|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Oct 19, 2017 18:12:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2017 18:12:11 GMT -7
Tamara had always loved the smell of a new book, that was why whenever she would come to gather her school supplies for the next year at Hogwarts, she always headed for Flourish & Blott’s, it was like a home away from home to her. Any bookstore was really. She loved to open up the books and smell the thick pages, for some reason she loved it. Maybe that was why when she made that love potion a long time ago, for fun, of course, she had smelled a new book come hitting her like a wave. It had never gone anywhere, but it had been fun to make like a little project. They also had them at that little shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, she had loved opening it and smelling it. She never used it on anyone, and it had never been used on her, that she knows of, but it was a pleasant smell. Though it would never compare to the real thing, so there she was today walking through Diagon Alley. Her first stop, Flourish & Blott’s, and while she didn’t need any books she did have a familiar girl that worked there, a friend. They had met a few times, each time that she had entered the place and looked around. She even got talked into a buying a few books, mostly just little things that weren’t too much, but none-the-less her stack grew. Sometimes she liked to joke that she came to hang out with Mina, a worker at the place, but it was for both the books and good company. The sound the familiar bell hit her ears just as the smell of old dusty books filled her senses. She wanted to swoon; she did a few times whenever her boyfriend would bring a new one home to her, it was a pleasant little surprise to her ever-growing pile. She quickly began moving around and grabbed the first big, thick book that she could. The sound of its spine being cracked open for the first time was music to her ears, and a flood of the smell hit her. She wanted to sigh but held it in, her eyes moving around to look for the familiar brunette that always seemed to be working whenever she came by. She quickly placed the book down, the sound of it thumping against the other book sounded through the silence. She began to walk around once more, eyes moving over books and the entire store.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 3, 2024 6:02:52 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2017 21:33:56 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Oct 21, 2017 21:33:56 GMT -7
@tamara Today had been a mix of hours of silence, and hours of loud, obnoxious Ministry interns. The lot of them were annoying, mostly because Mina recalled each and every one of their names. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws mostly; the same mold that her sister and Imogen were cut out of. While she could stand Callisto and absolutely adored Im, these ones were far from friendly faces to her. Mina knew a condescending glare when she saw one. They seemed to forget that someone had to work the shops when the owners weren’t in. Someone had to be there to help them search for that extremely rare book that their boss had sent them out to fetch. Someone actually had a full-time job, opposed to an internship for years for a position that possibly would never be given to them. Sure, it was ironic that the dumb, alcoholic party-girl Slytherin worked in a store that was meant to stave the hunger of the intellectual community, but they didn’t have to make it so obvious. Mina already knew that. Their reinforcement was unnecessary.
That crowd had dispersed an hour ago, and Mina was now trying to pick up the mess they had left. Books taken off of their spots on the shelves and strewn across the store willy-nilly. During the busy season she wouldn’t have bothered. That kind of thing was inevitable. Right now though, when it was quiet and there was nothing else to do, all she had was time to kill. Picking up books and facing the entire store once again was what she was there for. Making it easier for new customers to find what they needed in an orderly fashion. Far from what the interns had been. They were a nuisance. The bell above the door jingled right as Mina was midway through levitating a portion of books back into their spots. Figured. Whenever she tried to do real work, something more important came along. Dropping them back to the floor, albeit in a neater stack than what she had found them in, she stuck her head around the corner of the aisle she was in.
