of the laundromat should suffice, providing they were working. Just in case she decided to verify. “Are any of those going to start spewing coins everywhere if I try to call?” she laughs while gesturing to the group of payphones. 

[innocentcurse]

"Six years?" Aviva echoed with a soft whistle, nodding as if that amount of time carried more weight here than it might in other places. "That’s a decent stretch. You'd definitely know the rhythm of the place better than I do." She offered the comment with a light smile, but her posture shifted subtly, pulling back a touch, letting her tone ease into something gentler. She was starting to get the sense that Sabine might’ve preferred a quieter moment, and that was perfectly fair. Not everyone came to the laundromat hoping for conversation. Some people just wanted their clothes clean and their thoughts uninterrupted. Aviva had only started chatting because, well, after the trouble Sabine had gone through just to get a working machine, it felt like the friendly thing to do.

Still, not all kindness had to be verbal. She let the silence stretch for a few beats, hands smoothing the hem of her shirt as she did so. "L.A. though," she said eventually, keeping her voice softer now, more a shared musing than a question. "I’ve never been. Closest I’ve come is through the movies - and I’m not sure Sunset Boulevard or Chinatown count as an accurate tour." The faintest smile returned, her gaze fixed on a scuff mark on the floor rather than directly on Sabine. "Anyway, no pressure to chat. Just figured after everything..." she trailed off, not exactly wanting to admit that she wanted to ensure that Sabine would come back by being friendly enough to have her forgive the troubles.

"Cool." Sabine was only able to manage one word in reply to Aviva's story. She swore that she wasn't that bad a small talk, but this time she really wasn't prepared for it at all. She thought of some other replies she could have said, but she came up tragically short. As the ambient sound of the washing machines began to fill in the folds of her brain, Aviva's question brought Sabine back to the conversation she was literally just having. She was glad that Aviva asked it though, ending any conversation with 'cool' is never cool. "Oh... uhh, no, I'm not." She replied, almost stopping completely before realising that she is shutting down the conversation again. She started back up, "I'm from L.A., I moved to Cardinal like what, 6 years ago? Christ it's been a while." She stretched her back, the complimentary plastic chair proving insufficient for her comfort.

[innocentcurse]

"It's not your doing at all, don't you worry one bit," Aviva reassured the other, the southern twang in her voice alluding to the fact that she wasn't native to Cardinal Hill either. "That's exactly why I put the sign up, so no one would think it was their fault if the pesky thing played up again. I really have no idea where that thing ended up, though..." Aviva's words almost trailed off as she scanned the establishment for any sign of the sign.

"I should be just peachy," Aviva confirmed with a grateful smile. "I think my dignity took the worst of it," she added with a chuckle, feeling more embarrassed than she felt physically hurt - though thankfully as it took a lot to truly embarrass Aviva, she knew she'd be back in tip top shape in no time. "Thank you, that would be greatly appreciated. The last thing I need is to slip again and risk actually hurting myself now," she accepted the help with a smile, reaching up to take the hand offered while she spoke. Admittedly, Aviva hadn't worn the best choice of shoes to work that day, so a hand up would definitely benefit her.

"These soles are about as bald as my tyres were when my brother and I finally rolled into town, neither of which I'm proud of, but hey, you live and you learn," Aviva overshared, her boots having been worn down so much that there was no grip remaining. "Thanks again, and sorry again. If I hadn't have been so stuck in my book, I definitely would have warned you to use a different machine."

Nova arrived in Cardinal Hill a few days ago, and along with them was the dirty laundry they accrued during the road trip from Florida. Deciding to replenish their wardrobe before they ran out of clean clothes Nova grabbed the town map that was a part of her welcome package and headed to the cutely named establishment. 

In its simplicity, the name gave them an idea for book two in the fantasy series she’s penning. In fact, they were in the middle of jotting down said ideas when the washing machine sought its revenge for being overworked. Hastily setting down the pen and manuscript they sprang up and ran over to where the attendant had stopped most of the chaos. 

