camrynbriar-blog - Tumblr blog

[camrynbriar-blog]

"She sounds like she’s living the dream --- that’s amazing. Honestly, that’s one of the nicest goals I’ve heard in a long time. Something tells me that if you’re nice enough to want to give out nice hugs, you probably already do. I wouldn’t go around with one of those old school free hug signs, though. Then people would just take advantage.”

“That is an excellent question. One of my friends used to work at a Lush store and the hugs she gave were the absolute best because she smelled absolutely heavenly. See, that’s what I want from my life, to be remembered as someone who gives wonderful hugs.” 

[camrynbriar-blog]

"I can imagine. I was there once when I was a kid, but I can’t say I remember much. And what I do remember, it definitely wasn’t anything like that.” She smiled slightly. “That’s okay. I’m not going to judge you for a fried brain. That’s all I seem to have these days, too.” She finished up the page she was on and set it down in front of her, laying the pen across the top before reaching for her own coffee off to the side. She could do with a small break. “Only two weeks? For some reason I thought it was longer than that.” Camryn rose an eyebrow as she took a sip of her coffee. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for her to lose track of time, though, so she should have figured. She’d seen him around the hospital on and off; he was somewhat of a familiar face. Even if she wasn’t sure if she’d ever actually had a conversation with him. “You settling in okay?”

Brekker smiled at the girl, seeing a familiar face from the hospital. “I love New Orleans, but you do see some crazy shit sometimes. I’d show up at a scene and not even be sure what I’m looking at.” He laughed and took a drink of his coffee. He glanced down at her paperwork and raised his eye brows, “oh, man, I didn’t realize. Sorry, I can really oblivious sometimes after work.” He shook his head. “Uh, yeah, I moved here about two weeks ago.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"Again? This is the third time this month.” Her brow furrowed as she glanced at the crowd ahead of them. “As long as it’s peaceful, I guess it’ll be okay. I just hope it’s not about politics again. Or animal rights. Those tend to get ugly fast. Have you ever seen a protest with the both of them combined? It’s practically a bloodbath.”

“I think it’s a protest, actually. The police closed off the roads briefly.” Nicholas shrugged, peering over in that direction. “It’s nothing serious, though. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"I see. I guess I should’ve known by the smell of tacos, but you can never be too sure. That’s some real beautiful imagery, though. You telling me that if there were no line, you wouldn’t be going over there to get some too?”

“They’re givin’ away free food. The reason why, I ain’t too sure of, but New Yorkers tend to flock towards freebies the same way fly’s flock to shit.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"I have to say, I’m a little disappointed that you’re not in this life. Maybe then you could have answered the age old question: does working in a place that smells that good truly bring joy to a persons life, or do they just have really good benefits? It continues to be a mystery.”

“Ha! Well, they’re doing bloody good job of it since I’m the proud owner of an absolute pile of bath stuff. I know and it looks like one too! I think I could easily spend an entire day in a Lush store. Perhaps I could’ve been one of those super cheerful sales assistants in another life.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"Hey --- do you know what’s going on over there? Down the street? That’s a pretty big human traffic jam.” She stood on her toes, trying to peer over the mess of peoples heads in case she could magically see something. “If anyone else goes over there, I’m scared someone’ll get trampled.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"I... am not entirely sure which part to be more concerned about. The booze, drugs, hoodoo, or the fact that you’ve clearly seen some scary things.” She teased lightly, a little amused by the chatter. Albeit a little concerned about the hospitals of New Orleans. “Oh, no. You’re fine.” Camryn shook her head, although she did sort of have to finish the paperwork in front of her pretty soon. Even still, though, she didn’t want to be rude. “I don’t mind it. If it’s not at least a little noisy I can’t work. I’ve been ruined that way.” She smiled at him, tapping the pen lightly on the clipboard out of habit before glancing down to continue where she left off. Still, she kept up the conversation. “So. New Orleans, huh? How long ago did you move to New York?”

“My first shift here in New York was surprisingly low-key compared to New Orleans. I guess with all the booze, drugs, voodoo, and witchcraft, people get hurt more often.” Brekker paused, “Sorry, am I being annoying? I just talk when I’m bored.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

The coffee shop conveniently located on her way home and just a block away from her apartment had slowly but surely become Camryn’s saving grace. Oftentimes her shifts at the hospital blended into each other and kept her too busy to sleep, so caffeine seemed to be her only solid option these days. It’s been a fool proof method during College, and now during her second year of residency. Now, even as she was heading home for the rest of the day in order to catch up on the normal every day things, she still couldn’t seem to break the habit.  With the styrofoam cup cradled in her hands, about to find a table of her own to sit out to rest for just a moment, she heard the man just a little ways away begin to mutter to himself. Raising an eyebrow, she tried to assess just what was making him so angry before she spoke up. “I don’t mean to intrude here. But do you need some help?” She wasn’t really sure what she could do, but offering to help was wired into her brain by this point, despite the fact that Camryn was sure that it was permanently going to be half asleep for the rest of her life. “I couldn’t help but hear you. You know, from all the way over there.” She motioned just a few inches behind her, smiling as she tried to joke with him. “I’m taking it that technology isn’t wanting to cooperate today.”

