A Bridge to Build. (open)

Alexandria was not a mall rat. In her twenty one years of life, she'd only made a handful of visits to an actual shopping mall and usually only because her family needed a specific item not easily found elsewhere. That was the one good thing about them, she supposed, everything was centralized; there was often a significant variety of things to be found in the mall all within throwing distance. It was also a bonus that so many different people converged there and, while most people were guarded or too preoccupied to appreciate the other in such a setting, she guessed it was still an alright place to spend time. She would still prefer the street markets. Despite everything she had been through, Alexandria longed to be walking the Camden market of London once more or the street market she'd worked at in Spain. A part of her was regretful for returning, disappointed that nothing of the same caliber existed in her most recent home of Los Angeles.

Her gaze passed over a large shoe shop with incuriosity. A small horde of women were scurrying around just within, all trying to take advantage of the "Two pairs for the price of one" sign standing right outside its entrance. Alexandria's biggest problem with malls was that she simply didn't like shopping. And how much enjoyment could one really get from such a place when not buying anything and trying to keep a distance from the merchandise so that the shop owners don't mistake them for some petty shoplifter?

Needless to say it wasn't her desire that brought Alexandria to the mall, but a burden. That burden was called psych 102, an introductory psychology course that required her to journal five whole hours of naturalistic observation for the term. For a 100 level course, they were getting pretty in depth. This might have been fine if you were a Psychology major but over the last few days Alex had decided that she didn't like psychology all that much and the class required more homework than she really cared for.

Lifting her camera to her face, Alexandria took a few snapshots of the shop and its patrons. When one of the workers beckoned her in, she smiled uncomfortably and started walking the opposite direction. Her teacher could call it whatever he wanted but what he'd assigned them to do was just people watching with a fancy name, borderline stalking for the scientific minds. Granted, he didn't tell her to take any pictures... she did that mostly so that she could blog about the assignment later and rate her favorite types of mall-goers in order. 'Now what?' She wondered. Her goal was to finish two hours of observation that day, to get this over with as quickly as she could so it wouldn't hang over her head, but she was only half an hour into the assignment and already bored to tears.

The smell of fresh cookies, greasy pizza, and Subway wafted to her nostrils. It should have been nauseating. Ever since her travels Alexandria didn't typically eat fast food because it was cheaper to make her own meals, much less mall food, but she hadn't had anything to eat all day. She followed the smell undecided on whether or not she would take the plunge. Naturally, the food court was busy. A smile twitched onto her lips as she realized that it was probably the best part of the mall to watch complete strangers. Plenty of people interacted with their friends or their families and she could sit discretely taking notes. She looked around for a free table but turned at the sound of a crash. The entire food court responded with curiosity, turning their necks and quieting conversations to see exactly what had happened. Meanwhile Alexandria saw it as the perfect opportunity to catch half the food court being nosy.

She certainly thought that the flash had been off, but she must have been mistaken. She caught a photo of the boy as he spit out the food he'd been chewing and couldn't help but laugh out at it.

"I guess that means I'm better off not ordering anything," she finally concluded aloud.

How could she have left the flash on? How could she have been so stupid, so careless? She may not have been a professional photographer, but she'd been using her camera for the past 4 years: she knew it inside and out. Why then did she make this mistake? It didn't matter, she wasn't one to dwell on things. She would have just carried on with life, moved on to her next subject, had she not noticed the boy she'd snapped the picture of stand and toss his bag onto hi shoulders. He was leaving? Just because she'd taken his picture? Granted, he could have been leaving for any number of other reasons, but she didn't assume the timing was mere coincidence. Sure, not a lot of people liked having their pictures taken, it was something she forgot over and over again. She supposed the particular moment she'd decided to take the picture wasn't particularly endearing either. As he started to tear his paper in half, she walked briskly over to him and tugged at the straps of his backpack to gain his attention.

“I wasn't trying to be super rude or creepy,” Alexandria declared in greeting, getting straight to the point. She waved her hand dismissively, “I'm just working on a school project. It requires me to observe people in populated settings and you were sitting there—working and alone—and I don't know, just seemed like you could be an interesting subject. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable though and I'm so sorry... I'll pay for the meal I ruined and everything.”

It may not have sounded like it, but it was a generous offer for Alexandria to make. She certainly didn't want to spend money, she barely wanted to buy food for herself, much less a stranger. As far as problems of other people went, she wasn't typically bothered by what they did or said, offering to pay for the meal she thought she'd wasted was unusually thoughtful of her. But then again, she did think that she was the one to ruin it for him and felt guilty for it. She knew she'd feel just as uncomfortable in a similar situation.

She lifted her camera, it was digital meaning that it had a decently sized screen to allow her to review the photos she took. She pressed a button and the picture she most recently caught spread across it's screen. She stared at it for a moment before lifting it up for the young man to view. Given all the light inside the mall, the flash was unnecessary and the image suffered by that mistake, but she wasn't really looking for perfection. For a spur of the moment sort of thing, it turned out quite well by her opinion. Interesting to look at. She was proud s she showed it to him and somewhat regretted doing so. It wasn't exactly flattering, he wasn't posing, he wasn't smiling. The picture did, however, do the one thing she'd been hoping to achieve and that was to catch a person unguarded. It would be horrible to just throw that moment away, but it wasn't her decision. The internet could be a tricky place for one to express themselves; if she were to use the picture on her blog and the subject—this boy-- were to find it unfavorable, she could really damage the reputation of her blog.

