Building It Up

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LadyHarpy

LadyHarpy

Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
  3. 1-3 posts per week
  4. One post per week
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
I enjoy Fantasy, Scifi, Romance, Magical, Modern and much more. I probably can't list them all! If there is something you want to try and it isn't listed here, just ask. I rarely say no!


Cathrine sat at her desk in her bedroom, mulling over her assignments from the other day. As a college student she didn't go to school as often as most. In fact, she had more days off then a lot of her classmates, mostly because her parents couldn't afford to put her into all of the classes she needed for that semester. This was one of the reasons she was currently going to community college, because she couldn't afford to go to a dorm college. She also planned to be a writer some day so she saw no point in spending all that money when all she would be doing was taking English courses. However, Cathrine was having more than just money issues that day.

Another loud bang could be heard from the downstairs, causing to jolt Cathrine out of her focus. Her parents had decided to finish the basement and take out a wall on the first floor, wanting to increase the value of the house as well as making the basement into a rent-able space. That was the reason Cathrine would have to wake to take many of her classes until the summer or when fall semester of next year started. She was not upset about it completely though, once the wall was taken out the house would feel bigger and her mother would finally stop complaining about everything being cramped.

The only real problem she had was with all the noise, it was messing with her ability to study. She was already forced to take less classes than she would because of the construction but now it had to ruin her ability to actually pass the classes that she was taking! With a dejected sigh, Cathrine closed up her books for now, it was pointless to even try before their lunch break...She just couldn't bring herself to focus on anything. Instead she headed down the stairs to get something to drink, hoping that it might help clear her mind a bit and allow her at least a little more focus.

She walked down the stairs quietly, the stomping of boots getting louder as the sound of men talking about the project could be heard. Among the men though there was one person that she found to be very interesting, mostly because that person was a woman. Now Cathrine wasn't judgmental nor was she sexist but she found it strange to see a woman working on the field for a construction company. She hadn't spoken with her at all though, only seen her pass through the house while working, usually while she was running out the door to school. She wandered into the kitchen where her mother was, drinking a cup of coffee as she typed on her computer, working from home so she could keep an eye on the work happening. Cathrine shuffled to the fridge and opened it, staring blankly at the stuff inside as she tried to make up her mind.
 
Erika was the project lead, a position she earned over the last year. She was most definitely the youngest one on the team she was given, but no one else cared. They knew she deserved the spot, and respected her for it.

"All right, we're behind schedule," she was saying to the three guys she was walking through the house with. They were the ones that were in charge of the basement. "We need to get this-" she pointed to a spot on her clipboard checklist, " done by the end of the day. Have the guys lose five minutes on their next several breaks if you have to. Just make sure that by six we're done with this part of the project."

The guys nodded and went towards the basement. Erika turned to talk to the woman paying her. However, she noticed immediately that they weren't alone.

"Good morning, Ma'am," she said, looking at the woman she was there to see, though she was every bit conscious of the younger woman. "I just wanted to tell you, we are a little behind schedule, but I'm working on rectifying that. Do you have any special tasks for our crew to work on that needs done faster than others?"

The woman smiled. "No, I am sure you are entirely capable of the task on your own."

Erika laughed lightly and nodded. "You are probably right, but I wanted to clear everything with you." Done, she gave the other occupant another quick glance and walked towards the basement. She may be the project lead, but that didn't mean she wanted to keep from doing her share of the work.
 
Cathrine really wasn't listening to what was behind her until she heard that woman's voice. It seemed that she was in charge of the whole project that was going on. She didn't care all that much about how long the project took, just that it got done eventually and was paid for so she could take more than 3 classes each semester. After finally grabbing a can of soda she wandered over to the cupboards to get herself a glass. Getting her glass, Cathrine returned to the fridge to grab some ice, listening to her mother speaking with the woman. It seemed that they were falling behind and were checking if anything needed to be finished first. Though her mother said no Cathrine wishes they would get all the noisy stuff done, though that would be impossible since everything they had to do would be noisy.

Once she got her ice she opened her soda and poured it into the glass, sipping at the foam that formed on top so that her glass wouldn't over flow. She turned around just as the other woman wandered down into the basement, most likely going to check on the work progress or something similar that related to her job. She finished emptying her can into her glass before recycling the can and heading into their make shift living room where the TV had been moved so they could still watch it if they wanted. It used to be a sun room before their living room furniture took over, forcing Cathrine to crawl over the extra couch with her glass in hand. She grabbed the remote and set her drink down on a pile of book so she could flop down onto the couch tiredly.

Lazily she began to flip through the channels before landing on the DIY network, looking at the lovely work that they people were doing on TV by themselves. Those things were being done to her basement at that moment, now that she got to thinking...Maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to take a peak to see what it looked like...
 
Erika was in the process of, of all things, putting up the frame for a bathroom wall. She was holding while a taller man was securing it with screws at the top. Around the basement were several other guys doing various things with the floor and the walls. In one area, they were even building out and up to create an entrance from the outside, since this would be a rented space according to the clients. It was to look like a small apartment.

Erika looked around the room to see that a couple of guys were goofing off near where the bedroom was being set up.

"Hey, there aren't any unscheduled breaks, guys," she told them. They both wore sour looks at being caught and, grumbling, got back to work slowly. "Come on, pick up the pace! We need to get this project done on time!"
 
After watching the TV for awhile Cathrine got up, taking her empty glass and hopping over the crowded furniture before heading back into the kitchen to put her dirty glass into the skin. Her mother was still at the kitchen table and the sound from the basement were still pretty loud so going back to her homework was out of the question. She glanced at the basement door for a moment as she put her glass into the sink quietly, her curiosity starting to peak as she looked. Her parents were making it into an apartment to rent out and even though she was living there for free she still couldn't help but want to see what it would look like.

