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Post by bryna on Dec 17, 2008 13:03:20 GMT -5
Tja, dann. Ist ganze alles, dafur, jetzt fein... Flipping the page over, the German boy went on scribbling quickly.
Doch in dieses verdammten Land, ist da kein so wie Sie allen. Ich hoffe, das Sie eine frohes Weihnachtsfest hat, mit mir ganz allein und verloren in England... nein, nein, ich meine das nichts, du weisst schoen. Ich denke immer an Sie.
Frohes Weihnachten!
Alles Liebe,
Novak Wendell Freidmann.
Blowing on the ink, Novak blotted the page swiftly with a crumpled sheet of blotting paper that he had pulled out of a pocket, then folded it, pushed it into the already-bulging package of Christmas gifts, and scribbled an address quickly on the front.
Outside the post office, he fumbled in his pocket for his watch, and was saved the usual rigamarole of remembering for the fiftieth time that it no longer worked; at that moment, the church bells struck the half-hour, and he smiled.
Good. He'd misjudged it. He still had a good hour left before he had to start back for Florence, and he knew exactly where he would spend the time.
Where else?
Rubbing distractedly at the ink on his hands, he turned down the street towards the bookshop. "Wie lange Zeit 'st dann vorbei?" he asked himself out loud, looking up at the nearest clock. "Nur halb elf? Ist das alles? Na toll, also habe ich viel lange." He nodded to himself, then hurried into the bookshop, the little bell above the door jingling as he pushed it closed behind him.
"Guten Morgen, Herr Wilson," he greeted the shopkeeper automatically, without expecting a response. "Nice weather, na?" Sarcasm. There was something he was learning. It was, after all, hailing outside.
Mr Wilson didn't reply, and Novak didn't expect him to. He had been to this shop enough times to know that the shopkeeper was one of those who equated a bookshop with a museum or a collection of treasures, not to be disturbed if at all possible.
That was fine. Novak happened to agree.
Ducking through into the dimly-lit back room, he made his way to his usual position, by the mythology section next to the door, and glanced to and fro a couple of times, almost guiltily, before stretching up and reverentially pulling down a massive leather-bound volume.
"The Worlds Beyond," he read aloud under his breath, sounding almost worshipful. "Some day, Novak. Some day." Smiling sadly to himself, he traced a careful finger down the spine, then replaced it on the top shelf, reaching instead for a volume of the Arabian Nights. "Ah. Du bist mehr billig, nein?" he said to it with a smile. "Auch nichts so teuer und also so in der Nahe von sein Herz? Kommt jetzt, meinem Freund. Gab mir eine bisschen deinen Welt."
Bowing his head, he opened the book and began to read. [/size]
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Post by Ayu on Dec 17, 2008 15:12:47 GMT -5
Rosie's feet dragged under her long and very fashionable skirt, her fingers tangling absently in her glorious dark hair. She hated visiting the bookshop; it was one of those places where she was constantly reminded of her own stupidity and lack of education. But textbooks had to be bought, and there was no point entrusting the task to her family. When she wasn't in the house she had her doubts about whether they even knew they had a daughter.
She pushed open the door with a jingle and sent the shopkeeper a charming smile. Oh God. She was faced with towers, stacks of books, looming over her. How on earth was she supposed to find one specific textbook in all this?
Turning around a tall bookshelf, she saw a blond boy replacing a book carefully. He didn't seem too happy, she thought, and that was a shame. Rosie liked everyone to be happy. Her five-inch heels click-clacked on the uneven floor as she walked over.
"Do you want this book?" She reached up, various pieces of corsetry and body adjusting position with the stretch of her arm. It looked awfully thick and old and it smelt of old paper and dust. Why anyone would really want it was beyond her, but it looked like he did.
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Post by bryna on Dec 17, 2008 16:42:23 GMT -5
Novak jumped, the book leaping out of his hands and colour flushing to his cheeks as he bent to pick it up. "Um... ich... das ist... meine ich..." he stammered, checking that none of the pages were damaged. Then he actually looked up at her, and at the book she was holding, and his eyes went wide.
"Only for the last ten years," was the first thing that came into his head, and it took him a moment to realise that he had said it. "Ah, that is, um... well, who wouldn't? It's a valuable book. And not just because it's expensive," he added, looking at the volume in her hands with frankly covetous eyes. "It's the authority on Anderenwelten, uh, that is... um, other worlds. I mean, can you imagine? All the worlds, all the stories..." His eyes were shining, but he quickly sobered himself. "...I'm sorry. It's probably not all that interesting for you, is it? I shouldn't... that is, I mean, I probably... you might..."
Giving up, he sagged slightly, pushing the book he was holding carefully back into place on the shelf. "It doesn't matter. I'll be able to afford a copy some time. Not for a while, of course, but I'll get there. Until then... well, it's only a book." It wasn't true, of course - as far as Novak was concerned, there was no such thing as 'only' a book - but he didn't want to linger on the subject. He'd seen this girl at Florence, and she didn't seem the sort to be all that interested by his raving about mythology. And if that was true, then he shouldn't bore her with it. It was rude.
