What Am I Doing Here Again?

It felt so wonderful being in the conservatory. It was the only place where everything felt so comfortable and warm. Penny walked between the rows and rows of flowers and small trees, just admiring their beauty. At the moment, this was as close as she was going to get to the home feeling of Arizona, but at the same time, she couldn't help but marvel at all the plant life. Half of these flowers she had never even seen before. It was almost like a kid in a candy store, but better. Penny wasn't much for chocolate, but she did like roses. But she had never seen anything like this, even though this was the second time she had ever been in here. It didn't get any less amazing.

With a light and very content sigh, Penny walked over to the first small rose bush she saw. It was a very simple rose bush with small red roses, but it was still just absolutely gorgeous. Taking a moment to bend down and smell the flowers, she inhaled deeply as a smile stretched across her face. At least it felt like spring in here.

Another person stepped into the conservatory. Jacob stood at the entrance and marveled at the sheer amount of plant life in the room, seeing lots of different species of flora all over. Taking a walk amongst the flowers and little trees, he inhaled their sweet scent, though he refrained from touching them in case he accidentally killed them or something. While walking around though, he realized that there was someone else in the room with him: a shorter blonde girl who was fulfilling a regular proverb over there. Not wanting to startle them, he kept a fair distance from them before calling out in greeting. "Hello," he said simply, giving them a friendly smile should they turn around.

Penny quickly looked up to see another person in the conservatory. Well, this was a little strange. She wasn't expecting anyone, but hey. New people. She was always up for more friends. "Hey," she said with a small smile and a very girly wave of her hand. At first, she really didn't know what to say as she looked around at all of the flowers that surrounded them both. Yep. This could be her new home if she really wanted it to be. Screw the autumn dorms, she'd live here. "What's up?" was pretty much the only thing she could think of asking. She could have asked for a name, but whatever. Either way there was a still a question this unfamiliar boy could answer.

"Oh, you know, just exploring the grounds. Looking at flowers apparently." That sounded like a satisfying-enough answer. It was true, after all. "You like flowers then?" This conversation was positively riveting. Perhaps his conversation skills weren't as top-notch as he had hoped. He needed to practice more… or at all. At least this girl didn't appear to be particularly shy, so that was a plus. But, after all that, all he could fathom to say was a simple, obvious question. She wouldn't be here if she didn't, right? He should ask for a name, but he had already asked a question. Dang.

Penny shrugged. She did like flowers, but it wasn't like she was going to have her own garden one day or anything of the sort. "Flowers are pretty cool, I guess. I'm better at looking at them than actually taking care of them, though," she replied casually as she looked back at the roses. Okay, so maybe "they're pretty cool" didn't get her point across, but she just said what first came to mind. Oh well. What was said was said. It's not like it changed anything anyway. "I'm Penny, by the way," she said, introducing herself.

Ah, someone else who gave out their name freely. It must've been a fifty-fifty thing. "Nice to meet you, Penny. I'm Jacob." He gave her another wave as if confirming that this was indeed a greeting. "Yeah, they're prettier without all the work, huh? Do you stop to smell the roses here often?" He really needed help with questions like that. "I'm sorry, that was awful." He laughed good-naturedly, looking around at all the flowers. There were lots of different kinds, and he was damned if he could name even a fraction of them.

Penny definitely chuckled, but not in a way that sounded rude. It was more of the fact that that he laughed at himself, so she joined in before giving him another shrug. She didn't particularly come here often, but it was probably a great idea. It was always warm in here and it never really seemed to be filled with too many people. She had seen the gardener once or twice in here, but that was about it. This was actually the first time she had ever unintentionally seen someone in here. "No it's alright. I don't really come here that much, actually," she responded as she glanced around again, just trying to figure out what she could talk about. The conversation seemed to be dying pretty quickly.

The conversation was indeed dying. What more could they talk about flowers? "Well, do you have a favorite at least?" Not like he could answer that. He didn't really have one to respond with. He could always figure it out, though… He was standing next to her now, with nothing particularly interesting to say. Maybe this was how most conversations at this school went. It wasn't terrible, but it was a bit inconvenient.

OoC: Wow, I'm losing altitude fast, captain ;___;

Penny took one quick look around before her eyes landed right back on the roses she was just looking at when Jacob walked in. There were bright red, some pink, and even yellow roses. All of them were just gorgeous. "Well, it might be a little typical, but I actually really like roses. I don't know what it is about them, but they're just beautiful," she replied. "And they even smell nice," she said, hinting back towards the joke that Jacob tried to make earlier. She tried being funny. Sometimes it works, other times it didn't. It all depended on her mood. "I think it might just be because it reminds me of home. I don't know." Which was true. Her mom enjoyed that whole gardening thing. It was the only thing she really liked about her mom anymore.

Jacob chuckled, recognizing her reference to his previous comment. At least he wasn't totally helpless at jokes. "So, where are you from then?" He turned slightly to look at her, finding that flowers weren't really keeping his attention all that well. Maybe it just wasn't his thing, but… He wondered if this place had carnations. He hadn't even thought to look.

"I wonder if there are carnations in here…" He hadn't even meant to speak; it was mainly to himself he said it, but now that it was out loud, his compatriot would probably have an idea as to the answer.