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last online Apr 19, 2024 12:37:21 GMT -7
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Oct 1, 2018 6:57:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2018 6:57:01 GMT -7
 THE TINKLING BELL ABOVE THE DOOR AT FLOURISH & Blotts was a bit much, Donna reckoned. For a bookstore at least. She'd always found it all a little too chipper for a place with the same vibe as a library on a low budget. But, she supposed it was for the kids. Muggleborns and fresh faced first years drawn in by that incessant jangle every time they arrived in the summer for new books.
Long story short, the book shop was not Donna's typical kind of haunt. As could be seen by the way she looked at the towering displays of hardbacks and dusty papers. Or, by the way she cut her way through the tomes all the way to the small rack of magazines near the front. All the while she craned her neck in search of a familiar face. Mina Oliveira was a funny one for Donna. She was just needy enough to be almost intolerable and every time that Donna had seen her she was at least a little bit drunk. But, it was enough for Donna to keep an eye on her.
Jessa often said that Donna had a thing for strays, and Donna pretended she didn't know what her sister meant, but maybe it was true. She picked up a stack of four magazines, a couple of gossip rags and a risky sports addition before she bent at the waist and peered around the edge of the seemingly empty register. There, curled behind a stack of books, teetering on the edge of a stool, was the girl Donna was looking for. She sighed in heavy exasperation, clutching the magazines to her as she rounded the front before slowly picking away Mina's tower book by book, when she'd revealed enough of the girls slumbering form she pursed her lips and thought for a moment.
Eventually, Donna rolled her stack of magazines in to a glossy little paper bat and brandished it above Mina's before promptly smacking her on the back of the head without hesitation. Once, twice, she firmly knocked the girl awake. "Wakey wakey!" She sang loudly, leaning in close to Mina's ear just to be sure it cut through her peaceful rest.
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:16 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Oct 1, 2018 20:53:15 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Oct 1, 2018 20:53:15 GMT -7
@belladonna 11.19.2024 The boss had already reprimanded her earlier in the week for being asleep at the cash register when customers were walking around. Mina never understood what the problem was with that since they had anti-theft charms on both the till and the front of the shop. Falling asleep or eating lunch weren’t really that big of a deal. And it wasn’t like she had a choice when it came to getting drowsy. Sleep had been difficult over the last few days. She still wasn’t sure if she was pissed off at Callisto for hiding their brother’s death for so long, or thankful that she had a little more time to believe he was still out there somewhere, alive and doing whatever he had been doing. The torment wouldn’t be gone for a while, both in her own head and with everyone else Dakoda had been involved with. If sleep was difficult now, Mina was terrified of what would happen once the news broke. Isabel didn’t know yet, and probably wouldn’t until Christmas, and Mina was pretty sure their parents were in the dark still. And then there was Ophelia. Mina was ready to let Cal handle the rest of the family while she tackled her new friend. It was going to suck.
Her current sleeping place was behind a pile of books she had been restacking earlier in the day. Her boss was gone on a business trip for the rest of the week, which meant any customer complaints went solely to her and then made a habit of disappearing instantly. So falling asleep wasn’t going to be an issue. Until she was jerked awake by a sudden whack on the top of her head. Her hands shot up to where the impact had been made, the rest of her body following in a similar motion. Whatever had remained of her book fort was now scattered across the ground, her legs causing most to tip over as she jumped to her feet. “Fuck,” she said under her breath, observing the destruction around her. “Don’t laugh Donna,” Mina continued, starting to bend over so she could go back to what she was doing before her nap. “I’m having a shit week already.” And hadn’t been able to sleep at all the last three days. “Are you in a hurry?” she asked as she noticed the amount of magazines in the older woman’s arms. One of those must have been what hit her head.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 12:37:21 GMT -7
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Oct 20, 2018 15:49:55 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2018 15:49:55 GMT -7
DONNA WATCHED MINA FLAIL IN SHOCK AS SHE rose from slumber as clumsily as she lived. It was highly amusing to her and she stepped back to avoid an answering punch as Mina glared at her, cheeks sleep creased and flushed. She looked about 12 years old like that, no wonder Donna worried about her. "That doesn't mean you get to sleep on the job, Kid." She tutted, though Donna was not judging as she smiled with raised brows at the girl. "If you were mine I'd fire you." In her thick cockney accent.
