To The Grave

Dilligence and Reverie

Caitriona found that not even the music pouring from her ear buds could drown out the sounds of college students drowning. It was an inherently painful experience, and she wasn't even the one drowning. In fact she was most likely the one tossing the poor things into the deep end.

One in particular caught her attention. She had been staring into the corner of the library for what felt like an eternity, a scowl permanently etched across her features, and had not touched whatever she had been previously working on.

Caitriona herself often fell victim to the sudden bouts of mindless thinking in which it appeared to the outside world as if you had left your body completely, but she had never seen it happen for such a long time.

With a gentle chuckle she pulled her feet up into the chair with her and situated herself so that they were tucked beneath her. She then turned her attention back to the book she had been reading. She attempted to read the page she had been but found that she comprehended about a fourth of it, so she once more lifted her gaze to the girl.

Said girl had recovered from her 'trip to space' as Caitriona liked to call it and now was giving the text book opened before her a look of pure hatred. It was only a matter of time before said book would end up thrown across the room, Caitriona mused. Content with the fact that the girl would work out her issues with her assignment Caitriona returned to her book and the story unfolding within it.

With her focused restored she leaned forward into the embrace of the words seeping from the page and brought a thumb to her mouth to nibble on the nail that was already too short from her doing just that. It wasn't a nervous habit, it was more like a quirk that only appeared when she was intently focused on someone or something, yet completely unfocused at the same time. It mostly only happened when she reading, as she found herself transfixed on the smallest details hidden within the words.

Her reverie was interrupted by the clearing of a throat and a presence occupying the seat across from her.

Tony.

Tony was her colleague, an acquaintance she wished she hadn't made. He was the farthest thing from a friend and let alone a partner, much to his disbelief.

" Balfe don't you have classes to be teaching and hearts to be breaking?" He said with a self satisfied smirk, as if he had just said the single most entertaining thing she had heard all day.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes and peered at him over the top of her book, her cool blue gaze boring into his boring gray one. " I could say the same for you, Mcgill." She said adopting his forward use of her maiden name. " Not that you have many people offering you their hearts." She added with a smirk of her own.

He frowned and adjusted himself in the chair as if he was suddenly uncomfortable. " As a matter of fact-" As he began to make some snooty retort that Caitriona could care less about, she held up a hand stopping him mid thought.

" Tony if you don't mind, I was rather enjoying my book."

She turned her attention back to her book hoping that if she ignored him long enough he would go away, but when she glanced up he was still there, staring at her. With a huff she shoved her bookmark into her book and set it down on the table, then she fixed him with the coldest look she could muster.

" Can I help you with something, or are you just trying to annoy me?" She said crossing her arms over her chest and trying not to think about just how good her book was getting. She new she was acting decidedly childish, but Tony brought out the annoying bratty side of her whether he was trying to or not. He just simply annoyed the ever living hell out of her, which can make a person rather prickly, for lack of a better word.