"Um..." he said, brilliantly. Casting around desperately for a subject to switch to, he leant against the librarian's ladder behind him and blinked owlishly for a moment. "Um, you looked... ah! What is the word? Verloren - lost. You looked lost. Are you looking for something? Do you want some help?"
Stupid. Stupid, stupid Novak.[/color]
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Post by Ayu on Dec 17, 2008 18:05:17 GMT -5
"Oh, well..." She turned it over and over, looking for a price, and then looked up at him with a grin, straight white teeth shining in her immaculately lipsticked mouth. "It can't be that much, can it? I'm sure you'll get the money up in no time, right?"
She pouted. "I have to find a copy of Le Petit Prince for French. I don't have one. But I'm meant to read it aaaaaall." She pronounced it Lee Pet-it Prang, her French accent atrocious. "Monsieur Marchand says that I'm too behind on my work to skip this project. But I don't think I'm going to catch up just from this, am I? I'm really bad at French. And there were some other books, too"
She dug through her pretty beaded bag, looking for the book list. It wasn't long. Her teachers didn't have unreasonable expectations of the airheaded Heartbreaker. "Can you help me find them? I'll be really really really happy if you can..." She offered him a hopeful smile.
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Post by bryna on Dec 17, 2008 19:30:49 GMT -5
"It's three hundred pounds," Novak supplied. "My papa earns four hundred marks a year. But it doesn't matter. Le Petit Prince, was it? Don't worry about reading it, it's only short. A beautiful book, though." Straightening up, he coughed, tugging at his crooked tie, and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Erm, foreign language books... French... French is just before German, so..." As he talked, he was wandering off through the crowded shelves, surer than he was anywhere else.
After a moment - a very short one - he reappeared, three books clutched in his hand. "There's two copies," he announced, holding them out to her. "This one's got a foreword, but it's a shilling more expensive. The binding on the other one looks like it might break any moment, though." He smiled, putting the third book down on the ladder. "And Kafka for me. I don't normally read Kafka, but for sixpence..." He smiled, a little self-consciously.
"Here," he said after a second, plucking the list out of her hand. "I'll find these for you, all right? Um... there isn't a copy of this one, though. They only had one, and they sold it this morning." He tapped a name on the sheet. "There's three copies in the library at school, though. The rest..." His eyes flicked over the paper for a moment, and he could be heard muttering to himself; "Der Links an der sechstest... weit an der weitmeist... das ist hinter Herr Wilson..."
Eventually, he looked up, and passed the list back. "There's a copy of all the others here. Wait here a moment, I'll fetch them." He didn't want to say, for fear of sounding rude, but the idea of letting her loose among these bookshelves made him shudder. She looked the sort of person to leave books face-down, or read in the bath, or drop powder on the pages, or... Anyway. He didn't want her to damage any of the books, that was the point. Books were important, and he felt bad enough about getting her these - who knew what state they'd end up in?
Besides, the sooner he got away from her, the easier it would be to forget that she was holding, in those ditzy little hands, the most valuable book in the shop.
"Are you sure you can afford them all?" he added after a moment, suddenly uncertain. "That will probably come to at least ten pounds, you know."[/size]
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Post by Ayu on Dec 18, 2008 7:15:21 GMT -5
Rosie took the books and chewed her glossy lip thoughtfully. "I don't have to read the foreword, though, so..." She took the newer copy and smiled. "I hate it when things break apart. I don't want to hurt them, you know?"
"Ahhhh, thank you!" She grabbed his hands happily and grinned at him. "I really needed help! Thank you!" She looked at the book that she had put down on top of the other books on the shelf, then picked it back up with a bright smile.
"I just got my allowance from home~" she told him cheerfully. "I think I can afford this...wait a minute...I..." She rifled through her purse, counting out notes with a furrowed brow. "Ummmm...one-one hundred and ten...one hundred and eleven..." She leafed through, brow furrowed. Rosie, being incredibly trusting, had a tendency to carry a fortune in her purse. "I'm going to the bank," she declared, turning in a swish of hair and skirts.
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Post by bryna on Dec 18, 2008 15:18:37 GMT -5
"Nein! Nein, kommen Sie zurueck!" Novak said hastily, grabbing her arm. "That is... erm, I don't need you to buy it for me. It's a lot of money. You shouldn't spend that much on me. I couldn't take it if you did buy it. I'm not so poor that I couldn't buy it myself, if I saved up long enough."
Suddenly, he was seized by a crippling fear that he had just humiliated himself to no effect; that she hadn't meant to buy it for him at all. And, after all, why should she? She'd known him for all of five minutes, and he'd hardly done anything to help her. Dropping his hand sharply from her arm, he bit his lip.
"Erm... anyway, shouldn't you save some for schoolbooks?" he added, blinking at the massive roll of money she was carrying. He'd never even seen so much money, except as a distant figure on a cheque. Trying to avoid looking too gobsmacked, he shook his head. "Look... um, what's your name?" He flushed. Ruby, wasn't it, or Rachel, or...