“Oh my god!” Nova’s eyes widened in shock as the laundromat attendant went down. The laughter which followed threw them off while simultaneously bearing an infectious quality. They pressed their lips together in an attempt to keep a mirthful response at bay. The explanation puts their mind at ease. “Oh, that’s a relief! I thought I had overloaded it or something.” The last thing they needed was to incur charges, and a reputation for breaking shit their first week in town. “Are you okay?” Nova tossed down some towels onto the wet area to give themselves stable footing. “Here, let me help you up,” they offered, arm extended. 

[innocentcurse]

Some people didn't like to make small talk, especially not with strangers, and that was perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately for Sabine, Aviva was the kind of person who could hardly stomach awkward silences. That was exactly why she always brought a book to work, so that she could get lost in another world while void of chatter customers, but as she worked, unable to go back to Arrakis just yet, she was glad to have Sabine trying to keep up the conversation - even if the woman did look slightly pained while doing so. "Been here since the start of the year - the laundromat and Cardinal Hill, that is. My brother and I just about blew in with the wind, and honestly? I have no idea why I started work here of all places, but hey, it pays the bills." There had been some thought behind her career path in Cardinal Hill, of course, but that was mostly about the places that she didn't wish to work, rather than where she ended up working. "You Cardinal raised?" She asked.

Sabine smiled at Aviva, the face starting to look more and more forced as the muscles in her cheeks begin to wear out from being used far more than usual. She sat down on the plastic seat, and began to feel awfully awkward as she watched Aviva go to work in front of her. She didn't want to ask again about if the woman wanted help, but she also didn't want to just go back to idly listening to music. She figured the best possible option was to try and chat, an activity Sabine wasn't necessarily bad at, but one she hated to force. "So... how long have you worked here?" She asked, beginning to tap her hands against her thighs, some other way to occupy her mind as she settles in to her laundromat imprisonment.

[innocentcurse]

Aviva had ensured that the sign was on the machine in order to avoid this situation exactly; the laundromat didn't have enough machines to cater for the peak hours on their busiest days, and as the machine also did work outside of having the occasional door related fault, it hadn't seemed in anyone's best interest to put an 'out of order' sign on it instead. She hadn't wanted anyone to feel bad for something that wasn't their fault; if Aviva had known how Devin thought about it, she'd certainly have made a fuss to try to make amends.

"Oh you do?" Aviva looked at the customer as if he had just offered her his kidney in her time of need. She knew for a fact that they had no blank paper in the establishment - at least not easily discoverable - and so Devin's offer really would help her out. "That would be so great, if you truly wouldn't mind sparing a sheet. I've always wanted to be the kind of person who carried notebooks and sketchbooks around with me, but alas, all the paper I keep on my person usually has words all over it," she gestured over to her copy of Dune, the book that she had abandoned as trouble had started.

Hearing the explanation of the machine's tendency did make Devin feel a little better. Still it was embarrassing that it was his laundry that had caused a scene. Devin wasn't one who tried to draw attention to himself and getting roped into a conversation now as a result of his belongings wasn't ideal. He just felt fortunate that he hadn't slipped in the process.

"I've got paper if you need," Devin offered. While he wasn't one to make it a habit of ripping pages out of his sketchbook he felt he was indebted to help as much as he could. "I've probably got a sharpie on me too," he added. The marker he'd have to dive into his backpack further to get as it wasn't something he used often despite being handy to have on hand for more than just artistic purposes. Now proved to be one of those times where a sharpie came in handy.

[innocentcurse]

"Oof," she breathed out a pained breath, one that was quite clearly spurred on by a memory - not by any current pain. "I almost feel as though I should kick ya out for reminding me," she joked, a laugh indicating to her unserious nature. Roman was nowhere even close to being kicked out; Aviva was actually enjoying his company very much, even despite the current circumstances. "I had a nasty fall while horse riding once as a teenager, clocked my tail bone real good. I swear, I couldn't walk right for a year," she recalled, a wrinkled nose expressing how awful it had been.