Setting her magazines down, she gave Mina a break as she gathered up the books that had gone flying upon Donna's greeting. "Nah," She said easily, tapping her nails against the glossy fronts of her magazines as a sporty looking fella dashed across it on a broom, showing off. Donna only liked Quidditch when folks were betting on it. "I just like to top up the bog's supply every now and then." She explained, flipping through a couple of the front pages as she leaned her hip against the register. "If they ain't gamblin' they're sh*tting, you know?" She said, as if it was nothing. "I like to keep my customers happy either way."
Eventually, though, Donna set the magazines down and covered the front with her hand to avoid distractions. "What's got you all knotted up, eh?" She said seriously, a crease between her brows as she watched Mina's tired face across from her. She looked worn through and only half-way present, it was bothering Donna. "I ain't seen you down at the bar in over a week," She added, tilting her chin down expectantly. "You cheatin' on my casino?"
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:16 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 13, 2018 22:56:58 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Nov 13, 2018 22:56:58 GMT -7
@belladonna 11.19.2024 She deserved the reprimanding. It didn’t really matter who it came from, as long as she received it. Callisto was usually in the habit of instilling it at home, her boss backing off during work hours because she was actually a competent employee, and the occasional older witch or wizard at a bar telling her to slow down because she had a life ahead of her. So did Dakoda, but he was dead now. Everything in the past week always came back to that. Here she was, wasting her life away in a bookstore and getting absolutely sloshed and pissed every single weekend and day off, and he was dead. What a waste that was. “If you have a complaint, there are forms by the cash register,” she continued in her mumbled tone, grabbing a few of the magazines she had knocked down earlier.
It sounded like Donna intended to buy the newest issues of the weekly magazines, causing Mina to spin around slowly in place, eyes trying to pick out which ones were the so called new editions. They were all the same to her at the end of the day. She had no interest in the semi-professional Quidditch league or Country Witch Living. And definitely not the Quibbler. That was the largest piece of trash aside from herself inside Flourish & Blotts at any given time, and that was being nice to it. “Just let me know which ones you want, I’m sure we have them somewhere...” she kneeled down to snag the Country Witch Living, a picture of a witch with her supposed house elf friend on the front of it. Did having a house elf and calling them your friend still happen? It seemed counter-intuitive in her opinion. “Ever think of getting a subscription? That way you don’t have to come all the way over here to get them?” That was what she would do, mostly because she was lazy and would only ever find herself in a bookstore because it was paying her to be there.
And then Donna had to ask the question. What was eating away at Mina? Loads of things. Her dead brother, her alcoholism, the fact that she didn’t really have too many friends even though she acted like she did, her dead brother…maybe her dead brother? “It’s not you, it’s me,” she said, sounding like a terrible break-up text that one too many muggles had used on her, and vice-versa. “Family stuff…y’know?”
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last online Apr 19, 2024 12:37:21 GMT -7
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Nov 16, 2018 16:57:45 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2018 16:57:45 GMT -7
FROWNING SLIGHTLY, DONNA LOOKED OVER TO where Mina was pointing and rolled her eyes. She obviously didn't see the funny side, but Donna thought it wouldn't hurt her to lighten up a little bit. She'd only been joking. Though she felt no remorse, she still sighed and back off a little bit. "Yeah, alright." She muttered, her smile dulling, but unable to drop it entirely. Though she did feel a little more worried than she had been before.
Bending down, Donna retrieved the final magazine that had skittered on to her side of the register, slapping it down on the top. "Got everything I need on my own, thanks." Internally commenting that it was a bit late to be giving advice, she was already at the register. It was all a bit too robotic for her taste. Especially when she'd seen the kid in some states over time. Though not recently, which had actually sparked Donna's desire to visit the little shop in the first place. She'd never admit that, of course.
"Nah," Donna shook her head, nose wrinkling. "I ain't shelling out for a subsciption." She dug in her pockets for her coin purse, laying her chosen magazine's to one side. "I only update the display about twice a year." She shrugged and counted out a few sickles and knuts for her purchases, folding a galleon in to her hand as well, just in case. She really was worried about the younger woman. Why, she'd never really know. Mostly because she wouldn't allow herself to think on it too hard.