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Post by Ayu on Dec 18, 2008 19:14:20 GMT -5
She blinked at him. "It's just money. I can get more. And you wanted this book, right? So since you helped me, I can buy you the book to thank you." She said it as if it were obvious, chocolate eyes round with confusion. Money really didn't mean much to her, nice people did.
She blinked again, long dark eyelashes swishing, and smiled again. "I'm Rosie. Rosie Walker. What's your name?" She made no further move to the door, but neither did she put down the big leather-bound book.
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Post by bryna on Dec 18, 2008 20:03:56 GMT -5
"Novak Freidmann. Novak." Novak blinked, frowning. "But, look, money's not just money. That book costs more than my father earns in a year. In Germany, it costs five hundred marks - I'm sorry, I find it easier to work in marks - and the amount I've helped you might be worth... ooh, five marks? Maybe. Probably not that, even. I've not really done anything, have I?"
Shaking his head, he leant forwards and plucked the book out of her hands almost delicately, pushing it carefully back onto the shelf. "Mutti always says that it's an insult to your own honour to accept something you haven't earned. I haven't earned that book, not even a fraction of it. When I have earned it, I will buy it. But three hundred pounds is more than I am worth right now." Under his breath, he added, hoping that she didn't speak German, "Und auch, wenn Sie so viel Geld haben, sollte Sie nichts es mehr gutes aufwenden? Ich noetig kein Wohltätigkeit."
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Post by Ayu on Dec 18, 2008 21:32:59 GMT -5
"You need to stop saying 'no', No, and start saying 'yes'!" Rosie said, disproportionately proud of the pun she'd made on his name. "I'm sure you're worth a lot more than you think! You're clever and you're cute and so I think you're definitely worth it, right?"
With that, she plucked the heavy book back and skipped cheerfully towards the front desk. "So I'll buy this, and maybe you can pay for some of my books if it makes you feel better!"
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Post by bryna on Dec 19, 2008 6:32:05 GMT -5
Tightening his jaw, Novak hurried after her. "It's not that simple!" he said, spreading his hands. Catching up with her, he turned his pockets inside-out and caught the shilling that fell out. "Right now, that's all the money I have," he told her, waving it in her face. "I can't pay you back for that. I'd be in your debt forever, and I don't like being in debt."
He cursed mentally. It wasn't that he didn't want the book, of course - it was the one thing in this bookshop that he might give up his other books for - but he didn't want her to buy it for him. It devalued it, somehow. Not to mention making him feeling so uncomfortable.
He was not a charity case!
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Post by Ayu on Dec 20, 2008 19:12:50 GMT -5
"Oh." She looked at him oddly. "Paying back the debt's really easy, you know? Just be this nice to everyone and I'll be paid, right? And..." She tapped her lip thoughtfully. "You look dead clever, No. If I buy you this, you can improve my French and Maths marks before I get kicked out of the school, right?"
With that, she carried on to the front desk. "Excuse me? Excuse me, sir?"
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Post by bryna on Dec 20, 2008 21:08:46 GMT -5
Novak opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again with a snap. In his head, cogs whirred and calculations flicked through his mind.
Tutors were expensive - about four hundred marks a year, from what his father had said. He guessed it would probably be less if he wasn't teaching her outside school, but that was probably still two or three hundred marks a year, at least. The book was five hundred marks...
"Here, then," he said, sliding his shilling onto the desk as she drew to a stop. "An installment, at least. I'll call it fifty pounds over, and have you paid off by the end of the school, nein?" Despite himself, he found a wide grin spreading across his face. Six months was nothing! He would get a job over the Christmas holidays, if he could, earn a few pounds...
And the book would be his. It was singing in his head, over and over again. He did, he decided, have perfectly adequate reason to be smiling so stupidly.
"Was denkst du dann auf deinem Bruder, Ada?" he asked under his breath, still grinning. "Du lachst, denke ich. All right," he added aloud, clapping his hands together and turning to face Rosie with a bright smile. "I'll go and get you those books, shall I?"[/size]
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Post by Ayu on Feb 13, 2009 17:45:04 GMT -5
Rosie grinned back, happy because she'd made someone else happy. Plus at this rate she might not fail all her exams, which would probably be a first.
"Thanks, No~" she said cheerfully, opening the book to see what interested him so much.
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Post by bryna on Feb 13, 2009 19:38:33 GMT -5
"Bitte," Novak responded, grinning, and looked over her shoulder at the book, breathing in the musty smell of old paper. "Isn't it amazing?" he breathed reverentially, tracing his finger over the close-placed type, which lay under the bold heading Ka and the Afterlife. "All of it. Everything. All the stories..."
Clearing his throat, he flushed slightly. "Um. I was... I was getting those books, wasn't I? I'll, I'll just go and get them." Brushing his hands through his hair, he turned and hurried off, feet padding over the dust-sprinkled floor.[/color]
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