She listened to Roman speak with nothing but genuine interest; a chatterbox herself, Aviva would never dislike having a person ramble on, not unless they were saying something entirely unpleasant, or unless something else unrelated was going terribly wrong for her. She was so surprised by the other's apology that she couldn't help but to laugh softly. "Oh please, don't apologise to me about rambling on. My brother has an awful habit of tuning out in conversations because he's so used to being able to tune back in ten minutes later, having not missed a single important detail," she laughed at her own expense.

"I absolutely love what you said, though," she circled back to Roman speaking of his profession. "Working with kids is such important work, and being able to think of the way their minds work in the way that you do sounds more important than I would have ever thought of myself. It's totally true, though. Even I feel that at times, that difficulty to exist as a functioning human - and I mean, dang, I've been doing it for decades myself, so imagine how much they've still gotta get used to?" Aviva really enjoyed having that insight. "Me myself, I used to work in a salon, so honestly, I kind of miss having more conversations with customers. Not a lot of people are super chatty while washing the stains out of their sheets."

Roman relaxed some as she confirmed that she felt alright, although he couldn’t help but worry a little bit. It was in his nature to worry about others, sometimes more than he worried about himself, which could -- and frankly, had been -- a problem. But right now it (probably) wasn’t a big deal, and he could just focus on the fact that she wasn’t too badly hurt. Or at least, she was insisting she wasn’t too badly hurt, and he really had to take her word for it. “Well, good,” he said, with a little smile and a shake of his head. “Taking a slip like that can really hurt, especially if you land on the tailbone.” He gave a little wince at the thought. 

He laughed softly as she spoke. “I’m sure you have more things to do than worry about a sign,” he said. “I’ve never really worked a job like this where I had to do any kind of customer service, on top of other stuff.” He chuckled then. “Although I guess you could count my students as customers. They can definitely be demanding sometimes, but I don’t blame them. Kids that age, by the time we’re adults, we forget how hard it was to be that small. You’re still learning how to communicate, how to really make your way in a world that’s so much bigger than you. It’s tough.” He smiled sheepishly as his speech ended. “Sorry, you didn’t really ask about all of that. Sometimes I tend to ramble.” He laughed as she spoke. “Yeah, exactly. Including a nice lavender scent for aromatherapy.” 

[innocentcurse]

"Oh, no I can do that!" Aviva assured her, nodding her head with certainty. "Any fault of the machines doesn't cost the patrons, you're all good. Let me just..." she began patting her pockets as she spoke, feeling for her keys; upon feeling nothing but a small bunch of lint at best, Aviva's head turned to look back to where she had been sitting. "Ah ha!" She found her keys sitting next to her copy of Dune. She carefully stepped over to grab them - still trying to be cautious in the water - and then she returned not to the problematic machine, but to the one next to it.

Unlocking the machine, Aviva took out a small handful of quarters, holding them in her hand as she relocked the machine. "Here ya go," she counted out the change, ensuring Sabine would have enough, and she handed it over. "I'm Aviva, wish I could have met you in less troubling circumstances, but at least it got us chatting," Aviva supposed. Not every customer enjoyed to make small talk when getting their mundane task done, and as much as Aviva enjoyed a good conversation, she didn't like to initiate it if the patron looked as disinterested as Sabine had originally. "No need to help, just be careful until I can mop this all up, yeah?"

Sabine crouched down into the water on the ground, basket in hand, and grabbed her soaking sheets from the machine. "Am I gonna have to pay for another machine or could you, like, do that for me?" Sabine asked, hoping it wasn't a bad to do so. She did need to wash her sheets afterall, she isn't here just for the ambience. "I'll get these going again and help you out." She stood back up and walked to another washer, putting the fabrics inside it. Sabine really didn't want to help, but she felt obligated now, besides, Aviva didn't seem like the type of person to slack if she got help, so it couldn't take that long.

Sabine stood to the side of the wet ground, hands on her hips, waiting for anything that she could do to help out. "Oh, my name is Sabine, by the way." She said it as it came to mind, she should probably let the woman she is going to help know. "Just tell me what I can do to help." A smile was on her lips, incredibly forced, but she hoped it would eventually make herself feel better about the whole situation.