"Family stuff," Donna echoed, disregarding her lame attempt at humour. Mina was usually funnier than that. "Sounds deep..." Tilting her chin up, she waited a few seconds, blinking lazily at the girl as if waiting for her to delve deeper. Not too long, she wasn't that desperate. "Well, you ever wanna talk about it, or whatever." She shrugged awkwardly and laid down her coins, the galleon tip under her flattened palm. She lifted it away when she picked up her magazines. "For the mags and... the nap." Waving her magazines at Mina, she lingered at the desk before leaving, a wrinkle between her brows.
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:16 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 17, 2018 16:09:49 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Nov 17, 2018 16:09:49 GMT -7
@belladonna 11.19.2024 Donna already had everything she needed and Mina felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. Having to remember the content of each of the magazines had always been the worst. Most of the time they barely sold, once again, people enjoying the simplicity of the subscription method. When magazines were purchased, it was probably to get the little paper card inside to mail in for the yearly or whatever. Mina had never seen the need to do that since she spent her shifts flipping through them absentmindedly. “Only twice a year? Those poor sods that are in there every day…” Mina trailed off as she adjusted herself behind the cash register. She still wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep for, but everything seemed to be in the same place. The morning had been quiet, so it was safe to assume Donna had been the only person to venture in during her snooze. “Two sickles even,” Mina said, her fingers finding the two pieces as Donna placed them down. The ding as the cash register shot open sounded foreign since it was the first sell of the day.
The offer to talk about what was eating away at her had Mina teetering on her toes. She didn’t want to dump all of this on Donna, even if it would help her unload all the emotions. The fact that she had fallen asleep while working should have been an indicator that she needed to get it out. Donna had already started to leave, a galleon on the countertop left in her place. Watching Donna meander towards the door felt like an eternity. Once the door closed behind her, Mina knew she could let it all out again. “My uhh…” The first stream of tears were quickly wiped up with her shirt sleeve, but there were always more behind them, dancing along the edge of her eyelids. She took a deep breath and dabbed at her eyes a few times before continuing again. “My brother died. So I’ve been taking some time off from drinking…sorry.” She wasn’t sure why she had to justify her reasoning for not being at the local watering hole or the casino but it came out regardless. Donna probably didn’t care if she was there or not now that she knew.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 12:37:21 GMT -7
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Dec 20, 2018 15:43:30 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2018 15:43:30 GMT -7
AS MUCH AS DONNA AGREED THAT THE READING material was a bit sparse, she didn't feel an ounce of guilt for her patrons. Snorting under her breath as she folded the magazines to her chest and kept them with with her crossed arms. "Hun, they don't come for my magazines." She smirked, tilting her head. "It's the tables they're interested in." She used one hand to rub her thumb and two fingers together, the Universal sign for 'money'.
And while Donna had tried to extend some kind of olive branch for Mina, she didn't think the girl would take it. She'd always given Donna a walled off vibe, barely ever talking about anything deeper than what she poured in to the bottom of her glass. But, just as Donna pulled the handle of the shop door open, unwilling to push Mina any further, she heard her voice carry across the room.
Donna froze with the handle clutched in her hand, magazines still gripped to her chest. She had two choices, leave Mina to mourn on her own, or she could close the door and do her best. The door slipped from Donna's grasp and jingled back in to place. She turned the Open sign on the door to Closed and turned on her heels. Rather than move back around to the front of the register, Donna placed her stack of magazines by the door and slipped behind the counter to stop at Mina's side.
She was crying, that much was obvious. From the slight sniffle in her every breath to the wet spot on her sleeves where she'd tried to get rid of the evidence. Gently, Donna lifted a hand and carefully placed it between Mina's shoulder blades in an attempt of comfort. For a moment, she didn't say anything, allowing the girl to find her composure, before she took her hand back and drew in a very slow breath. "I had no idea about your brother, Mina." She muttered, knowing very little about the Oliveira's in general, beyond Mina's vague mentions. "Were you close?"