It was hard not to grin when she saw who the customer was. Tamara seemed to frequent the store often, and almost always walked away with something. Mina was proud of her salesmanship, being able to convince the younger girl that another cheap book or two wouldn’t break the bank. Then again, it never seemed like Tamara was one to fight that offer either. It was a win-win as far as Mina was concerned. “Something catch your eye? Or just the natural curiosity you badgers always have?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Oct 23, 2017 11:45:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2017 11:45:01 GMT -7
Tamara’s fingers delicately moved over each book that she paced, the material of each book varying as she walked past. She loved it here, maybe she should have gotten a job among the books, but sometimes that seemed rather dull. Working with books versus writing books was never a subject of the matter, she rather write than work with them. And while she would never be some grand author, at least, not yet, she at least had the Daily Prophet to keep her busy. She was, however, pulled from her curious browsing and deep thought by the sound of a familiar voice. ‘Something catch your eye? Or just the natural curiosity you badgers always have?’A small laugh left Tamara’s pink lips as she turned to address the voice that had spoken, a smile on her face. “You know it’s the latter, but that doesn’t mean something won’t catch my eye the moment it’s presented to me,” she breathed out truthfully. If Mina were to hand her a book, or two, or even three, Tamara would probably leave with it. “How are you today Mina? It’s been what—three days since we last seen each other?” she asked with a small laugh. Three days was possibly the longest she had gone without stepping foot in the bookstore.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 3, 2024 6:02:52 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Nov 4, 2017 15:45:30 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Nov 4, 2017 15:45:30 GMT -7
@tamara Of course it was easier to pull in the badgers, with their adorable little habits and want to be social butterflies. She had always liked them the most while in school because they were fun. If it weren’t for everything else, there was a good chance that Slytherin would have been an afterthought. Still would have been in the dungeons too, so it wouldn’t have been that much different. Badgers were perfect prey for snakes, which was fine with her. Being predatory was already in her nature, the Hogwarts house only helped it out. And now she was a salesperson. That was easily the most aggressive job for her to have. It was perfect. Mina returned the laugh with a smile as her friend asked how long it had been since she was last in the store. Had it been three days? Sometimes it was every day, sometimes every other. Three seemed a little long for Tamara though. “Are you sure you didn’t catch me on my way out on uhh…Tuesday?” Today was Thursday, right? The week blurred by when there was actual activity in the shop, and someone to talk to on occasion. Tamara helped out with that immensely. The occasional Callisto or Sarah did as well, though those conversations always dipped into immaturity on all ends. She expected more out of her sisters. Herself? Not so much. “Here’s a question for you. Do they have any work for you at the Prophet, or do you just have hours to kill when you get home? Because I don’t think anyone else has come in to buy as many books and hasn’t gotten annoyed by me yet. It’s amazing.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 7, 2018 17:46:58 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2018 17:46:58 GMT -7
The moment Mina commented on having caught her on her way out on Tuesday, and for a minute she stood there. The times that she came into this store and ran into Mina, either while working or heading someplace outside of the store, was a lot. She let out a small laugh, “I don’t even remember at this point. I’m in here too much,” she said in a joking manner. While buying books, or even just roaming throughout them in their home, was something she often did, she wasn’t sure when she came to this store and when she didn’t. She pretty much just lived within the walls of the bookstore, and maybe she should go just more in. She’s here more than she is at home. It was within seconds that Mina asked her a question, asking if they had any work for her at the Prophet or she just had hours to kill on the way home. She let out a small laugh, “Oh they have plenty of work to be done at the Prophet, but when I go on my lunch, I got a bit of time on my hands. Though today is my day stopping by on the way home,” she said with a smile before continuing “Oh don’t say that Mina, I could never get annoyed with you, and if anyone ever did…they would have to be insane.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 3, 2024 6:02:52 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Jan 8, 2018 23:00:19 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Jan 8, 2018 23:00:19 GMT -7
@tamara That was great, neither of them could remember when the last time they had run into each other was. Mina was sure that was a good thing, but it also meant that things were blurring together way too much. She liked having a constant stream of customers and a rather repetitive schedule, but there were times where having the freedom to do what she wanted throughout the day would be absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately her botched success in school and subsequent haphazard trip around the globe did not place her in a position to have a job that would allow her to work on her own schedule. The bookstore was extremely accommodating though, far more than any of the muggle stores she had worked at while in the United States had been. Those ones dictated everything she said and did, and she hated that more than anything. Here she was allowed to take breaks and do what she wanted when there weren’t customers or orders to complete. There were enough of those to keep her busy throughout the day, but also enough to allow her to also work at her own pace. Still, being her own boss was the ultimate final job. “Sometimes I feel like I live here,” Mina stated, not intending to be serious and yet it still came out that way. “I mean, don’t get me wrong I love it, but doing closing shifts and then opening the next morning is brutal sometimes.”
