RP: A Gathering at Goldstein's

[rar_anthony]

Date: Thursday, 4 April 1999
Characters: Anthony Goldstein, Lisa Turpin, Michael Corner
Location: Anthony's Flat, Diagon Alley
Status: Private
Summary: Anthony's invited everyone over.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_lisa]

Lisa didn't have any problems finding Anthony's flat, though the smell of bread would have probably given it away, even if she hadn't had the address. She'd brought along some chocolates she'd picked up at the Sweet Shop (though she'd missed Angelina, unfortunately) and knocked on the door only a couple of minutes early.

Anthony opened the door, and she grinned. "Miss me?" She peeked her head inside, nose wrinkling a little at the smell of paint, before stepping all the way in. "Michael not here yet, then?"

[rar_anthony]

Anthony grinned at Lisa. "Well, it's been, what, five whole days? Six?" He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter his flat.

"No, you're the first," he said, "Butterbeer? Something slightly more potent? Sorry if it smells a bit painty in here. I only just finished. Haven't had much time." He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

[rar_lisa]

"Butterbeer for now would be great. Perhaps something more potent later." Lisa grinned, glancing around. The flat was definitely small, but it would be comfortable for one person. She could imagine Anthony in this space quite easily. "Won't notice the smell after a few minutes. It's nice, Anthony."

She kissed him on the cheek. "So how's the new job?"

[rar_anthony]

Anthony reached into the cold box and grabbed two butterbeers, popping them open and handing one to Lisa, gesturing for her to have a seat at the little table. "Glad you like the flat," he said, "I'm pretty fond of it. I thought the yellow would make it cheery--better than plain white."

"The job...I like it, so far. Mandy Brocklehurst works there, too--you remember her? So that's good. I do wish my boss would learn my name, but that might be a bit much to ask." Anthony laughed. "He's...interesting?"

Just then a pounding came upon the door, accompanied by a loud voice. Anthony grinned and stood. Michael was here.

[rar_michael]

Michael jogged up the stairs to Anthony's flat. He was surprised he had the energy to jog, but he was still keyed up from work and supposed he still had a bit too much adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He knocked on the door and yelled. "Oi! Goldstein! Let me in!"

[rar_anthony]

Anthony crossed the room in a few quick strides and yanked open the door, grinning. "You're going to make my neighbours hate me," he said by way of greeting, still smiling.

"Get your arse inside, take off your coat, and come have something to drink." Anthony punched Michael lightly on the arm, pleased that he'd come. "Lisa beat you here."

[rar_lisa]

"Well, now you know who loves you the most," Lisa said to Anthony. She waved her butterbeer, laughing. "Come on, Mikey, you've got some catching up to do. I've had three whole sips."

She moved to give Michael a quick kiss on the cheek, then hesitated, looking at him appraisingly. "You've not had any of Terry's symptoms, have you?" Making a face, she added, "But then, I guess if I was going to catch it, I'd have it by now." She shrugged, then pecked his check. "How are Auror...things going?"

[rar_michael]

"Three whole sips? You'll be under the table soon, I wager." Michael hung up his cloak and let Lisa kiss his cheek.

"Symptoms? Not me!" He looked around. "Nice flat, Goldstein. Do I smell paint?"

[rar_lisa]

Lisa smiled in thanks at Anthony as she accepted her new bottle of butterbeer. Then she turned back to Michael, matching his grin. "I'm far beyond Dickens these days, Corner. Been on a bit of a Shakespeare kick lately, so no worries. Well, about the books, at least." She smirked.

"Don't forget Goldsmith," she said helpfully, chuckling a little. "But I'm sure you're right. Just wait until you blow him away with your first big assignment. He'll have to learn it then."

Lisa pretended to think for a minute. "'You there! NotPotterorWeasley!' Yes, it does have quite a ring to it."

"She, actually," she said, then bit her lip. Would she be memorable? She hoped not for any of the hundreds of very possible negative reasons. Right now she was hoping more for functional; if her boss didn't remember her name yet, it might be for the best. It would mean she'd not managed to fail at her coping just yet. Lisa shrugged, pushing her expression back into the positive range. "Maybe. Terry and Seamus both interned there, so I'll be the only new hire

[rar_anthony]

Anthony thought of the piles of work that had been dumped on his desks by more senior editors during his first two days of work and tried not to look too rueful. He had the feeling that big assignments were going to be difficult to come by at his job--at least until he managed to move up a bit in the world of Obscurus Books. "Yeah," he said to Lisa, "I'm sure he'll learn my name then." He gave a little chuckle that he hoped didn't sound too forced. He liked Obscurus and didn't regret taking the job, but it was certainly much different than he could ever have expected.

"Oh, she--sorry. Well I'm sure she will find you memorable, then. Our lovely Lisa. The new girl, right? NotBootorFinnigan?"

[rar_michael]

Michael rolled his eyes. He had the feeling he'd just started something he'd regret later.

"Course our little Lisa's memorable. Anyone with a brain can see that. And you can keep your bottlecaps to yourself, Silverstein." He finished his ale and put the empty bottle on the table.

"So here we are. NotPotterorWeasley, NotBootorFinnigan, and, um, NotCornfootorEntwhistle?" He shrugged. "Sorry, dunno anyone else at Obscurus besides Brocklehurst."

[rar_lisa]

Lisa sighed softly, a little bit of happiness filtering into her glum mood. It was easy to forget sometimes as they bandied words with one another just how much she enjoyed the company of "her blokes." The way they seamlessly teased one another while making her feel just a little more confident in herself was only one example.

"That sounds like a toast to me," she said, pushing Michael's new bottle of ale toward him before raising her butterbeer. "To the 'Nots.' May we one day make names for ourselves."