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:16 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Jan 6, 2019 12:01:08 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Jan 6, 2019 12:01:08 GMT -7
@belladonna 11.19.2024 Right. These were for the casino. She never spent enough time locked away in a toilet stall to even care about what there was to read. And the amount of hands that had probably touched them? Mina was far from being germaphobic but there was no way she was ever going to be touching those magazines again. She had been absolved of their responsibility as magazines the second Donna pushed the money across the counter. Whatever was done to them now, she didn’t want to know. “I always forget that you have a casino in your bar,” she said wryly before Donna had turned to leave. Mina liked to watch people gamble but had no personal interest in it herself, which was funny because she would do almost anything to make a little more money. Except whore herself out or gamble. Those were her two stipulations, and she was sure there were grumblings from her friends and family about how she had survived so long abroad with so little funds. Hard work, as difficult as that was to believe. But no gambling or prostitution for her!
She thought Donna was going to walk out. She expected Donna to walk out. She would have done that without thinking about it. Nobody wanted to be the shoulder to cry on or deal with a whimpering mess. Mina knew she could have held on until Donna had left but it had escaped her before that could happen, and the woman was back by her side in what seemed like an instant. “Yeah…cl-closer than I am with my other siblings,” she said quietly, a hiccup interrupting it. She always felt like she could tell Dakoda anything, compared to wanting to hide things from Callisto or always trying to look like she had it together for Isabel. “There isn’t even a body. Just his snapped wand.” Almost hard to believe that he was dead based on that, but Callisto had seemed absolutely positive with the way certain ‘events’ had played out. Sarah dropping her child off with them and then disappearing around the same time they last heard from Dakoda. And now all they had was a wand, broken in half, and an Oliveira off the radar. She knew Sarah would do it one day, getting kicked out of school was only the start of it.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 12:37:21 GMT -7
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Feb 3, 2019 18:03:15 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2019 18:03:15 GMT -7
MINA WAS FUNNY IN A MILDLY CONCERNING KIND of way, thought Donna. Definitely screwed in the head, but who wasn't these days? She liked her because she was straight-forward, but drunks often were. Donna knew how to navigate the drinking types. You took their money, and if you liked them, made sure they took a taxi home and didn't fly, or walk.
What Donna was a little less experienced in navigating was emotions. Though the odd drunk was definitely prone to a cry, this felt different. There wasn't a bar between them and Donna couldn't offer her a free refill. This was Mina's territory and it showed in Donna's hesitation. She stayed silent for a second, wondering what it might be like to lose her sister and cringing. Nobody knew they were still close, but that didn't change the fact that they were. She felt her stomach flip and her head dipped.
"I..." Donna didn't know what to say, she took her hand back, crossing them over her chest and trying to think of something to say. "I didn't even know you had a brother." She admitted, licking her lips as she felt a stab of humiliation at her poor attempt. "Maybe..." She didn't say it, couldn't. She knew what loss felt like and to even suggest a slither of hope felt like a disservice to her. "I'm not going to say he's still out there." She muttered, frowning deeply as she uncrossed her arms and shook them out. "Cause..." She sighed. "Because that won't change the fact that he's gone, you know?"
Looking around the room, Donna felt the baron emptiness of the room and her frown turned in to something of a scowl. "What're you even doing here?" She blurted, gesturing at the place and rolling her eyes. "This place is so fuckin' dull," She put her arm around Mina and shook her a little bit. "C'mon, close the place up." She patted her arm before letting go. "We'll get you a couple of drinks..." It was the best she could offer, moving from behind the register and gathering her magazines. "Play a few hands, if you want..." She hiked the magazines on her hip and gave Mina a searching look. "Ain't no use sitting here crying alone, kid." She pursed her lips to stop herself form doing something stupid, like trying to smile comfortingly. "No jobs worth that, hun."