Mina raised her arms up in a shrug as Tamara said that a person would have to be insane to get annoyed by her. If that was the case, then literally every friend and family member was crazy. Some of them actually were, of course, like Sarah, but Callisto still had her head on straight despite harping on about things most of the time. “I don’t take offense to it. Just means they escaped from my clutches. It’s a shame really, I like to think I’m the fun sort,” she sighed dramatically. That was why her muggles were so great. They didn’t give a damn about what she did for work or who she was outside of partying and drinking, and vice-versa. “If anything, you’re the insane one for not being phased by me yet. The magic is strong with you, I think.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 22, 2018 17:43:05 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2018 17:43:05 GMT -7
“I don’t know about you, but I’d love to live here,” she said, completely overlooking the serious tone that came with the words that Mina spoke, though if Tamara was honest, she probably already lived in a place similar. Her home was filled with books, from top to bottom, some with homes and others within boxes. Though she had to admit, the sound of having to close and then open the next morning sounded horrible; she even wrinkled her nose a bit at the thought. “And I thought drowning in paperwork was horrible, but you seem to have me trumped. I would hate getting late and having to be back bright and early. I hope you get coffee because I would not be able to function in your shoes without it,” she said with a small smile on her face. It was true though; she did need her morning cup of joe to function properly at work, especially with not being able to get a good night sleep. “I’m sure you are the fun sort,” smiled Tamara, though she didn’t know what fun was these days. She barely had any of that, with everything going on in the world and then her job, fun seemed to have fallen off the radar completely for her. It was then that Mina said that it was her that was probably insane for not being phased by her, though quickly saying that the magic was probably strong with her, and she smiled. “I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or be deeply offended. I can start being phased by you if you’d like,” she started with an amused tone to her voice. She was joking; of course, she probably could never be phased by the person that sold her so many of the wonderful books she has.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 3, 2024 6:02:52 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Jan 24, 2018 22:21:56 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Jan 24, 2018 22:21:56 GMT -7
@tamara Mina grimaced at the thought of actually living in the bookstore. It would take a certain kind of special person to be able to pull that off – in a way, maybe Tamara was the one that could do it. She knew it was impossible for her, and on a few occasions had contemplated bunking in the back room because of how late she was locking up. Luckily she had never subjected herself to an overnight yet, so she wasn’t exactly sure what that would mean for the next day. Taking a stab at it, she assumed it would be miserable. That was the only thing that made sense. “Be careful what you wish for. I’m sure I could arrange that for a day or two for you,” Mina teased. “But really, it’s not the worst thing in the world. Just drains the life out of me sometimes.” She finally understood what it was like for her sister to work at the hospital for days in a row without coming home, and that was only a smidge of it. “Plenty of coffee, yes. And I always need more breaks on those days too.” Mostly to de-stress and smoke a cigarette or two in between rough customers. Being exhausted from the day before and cranky coupled with whiny customers meant fresh air and nicotine were her two best friends.
She knew she was the fun sort, and Tamara only reinforced that. There wouldn’t be so many loyal muggle friends or a grumpy sister if she was someone that didn’t know how to have fun. “Please don’t,” she blurted out. “Insanity is more sane these days anyways. I like it better that way, anyways.” A little bit of crazy never killed anyone. Well…it did but not the kind of crazy she was looking for in her life. Having customers and friends that brought some excitement to the day with their wild stories and personalities was better than having an actual lunatic raving on about nothing. “Back to business though,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Genre, topic, author - name it and I’ll find something for you.” At the end of the day, she still had to make sales and she knew that Tamara would buy something. It was inevitable. And it wasn’t like they couldn’t converse while looking for books.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 29, 2018 18:06:22 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 18:06:22 GMT -7
Tamara found herself laughing as Mina teased about arranging that, before saying that it drains the life out of her sometimes and that plenty of coffee and a bunch of breaks are always in order on those days. She nodded her head, “I’m fine – seems like you have those under control anyways, don’t need to arrange anything for my sake of being taught a lesson on wishing for the wrong things,” she said with a smile laugh and a teasing tone of voice. It was true though; she was perfectly fine with her stress, she didn’t need any more that would put her off books for a century. Tamara found herself smiling as Mina told finished a little spiel before getting onto the real topic on hand, the business side of her visit. She told her to name the genre, topic, and author and she’d find it, she shrugged her shoulders. “How about you surprise me, I feel like my shelves are filled with the authors that I like – though I could use a good mystery,” she said with a smile. She knew that today she’d be going home with yet another book, her owl will be sure to claim it as her new sleeping location.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 3, 2024 6:02:52 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Feb 10, 2018 17:56:59 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Feb 10, 2018 17:56:59 GMT -7
@tamara (& @emilia for the book reference) She felt like she had dodged a stunning spell, even if they had been joking about the staying overnight in the shop thing. If Mina could manage that, she would have been expected to stay as well. Nothing against Tamara, but literally nothing could get her to stay in the store for an entire twenty-four hours. Extra pay or a week off wouldn’t even be enough for her. She would have to be tied down to a chair for that to ever be accomplished. The reason this job was fine with her still was because she had the ability to go home at the end of the day. Stripping her of that freedom would be the end of it all. Finding a new job wasn’t exactly desirable for her, but it would be inevitable at that point. “I think it sounds fun in theory, but it’s like first-year when they tell you not to break curfew. The novelty would probably fade quickly.” Or in her case, she would continue to abuse it for all seven years at Hogwarts. Those poor professors and prefects that had to find her doing whatever it was that teenage Mina thought was fun.