[innocentcurse]

As nasty as the fall had indeed been, Aviva had always been relatively good with handling injury; even as a small child the age of Roman's students, Aviva was less likely to reach out for help, and more likely to keep trucking along like nothing had ever happened. Needless to say, Aviva knew not to be entirely proud of the habit, as doing just that had oftentimes led to her furthering her injuries and pain. For now, though, Aviva truly did think that she'd be fine. "Nothing feels too out of place, I think I should be fine," she confirmed with a nod and an appreciative smile.

Water and cheap craft tape; Aviva hadn't before thought of how much of a hopeless case that would make, even if she had used an excessive amount of the stuff. "You're a bonified genius, honestly, I'm kinda embarrassed I hadn't expected it to happen," she chuckled. The gentleness of her company immediately made complete sense to Aviva as he shared his profession; she could see it so clearly, the other picking up the little rascals after falls similar to the one that she had just lived through. "I see," she chuckled. "So really it's like a spa day for them in there?"

Roman put out a hand to steady her as she climbed to her feet, palm hovering in case she slipped again. “You sure?” he said, concern still written clearly on his features. He was used to people taking tumbles around him -- but usually they were smaller people, around five or so. The perils of a kindergarten teacher. Of course, oftentimes they were crying and clinging to his legs by now, seeking comfort. He supposed that was a perk of actually interacting with an adult for a change, although frankly, he wouldn’t blame her if her eyes were stinging right now. That had looked like a rather nasty fall. 

He smiled softly as she spoke, shaking his head. “I’m sure you did,” he said. “Maybe the tape just came lose with people putting wet clothes in there.” He looked around again, searching for a telltale flash of white -- or whatever color she might have used -- that would indicate where the sign had gotten to; but he couldn’t see anything. “Oh, no, it’s fine!” His eyes widened slightly as her concern seemingly shifted to him. He smiled again. “My clothes have been through worse than this,” he said, with a soft chuckle. “I’m a kindergarten teacher, so a little extra water or a door flying open all on its own, it’s really a walk in the park for my laundry.”

[innocentcurse]

Aviva laughed at Elaine's insight, realising that she could have easily found herself in a much worse position if she had have worked anywhere else. "You're so right, better yet, I have a whole basket of clean laundry out back to take home with me; I get it done while I'm working, only makes sense, you know? So I've got a change while I'm getting this all sorted out," she gestured to her outfit that had definitely seen better days.

She could only laugh again as her company referred to incident in the way she did. "Well I'm glad it wasn't too much of an inconvenience," she spoke through soft laughter only just dying out. "I'm not sure about duct tape, but I did notice that we have some gaffer tape around here somewhere..." eyes scanned the establishment in an attempt to recall where she had last seen the roll of tape. It was likely in some drawer, or out the back; thankfully there wasn't too many places to check, so it wouldn't take her long to find it even if she couldn't remember such information.

"It's been going okay, even despite it all, so we thought it'd be alright with the little warning sign, you know? I think you might be right, though, especially when the sign doesn't seem to even stay on the machine," Aviva nodded her head, looking somewhat defeated but not in bad spirits. "It's great to meet you Elaine, I'd shake your hand if I could guarantee it wasn't all sudsy," she chuckled, peering down at her palms out of curiosity; they seemed fine. "Aviva Abrams," her fingertips touched the centre of her chest in order to gesture to herself.

Elaine helped the other woman up, not letting go until she was sure she had found her footing. At the mention of being soggy Elaine quirked a brow, eyes glancing over to the machines. “Well, you picked a good place to get drenched.” A beat. “Plenty of machines to dry and wash your clothes.” She continued with a quick smile, more as a show of friendliness than genuine joy.

