Blind Date?! (277 views)

"A-Ah!" She hadn't expected to be caught by someone so soon- but from the look of her, she seemed like she might work there, since she had that nifty notepad most people in restaurants did. Coming from a family of chefs helped a times for this reason- noticing things like this at other places. "U-Um yes. My name is Isabella...My sister set this up so...I don't really know where I was supposed to meet him." She was clearly a bit nervous, but she was happily smiling anyway- if nothing else, meeting a new friend wouldn't be a bad thing. Relaxing her arms behind her, the cloth pulling against her bosom lightly, but barely making it anymore noticeable than it was- which wasn't much.

Watching the woman with curious eyes, Isabella looked down at her own two feet, wondering if she would really make much of an impression at all. Sure, her pink hair tended to be eye catching- but besides that, she was still dressed pretty plainly wasn't she? With a super simple dress of a gentle magenta color, she wasn't showing much skin besides her forearms and her lower legs. And her flats were pretty plain too. But was a dress alright for this situation? She'd only chosen it because it was the first thing she noticed in her closet really- but she'd at least tried to make her hair more clean and well tended, straightened and left down her back rather than her usual messy ponytail or braid. "Do you know...If he's been waiting long?"

Isabella smiled a bit more easily when Chastity gave her the kind words of encouragement- and called her cute, of course. Since the only person who really did that was her sister, it didn't mean much normally. After all, Madeline was as biased as they could get, right?

"Um..." She awkwardly twiddled her hands behind her as if trying to paint something in her mind without looking at the canvas. She watched the boy fiddling with his clothes, which both eased him but also made her a bit more intimidated- after all, the girl that lead her had been right. He was handsome- and she didn't know that many people at that point to not be nervous in such a situation. "M-My name is Isabella. I'm sorry for the wait...Madeline didn't give me enough details to find you on my own."

"It's nice to meet you as well," She mused with a gentle smile. "I'm Isabella Bonheur. I'm at metric as a painter, though...Well, it probably helps that my sister's a teacher there." She giggled nervously, resting awkwardly against her seat as she tried to think of anything else she could say. No, there was nothing- nothing came to mind at all, besides her name (which had been awkward enough to mention for the moment). Part of her was excited by the idea of meeting someone new, but the fact it was distinctly a date of any kind did make her feel a slight regret for going with her sister's plan. Sure, the other party had agreed- but just how pushy had Madeline been with him first?

The menu placed on the table caught her attention, but mostly because of the imagery used on the cover- it was nice, simple, but strangely interesting. And it definitely helped cease her anxiety from focusing too much on the idea of a date. "U-Um...Are you hungry? My sister gave me some extra funds so we can eat."

"Is it good? Maybe I should try it then," She smiled, unaffected by his words- she knew it was a joke, or at least, she didn't take it the wrong way. "Ah. Um...Coming was no trouble. I need to branch out more myself anyway. And Madeline is always careful when she tells me people she thinks I'd get along with. I trust her judgement. I just hope it's no trouble for you either."

With a nonchalant turn of her head towards Chastity, she was glad to see a familiar face- even if it was only familiar from a few seconds before. "Just water for me, please." It would be bad if she altered her palette before eating her meal- that was something her parents had taught her. "And it's nice to meet you. Thank you, Chastity."

"It's important to watch your weight anyway. I find it hard not to eat too much if I'm not careful myself." She giggled nervously- all that praise was a bit over the top to her, and she wasn't quite sure how to react to it. That type of praise was something she mostly expected from Madeline, but not others. "But it's good you find different things that are both healthy and not overly dramatic on your weight. I'll have to get some hints sometime."

Smiling, she watched Chastity before turning to look at Todd again. The fact that he was blushing was almost a relief to her, showing she wasn't the only one totally uncertain about what was going on still. "Um...If you ever need someone to cook something simple and healthy, I can try. My parents are chefs, so my siblings and I tended to grow up helping out. Um, though, I'm only particularly good at French cuisine, so maybe it's a bit too heavy..."

"Well...I used to like making baguettes with my mother, but bisque is a bit simpler- though it's also a bit creamy and thick...And though it takes a long time, I think my favorite thing is probably pot au feu- so...Basically bread and soup?" She laughed nervously, smiling as she spoke anyway. "My sister taught me to make a light mille-feuille recently too though. It's a dessert, but it's fairly light the way she taught me, and you can eat small amounts but feel happy from it. Maybe I can make that one day as a celebratory sweet for something?"

Leaning quietly against the back of the seat again, she was quiet for a moment. "But...That's about all I know how to make, so...If you ever have any recommendations, I'd be happy to hear them. It's fun to make new things, so...I-If you have a favorite, tell me so I can try to learn it. O-Of course, I tell this to lots of people, honest! Um, I-I don't want to make you uncomfortable with it or anything. I-I mean, I'm not even in the chef course...I-I just like cooking as a hobby. I still want to be a painter...A-And painting food can be fun for some reason, so..."

She was embarrassing herself all too quickly. Face a pink similar to her hair, she hid under her bangs for a moment, embarrassed. She was almost wishing she'd worn her glasses that day just to hide herself behind them- but it wouldn't likely have helped hide her cheeks much. "Sorry...I don't usually ramble so much...I-I'm just nervous I suppose..."