But back to work. Tamara posed the option for Mina to pick a book out for her, possibly a mystery. She was a little hesitant about that, mostly because they were seriously lacking in the mystery genre, but then she remembered her conversation with a customer a few months back. Except that the customer was also the author of a few mystery books they had in stock. Apparently they were entertaining, and while Mina had yet to crack one of them open, she had seen a few cross in front of her cash register. “I think I know the one for you then,” Mina stated, a little surprised that she still remembered the title of the book, and where it was located on the shelves. She motioned with her head for Tamara to follow her as she glided through the aisles towards the mystery section in the back of the store. Stopping in front of the wall of books, Mina ran her fingers along the spines until she saw the one she was looking for. Spartan. Plucking it from its snug spot in between the author’s other books, Mina presented it to her friend. “The author came in once, so I think it would be a disservice not to give her a plug.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Feb 27, 2018 16:31:39 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2018 16:31:39 GMT -7
The brunette before her mentioned that it was much like being a first year, the whole curfew and the consequences of breaking such a thing. And she thought for a moment, did people even listen to curfew? There were so many times during her first year that she notices empty beds and people going exploring the castle at night. She had done it once or twice but ended up stopping that rather quickly, especially after many had gotten caught. It was something that quickly put others in their place, either to stop them, so they too don’t get caught, or to make sure people didn’t do it at all. It was then that Mina mentioned that she knew just the thing that would fix her mystery itch, and then she started moving towards a section of shelves that Tamara had never wandered towards, or maybe she did and just didn’t remember cause she’s always wandering. She followed close behind as the other brunette moved towards the shelves, fingers delicately wandered along the spines before grasping one and pulling it out. From where Tamara was standing, she couldn’t read the spine before it was pulled out and presented to her – Spartan. She had heard of it but had never gotten a chance to reading it or even giving it a gander. “I’ve heard of it, have you read it?” she questioned just as Mina mentioned that the author came in once and that it would be a disservice not to give the writer a plug.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 3, 2024 6:02:52 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Mar 11, 2018 20:01:52 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Mar 11, 2018 20:01:52 GMT -7
@tamara Tamara asked if she had ever read it, and Mina bit down on her lip, giving the cover another glance. “I suppose if I’m recommending a book, I should have read it first,” Mina admitted sheepishly. “I have a copy though. Not sure how surprising it is to hear this, but I’m not much of a reader outside of the store. When you’re surrounded all day by books, the last thing you want to do when you go home is keep reading.” That and she had a dog to take care of, and try to prove to Callisto that she was becoming a responsible adult all at the same time. If her sister came home and saw her on the couch reading a book…Mina would probably have to call St. Mungo’s for a mediwizard to come revive the older Oliveira. A heart attack would be the least of her worries in that case. She was pretty sure reading a book was equally comparable to saying she was in a committed relationship or pregnant. In other words, all three of those could stay out of her life for the time being. Callisto knew that she read while at work, so that along with graduating from Hogwarts was enough proof that she wasn’t illiterate. That was one of her jokes that had gone on for so long, that those close to her started to believe it after a while. Joke was on them, someone that couldn’t read would never get a job at a bookstore.