As Elaine sighed, she considered the other woman’s worry. All she had been doing was making her rounds, going around town, taking the sights, making mental notes. She supposed this was as good as any reason to step away from that. “No,” she confirmed with a shake of her head. “I was out for a walk when I noticed the geyser in your laundromat. You’ve got duct tape?” Elaine looked at her, genuinely inquiring. “Might wanna seal up that sucker good to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.” A genuine suggestion rather than judgment. “I’m Elaine by the way. Elaine Lockhart.”

[innocentcurse]

Aviva sat further upright, assessing the damage of her fall by simply taking a second to process whether or not anything ached too badly. "I think I should be fine," she nodded her head, feeling as though she'll wind up with a gnarly bruise on her backside at the very worst, but nothing more severe. "My dignity's a little hurt, my ego even more so, but I'll be just peachy in a day or two," she half joked, letting out a little chuckle.

"It's not your fault," she told him, getting back up onto her feet - as carefully as she could, to avoid slipping over in the spilled water again. "The machine does that sometimes even when it's only half full - more when it is full, but it's really just broken. Doesn't happen every time, though, which is why it's still in use." She couldn't have known that the fact that Devin had somewhat overstuffed the machine had come to his mind, too, but she had noticed the contents upon trying to wrangle it closed, so it was no secret that it had been done. "I'm gonna have to write up a new caution sign..."

Devin had very little experience with laundromats in his life. He grew up in a home that had a washer and dryer and found himself in a similar situation when he moved to Cardinal Hill and truthfully given the amount of clothes Devin owned and his tendency to rewear items for multiple days depending on the garment it was taking him until now to come and wash something at the laundromat after his washer at home broke at the beginning of the month. Given the bad weather that had finally cleared up it hadn't been high on Devin's list to replace his washer. Even now Devin hadn't come to the laundromat to wash any clothes. Last night he'd gotten some rocky road ice cream on his sheets and now had some very unfortunate looking stains he needed to clean up.

Devin was sitting not far from his washer though his back was turned towards it as he sat at the nearby folding station. He'd brought his backpack with him and took out his notebook where he was jotting down a very tiny doodle of a fish to remind himself to buy a couple of cans of tuna to have on hand when he was confronted by the commotion behind him causing him to turn as he realized it was his washer filled with his bedding that had flung open.

Unsure what to do in the situation he was glad the attendant had sprung into action. He watched the scene unfold in front of him including her fall which made Devin finally spring into action. He was cause as he approached her on the very slick floor and offered her a hand up. "Are you alright? That's my stuff in there," he confessed. While their story had been a believable one Devin was partially to blame having overstuffed and poorly distributed the weight off his laundry load.

[innocentcurse]

"I swear that thing grows legs and walks away just when I need it most," Aviva chuckled, speaking of the mop. In actuality, she simply had a bad habit of forgetting where she put it, never putting it down in the same exact place more than once. Thankfully the establishment wasn't all too big, so it could never be lost for a very long time. "Good, I wouldn't have let ya clean up after my mess anyway; I appreciate it very much, though," she smiled, before popping into the room for only a second, then returning to view with the mop in hand.

"The one and only! Well, probably the only Aviva in town, I'm not actually sure, and while I'm shocking at remembering names I think I'd remember meeting another one but- yes. Yes I'm Aviva," she chuckled at herself, unsure as to why she started to go on the tangent that she later abandoned. Perhaps she was still a little frazzled from the fall. "I've definitely seen you around, but I'm not sure I've ever caught your name?" Even if Aviva had caught his name, however, as she mentioned earlier, she was terrible at remembering names most of the time, particularly as she was still settling in to the new town.

"All I know is that it's something to do with the hinge of the door, as well as the part that locks it closed. I've tried to have a good look at it, but it doesn't look like anything that can be fixed, more like something that's been worn down with time and use." Aviva had even tried to fix the parts of the machine with the use of magic, but for whatever reason, it didn't quite work out. The best result she got was making the machine squeaky clean and sparkling, something she then had to do with every other machine as she hadn't wanted to make the broken machine stand out. She still practiced the specific repair spell every chance she got, however, in hopes that she could mend the machine before the parts would finally arrive and need to be installed.