Her blush thickened with his words, leaving her with a mild-mannered smile. He was nice, from what she could tell- and his attempt to comfort her with understanding was helpful, making her more embarrassed that she'd worried so much than anything. "Thank you," She mused, her words lightly dancing on her tongue as she added, "It wouldn't be any trouble or anything. It'll be fun for me too. I may prefer to paint, but cooking is still fun to me. And one day, I'll have to cook for myself more often. So...I-It may not be as good as my sister's, but I hope you'll like it a lot anyway!"

She smiled a little more brightly, feeling more at ease then she had before. "You mentioned you're a model, right? What sort of things do you model for? Have you ever modeled for a painting?" She wanted to ask about more about him- because she wanted to get to know him. That was the point of this, right?

Isabella didn't react much besides a nervous giggle. Of course it had already returned in her head to painting. "I was just curious. I like painting a lot, so it just comes out automatically I guess. But...I'll have to see sometime. I don't know much about models, but um...It seems hard to me. Since you have to be still for a long time, don't you? I had a friend let me paint her once...And I was worried making her sit still too much, so I made it a mostly free-form that had a basis. I-It was pretty good so...I thought it might be a neat change maybe...Ah, but only if you happen to be interest at some point or something. I-I spend most of my time painting so...I-If you ever wanted to, you'd be able to find me anyway- er..." Embarrassing herself again, she sunk slightly to hide her excitement. No, she was going too far. He'd asked such a simple question, yet she'd somehow managed to blurt out a great tangent of circling silliness!

When Chastity returned, she seemed to have calmed down at least slightly, and smiled more easily. "I'm going to have the chicken salad too. I want to try it since I hear it's good." She gave a slight smile to Todd as well- after all, she was interested in seeing his expression. He'd already told her what he was going to have, and she had a feeling if he liked it, that meant it'd be good. So, she wanted to see for herself.

"I couldn't handle one of those yet either. I-It's sort of embarrassing to do that, don't you think? I-I'd be embarrassed from it too." She laughed nervously, waving her hands in the air. "A-And you don't have to pose especially unless you want to. I-I mean, it's longer to paint than it is to take a photograph usually, since it's a slow process. So at least you should be able to move. But your idea is a neat one. But you should choose a comfortable position if you're going to pose for a while. Because it'd be bad if you got hurt, right? Hurting your joints and such I mean from stiffness."

"It's sort of embarrassing to look at, isn't it?" She laughed a bit nervously as well, smiling anyway towards him. She fiddled her fingers under the table, in her lap, trying to remain at ease. She didn't quite see the awkward implications of his later note, but didn't mind that comparatively- she was still too red and awkward from the nude art topic. "Then I look forward to working with you. Of course, I'll first enjoy today, too."

"I-I'm alright. Thank you though, Chastity." She smiled and murmured a thank you as she took a sip from her mostly untouched glass. She could feel the water boiling in her throat to match the rushing blood that would take it in soon enough, awkwardly trying to ignore it. But, it was a very gentle, clean flavor- and somehow, that helped anyway.

She took a moment to study the display of the food, and take in the aroma- which was mild, but let her notice any spices included. It was something she'd grown up doing, and she was comfortable with being seen doing it. As the food's scent wafted into her nose, she smiled lightly and took a forkful to take a taste. It was quite simple, but quite lovely! "This is tasty. I'm glad I followed you on it."

Isabella smiled and nodded to the girl before enjoying the food. She wasn't sure what a date was supposed to be like- so, thinking of it as a little meal with friends was probably a good idea. However, it was hard to think that way when, up until that moment, she'd never even met the fellow across the table from her. So far, though, she wasn't upset by it. It was fairly pleasing, at least.

She started by tasting a bit of each salad component plain, without mixing them on the fork- lightly wanting an idea of the freshness of each. SHe'd heard the diner was known for fresh food, and the crispness of the different vegetables made her realize it was a correct assumption on the regular consumer's part. "Salad is healthy in general, but depending on the dressing, it definitely has it's downsides. It might be from my background with my parents being cooks, but I like the flavor of salad plain more than with dressing anyway. It gives me a better idea of how fresh the greens are. These are super fresh. And tasty."

A soft giggle echoed as she went for another bite, this time mixing some chicken and lettuce together- something that tended to go well with such a salad. "Of course, I don't dislike dressing either, but a simpler vinegar dressing has good health benefits at least, and it's not as sweet as most. Though, apple cider vinegar is sorta awkward to taste personally..." She paled, remembering trying it. That stuff was more like tasting acid, in her mind. "But...I-It's supposedly good for metabolism..."

"What cinnamon is there in cider vinegar?" She looked at him a bit confusedly- she, unlike most people, knew well what apple cider vinegar was made of- because her family had once tried to make it, when the fad began, and before she had left for school in the states. "It's just a type of vinegar. There's no cinnamon or anything...It's just vinegar made of cider. A-Ah, right. Apple cider...A drink...Why do we call it that anyway?" Waving her hands embarrassedly, she mused, "Apple cider is different. See, cider itself is the name for an alcohol made from fermented apple juice. Since it's only made from apple juice normally, we just call it apple cider vinegar- ah but, trust me, it's not tasty anyway, so even if you like apple cider, apple cider vinegar burns the throat sometimes if you drink it- or it sure feels that way."

She soon realized, however, that she'd rambled. Her chef's blood had come out tenfold as she hid her face in her hair slightly, She went back to munching her food, not wanting to embarrass herself further- but not before reacting to his earlier statement. "I grew up in a family of cooks. I was taught to notice each part of the food early on because it was how we were all basically raised. But...While we all learn to cook, I just prefer painting. My older brother is in the chef's class here though. Unlike Madeline and I, he really wants to pursue the culinary arts like our parents."