“Pretty sure that it’s one of the better books from Emilia Pond though,” Mina explained, showing the spine of the book to Tamara again so that she could see the author’s name. “But most of her work seems to be mystery, and there are quite a few here. So if you get this one and like it, you can complete the collection when you come back.” She held out the book so that her friend could look it over if she wanted to. Mina knew that she didn’t exactly have to sell to Tamara. The other woman would buy anything placed in front of her that was considered a decent book. That was one of the reasons Mina enjoyed whenever she came into the store.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Mar 29, 2018 12:47:08 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2018 12:47:08 GMT -7
The moment the brunette asked if the other woman had read it, she noticed the change in demeanor all associated with a bite of her lip and a glance at the cover. Tamara smiled as the girl admitted, rather sheepishly, that she had not read it but did indeed have a copy. Tamara shrugged her shoulders, “It’s understandable. I’m the same way with the Daily Prophet paper, don’t enjoy reading about things that I have to deal with all day,” she said with a small laugh. While it wasn’t fully the same thing, she decided to throw it in there in attempts to show Mina that she understood just where she stood on the whole thing. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll read it and let you know my opinion, that way if people ask you can tell them what I said,” she offered up with a small laugh. “I guess I’ll have to read all of her books then, starting with this one,” she said with a smile as she took the outstretch book from her friend’s hand. “You see Mina, this is why I should stop coming by, you always have me leaving the store with a new book each time,” she said with a laugh. While the business probably prospered over her constant purchases, Tamara’s ‘piggy bank’ did not. Though she didn’t mind, investing in books was like investing in other lives, a pleasurable past time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 3, 2024 6:02:52 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
|
|
|
Apr 9, 2018 20:19:30 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Apr 9, 2018 20:19:30 GMT -7
@tamara “Thank you for understanding what I go through,” Mina sighed, relieved that she wasn’t the only one like that, a chuckle rolling out of her immediately after. Dealing with the newspaper had to be worse than this. At least with books, she had a huge variety to go through. Not feeling a mystery one day? Cool. There are a hundred books on how to cure dragon pox via home remedies without breaking your Gringotts vault in the process. Obviously she would never find a need to research those unknown numbers of dragon pox cures, but if she wanted to do that, she could. The fact remained that there were thousands of books here that she had never read, and probably never would read – thinking of that alone was a turn off. The only positive was that her sister believed that she knew how to read now. There were a few years at Hogwarts where that question was up in the air, starting out as a joke, and then becoming a sad reality when she struggled through course work in her later years. It wasn’t a reading problem, more so a comprehension and attention problem that she had. The attention issue still existed today, though it was mostly by choice. Ignoring people was her specialty.
She grinned as her friend stated that she would have to read all of the author’s books now, taking the one Mina was holding, out of her hands. Score! That was one more sale for her today, and a personal victory for promoting the author’s stuff. Maybe this would be the motivation that she needed to crack her own copy open. “You don’t exactly put up a fight whenever I show you something you’d be interested in though,” she countered back. “Can’t blame me for doing my job,” Mina teased. It was amazing that she actually had this gig in the first place, considering how lazy she was with everything else in her life. “How about this. I’ll start reading that book too, and then I’ll have something to talk to you about the next time you’re in.” Setting up a game like this would be fun, in her opinion, and it would keep things interesting every time Tamara came into the store. “Just give me a few weeks, because it might take me a while to get through it…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 4, 2024 3:32:11 GMT -7
|
|
|
Apr 11, 2018 8:15:59 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 8:15:59 GMT -7
A laugh left her lips, nodding as the woman sighed and a relieved feeling seemed to wash over her face. Everyone could understand something like that in their way; it seemed each job resulted in something like that. Inside of work, they were fine with reading little things, outside of it they wanted to do their own thing. It was understandable, and anyways, Tamara wasn’t much to judge someone else for their own opinions, not like other people surely did these days. Another laugh left her lips, “I don’t put up a fight because books are my passion,” she said with a small giggle. The other girl quickly began to tease her, and she couldn’t blame her. She was helping the other woman do her job, and by not putting up a fight, she brought money into the store each time she entered. A smile quickly grew on her face as the other girl said that she’d start reading the book as well, giving them something to talk about the next time she returned. She nodded her head, “I’d love that,” she said truthfully; “It sounds like a good plan,” she added in the same tone.
|
|
|
|