“It isn't that bad, see?” She tried to assure him. “In fact, I actually think it is a great picture...” Her voice trailed off as she averted her gaze and glanced at the torn paper in his hands. She was curious, especially about him tearing it up. Was she responsible for that too? Was it something he was trying to hide, not meant to be caught on camera? She really did hate this feeling. She just wanted to smooth things over; guilt wasn't something she knew how to deal with but, more importantly, she didn't want this guy going to mall security to report her or have her asked to leave.

Really, what could Alex expect to happen when approaching a stranger from behind? A stranger who had been keeping to himself in a busy mall for probably quite some time. He had a right to be jumpy! Strangers in malls didn't touch each other, it was almost a rule. For all he knew she was a bag snatcher. She certainly had no interest in stealing, but if things were flipped she might have assumed the same. She took a hesitant, almost apologetic movement back, allowing the young man his personal safe. As she did so, she tilted her head and looked up at the boy. He was just a few inches taller than she was, but skinny. His hair was dark, and in serious need of a trim because it nearly hid his dark eyes. He was attractive, but she could tell younger. If he'd stepped into the bar that she'd worked she would have carded him immediately.

He seemed pretty nice, she got that impression right off. A smile touched her lips, slightly embarrassed, trying to help pass herself off as nonthreatening. He averted his gaze from her and pulled at the straps of his bag and she became hesitant of what to say next. She felt embarrassed bothering this young man, he certainly didn't seem to want to be bothered with her. As she smiled—awkwardly now—she began to hope that she didn't just throw herself into an uncomfortable situation. If she had walked away, he may not have been upset. In the moment, she couldn't tell what he was. Before she could go looking for a quick getaway, he explained that he actually hadn't been too bothered until she confronted him about it. “Oh...” She stoped looking for exits.

Oh, right, flat-out telling him that she'd taken his picture would probably be a strange conversation starter. That seemed like plenty reason to feel put-off by some weird girl you didn't know. She combed through her blonde hair feeling just a touch awkward. With her attention elsewhere she didn't even see what caused him to fall but quickly stooped down to help him. His papers—whatever they were—were quickly made into a ball and discarded. She was curious, taking a torn sheet between her fingers as she considered prying. Just... maybe not after she'd made herself look like such a creep.

“Yeah, I mean, I'd like to with your permission...” she said, not really one to ask but figuring it was the normal thing to do. “I like it because you weren't in a group. People aren't really sincere when others are around. At least I don't think so. Everyone has a desire to be validated among their peers." She cast a glance at other mall go-ers. "As polite as you were in doing it, I'm sure you would have been a bit more hesitant to spit your food in your napkin if a friend or a pretty girl was sitting beside you?”

“You're so great, thank you!” Alexandria was sure to be appreciative. She gave the boy her most winning smile and clasped her hands in appreciation. She was no fool. She was purposefully trying to appeal to the stranger. It seemed necessary despite the fact that he'd already granted her permission. People liked that sort of thing, right? Knowing that a burden on them would benefit others greatly. She could still tell he was reluctant... Well, no, not really. She hadn't twisted his arm. Shy? Ah yes, that was it. His joke about avoiding the university she'd be submitting her project confirmed it all. She was still smiling, but her brow knotted with concern. A different sort of expression that was one part pity, two parts amused. “I go to UCLA but I promise, promise, promise that this project will be done in such a tasteful way that it won't embarrass you.”

It wasn't really strange for Alex—the stopping to talk to random strangers in the mall. It wasn't an everyday activity either, but she was a social sort of person and after living without her friends and family for so long, she'd adjusted. She found comfort in sharing random thoughts with complete strangers. It was easy for her. She thought little of it. She may not have been able to read every twitch of the lips or raised brow for the internal thoughts behind them, but she was socially aware enough to get by. She could at least figure out when she was yammering too much or when her company wanted to get a word in. In this case, it was growing more and more apparent that the boy wasn't an extrovert like her. Alexandria didn't mind that, Alexandria knew all kinds of people.

As he laughed, Alexandria smiled back, not positive of what he found funny but liking that he was smiling all the same.

“Simmons?” She repeated, as she often did when meeting people. There was absolutely nothing more embarrassing to her than to call someone by the wrong name. His hand was shaking and she knew she paused for half a second to inspect it, but she tried to play it off casually as she extended her hand to him. What was she going to say without coming off a bit rude? Everything that came to mind seemed a bit insensitive. She gave his hand a few extra shakes than needed, she didn't really know why. “My name is Alexandria. Or just Lex, really. I prefer it short and to the point. The only question that remains now is—why'd you let your food get cold Simmons? Is it that unsavory here? Oh and this...” She held up the shred of drawing she'd snatched up when trying to help him. “Do you go to UCLA too?”