She wandered over and peaked down the stairs, seeing a few men passing by as they were working on something. She really couldn't see what they were doing very well but she didn't want to get into their way, that would make her look a little immature and she was a college student for goodness sake!...Even so, she did want to see what they were doing. She took a few steps down before taking a seat on the top step, leaning down so see if she could get a better look without being noticed. For a moment she could see that most of the walls were up. To Cathrine it didn't look like they were behind at all, though she really didn't know how much work they really were planning to do. Behind her she heard the clearing of a throat and turned, seeing her mother giving her a look.

Giving a sheepish grin she got up and walked over to the table, taking a seat near her mother as she rested her chin on one of her hands. Her mother just rolled her eyes quietly before looking back at her computer, leaving Cathrine to stare off into space.
 
Feeling thirsty and knowing her men would likely be needing a break soon, Erika walked upstairs, brushing off sawdust on her way up, to go fetch the cooler from the truck. But first, she had to see if it would be all right for her to set up in the kitchen. She didn't want the guys to track sawdust everywhere. However, she also remembered seeing the woman working at the counter there.

She stepped into the kitchen and stopped for a moment. She hadn't planned on an audience of two.

Finally, she cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"Ma'am, I would like to use the kitchen for the guys to have a break... if that is all right with you?"

The woman thought about it and nodded. "I'll just take my work to the office, then, until you have finished."

"Thank you, ma'am." Erika turned and left to go get the cooler and carry it in.
 
Cathrine stared into space for awhile as she sat with her mother, only coming out of her thoughts when she heard the clearing of someones throat. She turned to see the woman from earlier, asking if they could use the kitchen for their breaks. She glanced at her Mother who thought for a moment before telling them it was alright, and packing up her things to head into her office. Cathrine wanted to sigh out loud as she was once again forced to move from her spot at the table. She didn't want to be in the way of those men after all and the last thing she needed what to get covered in saw dust...Talk about impossible to get out of her hair!

She scooted from her chair and wandered over to the fridge, gathering herself another soda before grabbing a bag of chips from the cupboard. She would take advantage of their breaks to at lest get herself a little farther in her homework, she had nothing better to do anyway. After grabbing her chips she wandered out of the kitchen slowly, not really paying attention to what was in front of her as she juggled her chips and drink.
 
Erika was carrying the heavy cooler in from the van and couldn't see past it very well since she lifted it from the bottom instead of by the handles at the top. It was easier for her to carry this way, she thought. She saw the woman walk into the office, and turned to look ahead of herself just in time to see the daughter walk out of the kitchen and almost lost her hold on the cooler.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, teetering for a moment before regaining her balance.
 
Cathrine looked up when she hear the woman, seemingly surprised by her appearance from the kitchen. She watched in mild surprise as the woman lost and regained her balance, letting out a a sigh of relief since the cooler did not spill on the floor or on her. She stepped back into the kitchen to get out of the woman's way, allowing her the room that she needed to walk.

"Sorry about that." She said with a nervous smile, obviously feeling a little guilty that she almost cause an accident for the worker. "Not got spilled did it?"
 
Erika's smile was strained, though only because she was still holding the cooler.

"Nah, I don't think so. I'm certainly not wet, in any case, so I doubt any water spilt." She carried the cooler to the kitchen and placed it where ever she could before turning back to Catherine. "I'm Erika, the project lead, by the way. I don't believe we've met."
 
Cathrine smiled and adjusted her snack and drink so that she could hold out her hand politely.

"I'm Cathrine, the daughter. I'm a college student so I usually spend my time at school or with friends...Its not often that I'm home long during the day." She said as she smiled a little more. "I have to admit I'm rather surprised you're the project lead...No offense meant but I've only ever seen women construction workers on those DIY shows."
 
Erika had to laugh. It was a common comment with the clients she came in contact with. Even Cathrine's father had been surprised, though he hadn't actually expressed it verbally.

"I actually don't know why I'm lead, myself. But I was told I earned it and was going to lead the project whether I liked it or not," she admitted with a warm smile. "College, huh. What are you in for?"
 
"Creative writing, I want to be an author some day so I'm taking what classes I can afford at the moment to try and get there." She said with a smile. "Anyway, you must be good at what you do if you were made the project lead. Certainly construction is more about hard work than any other job I know of."

Cathrine looked up at the older woman and smiled a bit more, glad that she at least hadn't made her mad by nearly causing her to drop all of her stuff. In fact, the woman seemed rather nice to talk too. If she wasn't working for her parents then Cathrine would have gladly gotten to know the woman more. However, she had homework to do and she couldn't do it by talking to Erika.

"Well, it was nice meeting you...I actually have to get back to some school work though."
 
"Oh! I'm sorry, didn't mean to keep you from your work!" Erika said, suddenly sheepish. She had been enjoying the conversation. "Good luck with your school. I should..." Erika looked at the cooler. "Right! I need to give the guys a break! It really was nice talking to you, Cathrine."

Erika offered a hand to Cathrine to shake and then realized what she was doing, her hands were filthy after all, and dropped it quickly, putting her hands in her back pockets. She cleared her throat and quickly walked back towards the basement.
 
"It's alright, I'd honestly rather talk than work but I can't avoid it forever...Anyway, enjoy your break. It was nice talking to you as well." Cathrine said with a small grin as she made a move to take Erika's hand, only for it to be pull away instantly.

She shrugged off the sudden change in her attitude, assuming that she had to get back to work and deal with all of those burly men. She turned and wandered down the hall and up to her room, ready to spend the rest of the evening doing her homework as fast as possible. She wanted to spend her free days relaxing if possible!
 
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