Violet

[nola_laurielaurence]

New Orleans weather was, frankly, terribly. It was only mid-May and already the temperatures were in the high 80s. It was both intensely humid and unrelentingly sunny, and every tourist who walked by looked like they were in the process of actually melting.

But despite that, Amar was waiting outside for Violet, because it was the polite thing to do, maybe? And also he didn't want to risk the chance of missing her. Not when the semester was over and he had extra time on his hands, and could actually use more friends.

He wasn't actually mad at Diego, though he was committed to the bit for now, but the fact was that he really hadn't cultivated a thriving social life since moving down from Boston. Which was stupid, because Amar was great! People should like him! People who weren't the bones he studied and the grad students who had to do what he said.

He leaned back into the meager shade from Phoenix Effect's awning and crossed his arms. Violet liked books—what did he know about books? It was so hot that he couldn't remember anything. He had read a book before, right?

Comments

[nola_jomarch]

"Not even. My usual level of complexity is substituting butter for oil and adding an extra egg. If the cake wouldn't dry out faster without it, I'd probably skip frosting cakes and just alternate bites of cake and frosting. The more advanced stuff I get help with or is a recipe my mom pulled off when I was a kid and I've never made for myself." She could follow directions, as long as they didn't require more than average eye-hand coordination or any artistic ability whatsoever.

[nola_laurielaurence]

"All I've really done is watch a lot of making shows and try fun stuff with boxed mixes, like poke cake," Amar said. "I aspire to fancy breads and pastry."

[nola_jomarch]

"What...what is poke cake?" Was she about to discover a new kind of deliciousness? This was not what she was expecting!

[nola_laurielaurence]

"Oh, it's really simple! It's usually yellow or white cake, and then you poke holes in it and pour a Jello mixture over the top so it seeps in. It's really moist and the color makes it pretty." He started typing again. "Here, I'll send you the instructions. You can pour in pudding and caramel too, but I've never tried it."

[nola_jomarch]

“Is pineapple jello a thing? I hope it’s a thing, because I feel a piña colada cake idea coming on and it would be perfect in this weather.” Oooh, or strawberry daquiri. Violet was typing notes into her phone as fast as she could. “If I spend all summer inventing poke cakes based on drinks with tiny umbrellas in them, I blame you. And will thank you in my speech for my resultant Nobel Prize.”

[nola_laurielaurence]

"If pineapple Jello isn't a thing, I think it can be invented." It couldn't be too hard, right? Plain gelatin plus some pineapple puree... "And all the thanks I need are some sample slices of your creations."

[nola_jomarch]

“I’m seriously going to the grocery store on the way home. But in the meantime, we should probably get coffee while we’re here, huh?” Since they’d otherwise just been standing in the cafe being nerds.

[nola_laurielaurence]

"Oh, right." He turned and waved awkwardly at the barista, who was staring at them expectantly. "What do you want? I invited you out, so I'll treat."

[nola_jomarch]

“A ginormous iced hazelnut latte, please,” she requested cheerfully. “And thank you.”

[nola_laurielaurence]

Hazelnut for her, and iced vanilla caramel for him, and as soon as the drinks were ready Amar held hers out to her. "Hazelnut in the summer is a rogue choice. I like it!"

[nola_jomarch]

“When it comes to coffee, I’m a hazelnut loyalist. Iced or hot, it’s just so tasty.” She took a long sip through her straw; summer might just be bearable with another hundred of these. 

[nola_laurielaurence]

"It reminds me of fall, which isn't a bad thing." He gestured to a table, suggesting they sit. "Fall is one of the things I miss most about New England."

[nola_jomarch]

Violet nodded in agreement as she slid into a chair. "Fall is the best. Best weather, best nature, best holidays. The only good thing about fall here is that I don't have to worry about having to wear a winter coat over a Halloween costume if there's a cold snap."

[nola_laurielaurence]

"Aw, yeah. Cold Halloweens ruined a lot of amazing costumes." He took a moment to mourn his turns as Ryu, Donatello...wow, he'd been into ninjas for a while, huh? "The food is the best too. I miss apple cider donuts."

[nola_jomarch]

Well now she was going to have a craving. She loved beignets, but she missed apple cider donuts. "I can eat so many cider donuts in one sitting. We have family in Vermont and every time we'd go up to visit, every single picture of me has me coated in a fine dusting of cinnamon sugar like I'm some kind of breakfast cereal."

[nola_laurielaurence]

"Violet Toast Crunch!" Amar exclaimed with a grin. "I could duck face-first into a tub of them and just go bobbing."

[nola_jomarch]

"...well that's my new Twitter display name," she decided, pulling the app up on her phone so she could change it before she forgot.

[nola_laurielaurence]

"I'm honored," he said sincerely. "I don't have a Twitter because I'm sure I'll embarrass myself in front of my students."

[nola_jomarch]

"I am torn between being baffled that there are people who don't have Twitter accounts and being convinced that that is the exact reason you need one," she admitted, smiling. "What do you teach?"

[nola_laurielaurence]

"Anthropology," he told her. "My main focus is forensic, which is part of the hesitation, I think. I know I'll be sharing a link to an article about how identifying a John Doe and talking about how meaningful and important it is to help a family find closure, and then one second later I'll be like, 'OMG this cat looks like a Pikachu!' and negate shatter any illusions anyone has about my attention span."

[nola_jomarch]

"But I really want to see the cat that looks like Pikachu," Violet pointed out. "And Twitter doesn't require an attention span. That's the whole point. Even beyond the fact that I could totally make an argument that PIkachu and forensics are obviously connected."

[nola_laurielaurence]

"All right, go." Amar sat forward, looking expectant.

[nola_jomarch]

"Pikachu is a detective. Detectives investigate crimes. Forensic anything is, by definition, about investigating crimes. Boom, easy." She smiled as she sipped her coffee. "You're lucky to assist Pikachu in his noble purpose."

[nola_laurielaurence]

"I would jump at the chance to be point person to Detective Pikachu," Amar said solemnly. "Jump like Spoink."

[nola_jomarch]

"Isn't Spoink the one that can never stop jumping or its heart stops, though? That seems risky."