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Post by Shinigami on Oct 20, 2007 20:18:11 GMT -5
Foster smiled as Austin went into her bag for her porfolio, impressed with the fact that it was leatherbound and looked very well taken care of. Most of his work was too large to fit in that kind of a portfolio, but he still treated them with equal care. He reached out to take it from her, but before she gave it up she warned him to be careful, and she had quite an adorable little smile and a faint blush. "Always am. You can trust me to take care of it."
He flipped it open, carefully of course, and started looking over her work. It was mostly photography, and it was good work. Foster had never been very talented with a camera, but he could understand how hard it could be to get such good shots. He was closely examining one of the photos when he heard Austin talking to him. He glanced up and smile, happy about the compliment, and he gave a little chuckle when she mentioned her living space not being big enough to take the piece she wanted. "Well, than how about I set it aside for when you do have enough space? I can tuck it away and put your name on it."
And he would, too, if Austin wanted. While he loved his work, he wasn't the type of person that needed to hold onto it. It was enough to know he had finished it and it was cherished by someone other than him. It had already been graded, after all, so he didn't have to worry about keeping it around for that.
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Post by Maira on Oct 20, 2007 21:03:06 GMT -5
When she had told Foster she would beg him for one of his pieces if she'd had space, Austin didn't expect him to respond by offereing to set it aside for her until she had the space. Honestly she had just expected him to maybe thank her for the compliment and then change the topic. But he had offered to set it aside for her...
"I probably won't have the space for a long time," she finally admitted after just staring at him i happy disbelief for a few quiet moments. Then, with a mischevious smile she added, "But if you don't mind putting up with me until I have the space, then I would love for you to hold onto it for me."
Austin had the sudden urge to hug Foster but she figured it was still a bit too new in their friendship to do that so instead she just stood and smiled at him. She didn't know what else to say or do so she just waited for him to make the next move.
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Post by Shinigami on Oct 20, 2007 21:35:31 GMT -5
Foster was smirking a bit when he saw that trouble-maker smile appear on Austin's face. Oh, he wouldn't mind putting up with her in the least. He seemed to realize at that moment that he hadn't complimented on her work, which he wouldn't mind owning a piece or two from. "Well, then, if I'll be putting up with you for a while," he started jokingly, "why don't we make it a trade? You've got some great stuff, and this one I wouldn't mind having for myself."
He held up the portfolio and lightly tapped the one he was talking about. He wasn't the kind of person to hand up his own art, but when he bought or was given art he liked, he always wanted to make sure it had its own space on the walls. Foster had one problem, though... the college owned the apartment he lived it, and they had been very clear about not putting holes in the walls. "I can't hang things up at my place, so how 'bout you hang on to this one for me until I can get it a proper place on a wall?"
Foster wan't sure how Austin was about her work, but he was hoping she was willing to go along with it. He really did like it, after all, and it also gave them an opportunity to talk later, even if she ended up going to a different college somewhere else.
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Post by Maira on Oct 20, 2007 21:51:12 GMT -5
She was blushing, Austin knew she was blushing, but there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. He had said she had some great work and when he pointed to the photograph of hers that he wanted in exchange for his piece, she felt her face darken even more. It was actually one of her favorite photographs and had fought with herself for a long time on whether or not to even put it in her portfolio because it just didn't quite fit with the theme throughout. In the end, because she loved it so much, it had been given a page.
Even though she knew her face was still bright red, Austin nodded and answered Foster, "If you want that piece I'd be more than happy to hold it for you. Its one of my favorites so parting with it will be bittersweet. Luckily, if I miss it too much when its gone I can just make a copy as I still have the negative." This last was said with a more relaxed smile on her face, and the color in her cheeks finally started going back to normal.
Before the topic could somehow get turned onto living arrangements, Austin looked at the clock and squeeked. "Crap, I have to get back over to the financial aid office, they wanted to talk to me this afternoon about possibly getting a scholarship."