"Are you sure?" She double checked the offer to pay for the drying of her clothes. "It really isn't your fault, so please don't feel obliged, but again, I really appreciate you. Not everyone is so nice to me," she smiled a genuine smile in his direction. As she began to mop up the water and the suds, she laughed loudly at his comment about his mother. "If mine had've moved to town with me, I'm sure she'd be shocked silly to hear me reject your offer to help," she chuckled. "It's actually been super quiet here today, absolutely no issues until this darn machine played up again. It's kind of nice to have a break and do something though, I suppose. I don't want to finish my book too quickly."

When the confirmation that there was, in fact, a mop nearby came Ashton turned first to his left and then to his right, eyes scanning the area in an attempt to locate it. "Yeah, I'm not seeing it. I wouldn't want to intrude by entering your supply closet, otherwise I would locate it." Giving a shrug and a shake of his head, the witch turned back to face the woman whom, upon further consideration, he realized he recognized vaguely. "Aviva, is it?" He asked, stepping back over to the scene of the 'crime', eyes surveying the area.

Keeping his eyes on the woman, Ashton ensured she was able to raise herself from her position on the floor, chuckling just a bit at her comment regarding her now-soaked clothing. "I can imagine that would be frustrating, on both accounts. Do you know what sort of part they're waiting on?" Ashton asked, leaning forward a bit and squinting his eyes as if by some miracle, the issue might present itself to him with no further questions or digging. "Not that I'd know where to procure one, but....It seems the question to ask in this particular predicament." Glancing back at Aviva, he continued. "Please, allow me to pay for your drying at the very least. Who knows? If I hadn't chosen the washer directly next to this one, we may not have had this issue. Who's to say I'm not at least somewhat indirectly responsible."

The ghost of a smile made its way to the corners of Ashton's lips as he took in the woman before him, her spirits obviously still high- high enough to refuse help, at the very least. "If you insist." He replied after several beats of silence. "Though truly, it would be no trouble. I'm here regardless, I might as well make use of myself." Chuckling, he added, "my, were my mother still around she might fall out if she heard me offering to help clean, unsolicited no less." Returning to his previous seat, Ashton continued. "Aside from this...Mishap, have you had a relatively decent day?"

[innocentcurse]

Aviva took a moment to recover from the rush and the slip, sitting in the puddle on the floor, catching her breath as the customer hurried over to check on her. While her backside was certainly sore from the impact of falling, nothing felt too out of place, thankfully. "I think I'll be fine, thank you for asking." It wasn't every day that customers were kind and caring, so Aviva appreciated that Roman didn't simply stay sitting and reading.

As she got back up onto her feet as carefully as possible, not wanting to slip on the spilled, soapy water, her eyes scanned the surroundings for sight of the sign that she had placed on the door. "Dang it. I swear I taped it on real good," she huffed, but she believed Roman wholeheartedly when he said that he hadn't seen a sign; even if he had, it wouldn't have been his fault that the machine decided to act up. "That's alright, though, there's a lot of people coming in and out, so it's not really shocking to find out that something happened to it. I'm just so sorry that it happened when you were washing your stuff, I'm sure the rest of the cycle will go A-okay now that it's closed again, though."

Roman nearly jumped out of his skin as the washing machine door burst open, as if someone from the inside had kicked it with force. Before he could get to his feet himself, the laundry attendant had rushed over, only to end up slipping on the floor. That’s when he jumped to his feet, a little cry of dismay escaping his lips. He’d been reading himself, perched on a dryer across the aisle, and he put his book down so hastily that he probably folded the pages the wrong way. Not that he was really concerned about that, although it would probably give him a little pang later. He hated when his books got damaged. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, his brow furrowing with concern as he crouched next to her, offering a hand to pull her up with him the moment he stood. “Are you hurt?” His brow furrowed as he considered whether or not there had been a sign on the door when he’d chosen the washing machine. “I didn’t see one,” he admitted. “Maybe someone who used it before me just moved it because it was in their way, or it fell off.” @innocentcurse