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:16 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Mar 4, 2019 23:18:23 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Mar 4, 2019 23:18:23 GMT -7
@belladonna 11.19.2024 Had a brother. Donna’s words stung a lot more than she probably intended for them to. Had was a finality when it came to something existing. Had was past-tense, something that wasn’t in the same place as she was anymore. Dakoda had a life. Now he didn’t. He had a family, almost had his own family with Ophelia, he had dogs, and he had a position on a professional Quidditch team that he had been vying for since he first got on a broom. Everything he had was still around, in a sense, except for him. That wasn’t fair. Mina didn’t know how to broach the subject with her parents; that was up to Callisto since she seemed to have her head on straight, or at least more than Mina currently did. Going to work was the only thing she could do because it was normal and it was the only thing she had that was also capable of being ripped away from her if she abandoned it. At the end of it all, she only had a brother, his time was done. He was dead. He was gone. He wasn’t coming back.
She stayed quiet as tried to convince her that sticking around at work wasn’t a good thing to do right now. The older woman didn’t understand though – this was her job and getting just this was hard enough for her. Finding a new one seemed impossible, especially in her current state. “I have to stay,” she fought out. Cal probably stayed home from work, but she was in a different position. Her job required being of sound mind because other people’s lives were at stake if she wasn’t. All Mina had to do was sell books. She could cry behind the register in between customers. “This job is important to me, and I need it to be my normal right now.” Just saying it was hard enough, another stream of tears finding their way down her face. She quickly dabbed them away with her shirt sleeve. “I don’t think I’m going to be drinking for a while either…” she had already said that, she believed, but it wouldn’t hurt to say it again. Drinking too much in this state would make her sick, and she didn’t want to be sad and sick. She was smart enough to avoid that.
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last online Apr 19, 2024 12:37:21 GMT -7
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Mar 13, 2019 8:57:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2019 8:57:11 GMT -7
WHAT MINA SAID WAS MUCH MORE LEVEL headed than Donna expected from her. She was right, of course. Normality was about all you could ask for after losing somebody, Donna knew that. But, she also knew the allure of a drink to numb the pain. Which probably wasn't healthy, but that wasn't always her priority. "That's well mature of you," Donna said, a slight pitying smile curling up one corner of her mouth. Though she was still crying and Donna looked around the register, finding a plastic packet of tissues on display and grabbing them, offering it to Mina.
"That's probably for the best," She muttered, gnawing on the corner of her mouth and watching as Mina stared down at the register, her face shiny and wet from the tears. "I bet your brother would be proud, you know." She said, in a last ditch effort to say something meaningful, though it wasn't her strong suit, by any means. "You got out of bed, you're working..." She shrugged her shoulders quickly. "That's more than enough for now, I'd say." She reached over and pressed a hand to Mina's, trying to draw up her stare.
"I know this is a bit of a role-reversal, but..." Thin lines formed around her frowning mouth, her eyes crawling across the untidy stacks of books. "Is there anything I can get you, an elixir, a cup of coffee?"
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:16 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Apr 29, 2019 21:23:21 GMT -7
Post by mina pandora oliveira on Apr 29, 2019 21:23:21 GMT -7
@belladonna 11.19.2024 Mature wasn’t a word Mina heard often, it was more commonly found contained in immature, a much more appropriately crafted adjective for her life. She let out a bubbly chuckle when she heard it because it certainly wasn’t the sort of word that her family members would use around her right now. Her parents would probably say she was being selfish or childish for deciding to go to work instead of spending time with them, or something like that. Their demands were never unreasonable, but her brain had a hard time differentiating good and bad right now.
At some point, Donna had found a packet of tissues and handed them over to Mina, which the girl gladly accepted. “Thanks,” she sniffled before blowing her nose into one and then wiping her eyes off with another. She had been doing well enough throughout the day that she hadn’t really needed the tissues until now, her sleeves were working extremely well as a dam for her tears. Another shaky smile came from Mina as Donna had her thinking about whether or not Dakoda was proud of her for holding down her job. He had said so once, after she blew past her six month anniversary at the bookstore. Nobody thought she could do that, let alone make it this long.
“I’m fine…not fine, fine, but you know…” Mina responded to Donna’s offer to get her anything. Elixirs to relax her body or state of mind would only put her back to sleep, and she was sure her stomach wouldn’t be able to handle the acidity of coffee right now. “Just have to make it to the end of today and I get tomorrow to be all depressed,” she laughed awkwardly at herself. She knew it wasn’t healthy but she was getting tired of all the crying and the exhaustion that accompanied it.
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