She held out her hand for her portfolio and when Foster gave it back, she carefully put it in her bag and waited for him to put away his art before she spoke. "You don't need to give me a ride back over there if you have other things to do today, I'm sure I can find my way on foot." She really didn't want to inconvenience him but she was secretly hoping for another ride behind him on his motorcycle.
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Post by Shinigami on Oct 20, 2007 22:40:45 GMT -5
He had caught sight of yet another blush, king it quite amusing that he could get her blushing so easily, and she looked so adorable doing it. He was almost worried about asking for the piece when she mentioned that parting with it would be bittersweet, but was a little releaved when he was reminded that it was a photograph, after all, and that she still had the negatives on hand.
Foster blinked as she squeeked, secretly smirking about the cute little noise, but he looked a bit concerned when Austin mentioned she had to be back at the financial aid office. Hopfully she wasn't already late, but if we was, the Dean of Admissions liked him, and had dealt with Foster enough trying to figure out how to get him there from Australia.
He handed her porfolio back to her before moving to set his own work back into the protection of the shelf it had been tucked in. He made sure to pull out the one Austin had liked, however, and set it against the opposite side so he remembered to get it back to his apartment for even safer keeping. When Foster turned back around Austin commented that she could find her way on foot. He rolled his eyes and smiled. "No way am I going to let you walk back to the financial aid office. I don't have anything left to do today anyway. You ready to go?"
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Post by Maira on Oct 21, 2007 2:42:34 GMT -5
To admit she was relieved about not having to walk back across campus would have been silly so instead, Austin just smiled and told Foster, "If you're sure it won't interfere with anything, a ride would be nice." Then she waited for him to lead the way out of the building and back out to the bike.
The ride back across campus was just as pleasant as before and Austin was relieved to see, when she checked her watch, that she had 10 minutes to spare util her appointment. When Foster finally came to a stop, Austin climbed off the bike and thanked him. "You are a life saver, thanks for the ride." Then, with a nervous smile she asked, "So how do I get in touch with you about our art swap? If things work out, I'll see you here next fall but just in case things don't work out, I don't want to loose touch."
That was as close as Austin had ever gotten to asking a guy for his phone number and she was nervous about how he would react. When he pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled some numbers on it before handing it to her, Austin couldn't help but smile. She actually was on the verge of bouncing and if Foster hadn't still been there with her, she likely would have.
When Foster handed her the paper, Austin stole his pen and wrote down her own number on the lower part of the paper which she then tore off and handed back to Foster along with his pen. "That's my cell phone, I don't have a home phone." Then, with a smile and a small wave she said goodbye and wandered into the building that held the office and the people that would decide her fate as a college student.
*****
She exitted the Financial Aid office with a huge cheesy grin on her face and immediately dug through her bag for her cell phone that she had turned off. Once she had the little contraption in hand, she dug into her jeans pocket with her other hand for a piece of paper with a very special phone number on it. Austin punched in the numbers that would dial Foster and after two rings she got his voicemail. She sighed rather pathetically, got some odd looks from people still in the waiting room, and then hurried outside while Foster's voicemail did it's little 'leave a message' routine. Once the beep sounded, Austin said excitedly, "Well Foster, this is Austin and it looks like I'll be able to bother you all year next year! Gimme a call when you get this and maybe we can have coffee or something!" Then she rattled off her phone number just in case he'd lost the paper she had written it on and flipped the phone closed.
After putting the paper and the phone in a safe place in her bag, Austin did a happy little jump as she walked to her VW Vanagon-turned-home. She unlocked the van, climbed up on in and did a seated happy dance. Next fall she would actally have a real place to live other than this van and she couldn't be happier. Sure it was a college dorm and that would be chock full of issues but it was a solid roof with a real bed and an actual foundation instead of wheels. It had been a very long time since she had been so happy! Once she' calmed down a little bit, Austin started up the van and left the college campus to go find a place to park for the night.
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