The secondhand Acer worked decently enough, for a hand-me-down piece of technology that’s had its fair share of wears and tears. A friend had sold it to him for sixty bucks,  twenty off its original price, he claimed, and Hal thought it was well within his price range, so he took the offer. Sometimes he wouldn’t be sure if he’d made a good bargain, though, because the machine, simply put, was trash. It had been years since he’d acquired it, and many more years before that, it first belonged to his friend. And so he wasn’t surprised that it was starting to deteriorate. The screen froze far too often for his liking and he just couldn’t seem to get rid of the annoying scans from an antivirus program that seemed to be a virus in itself. He powered through it, though; he just needed it to write his novel. 

He was sitting at the communal table at the cafe closest to his house, typing away at the keyboard. Word after phrase after sentence came to him in waves. It was rare for him to be this inspired, often finding himself in a writer’s block, and so he took the opportunity to utilize this sudden bout of creativity before it passed. He was partway through a sentence when the computer’s screen froze before blanking. “No, no, no, shit!” He kept pressing the keys, but nothing was coming up. Tried the power button – nothing. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He groaned, tilting his head up as he buried his face in his hands.

[camrynbriar-blog]

"Honey, with a name like Mitzy can you really blame her for the attitude? She’s probably overcompensating for the fact that she sounds like a mouse.” She supplied as the woman finished ranting, hoping to make her feel better by making assumptions about this girl she’d never met. It was okay, though, because it’s not like she’d ever hear it. Trash talking strangers is how you comforted people when they were upset, everyone knew that. “Wait, did the directors hear her when she was going off about the whole cankles thing? How has that girl not been fired by now?”

“So basically, Mitzy was all, wow she can’t be a lead because she’s got cankles. Which was totally rude because cankles doesn’t mean you can’t be a lead. She can be so mean sometimes, she’s such a pill. I just think she’s mad because she’s playing barmaid #3. But I mean, what does she expect? You can’t be a total cow to the directors and be praised for it. That’s just so not how things work, y’know?”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"Honestly, I think that they might do that on purpose so you keep coming back for more. Have you ever been to Lush? That place practically smells like a candy store. It’s good that you stocked up, though. In case you give in and take a bite, you’ll at least have plenty of extras.” 

“Yes, thank you! I always feel a bit weird when I go to a store to buy soap and leave wanting to actually taste something that should be used for cleaning yourself. Well, I got loads, but most of them do remind me of cupcakes and things. It’s all very confusing to my senses.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"Oh, God, no. That makes you completely human. What kind did you buy? I’m always a sucker for the honey and vanilla scented things myself. Kinda hard to bathe yourself in that stuff and not want a dozen cupcakes afterwards.”

“Is it bad that I, a woman nearing my mid-thirties, want to eat most of the bath products I just bought for myself? The scents are just too damn good and I’m so weak.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"I see. Well, in that case, I wish you luck. I’ll pray that the dreaded writers block doesn’t end up sneaking up on you.” She smiled at him, pausing for a moment. “I’m just fine, aside from running on fumes. A double shift really takes the life right out of a person.” She lifted up the coffee she held cradled in her hands, showing him her main reason for being there. “Needed a little something to get me by on the way home. Other than that, though, it’s not a bad day. How about yourself?”

“True and I’m a writer. Let’s see what the think-tank comes up with for what major life events brings the group together. Anyway, how are you?”

[camrynbriar-blog]

Camryn laughed, shaking her head. “No, nothing like that, I promise. Why, have you been confused for an ex before?”

–– Clyde raised his eyebrows, “Not an ex- boyfriend, I hope. That would be weird for me.”

[camrynbriar-blog]

"Don’t even worry about it. You should see me after working a double shift; it’s like watching a werewolf eat meat for the first time.” She smiled at the other woman. “When you’ve got to eat, you’ve got to eat.” Camryn held out her own container of half eaten fries. “Here. Take a couple. They might go good with that sandwich you’ve got there.”

“ i’m sorry–i know i’m being a total pig right now but i literally haven’t eaten anything since last night and i’m starving. ”

[camrynbriar-blog]

She snapped back into reality, startled by his attitude, although she had been staring. “Nothing. It’s nothing. You just --- look like this boy I used to know. I didn’t mean to stare. Apologies.”

–– “I don’t read minds, you know. If you have something to say, just say it.” Clyde bluntly told the person staring at him.

[camrynbriar-blog]

"It sounds like it could be good. I have a feeling it’ll end up a little sad, though. But those are the stories that always seem to stick with people.” She smiled, her expression curious. “Are you a writer, or is it for school?”

“Alright, let’s see here…maybe a short story about a group of best friends who all end up going to different colleges, yet they always head back to their hometown to grab coffee in the same old shop. How does that sound?”

[camrynbriar-blog]

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