@OliveYou @BeefyDork

Daehyuns eyes never quite left her. His expression was… well, expressionless. Lips pressed together thoughtfully, eyes subtly wide with a certain sparkle but not overly so. His hand raised upwards, to lean on Minkyu’s shoulder in a decidedly boyish pose. Like two teens hanging easy. Voice oddly low, he canted his head towards Minkyu’s ear, whispering ever so softly;

“She’s beautiful.”

Just as quickly as the words came out of his mouth, Daehyun moved away from his buddy, so serious, so professional. Just as well, Minkyu had Monty to deal with and—Hmph. It soured the lad’s mood a little… but he’d never admit why. Slipping away, pretending to be busy organising brown from white sugar, dark eyes watched Monty deal with their sudden, and rather rude customer. What a professional he was at it, too! Nothing seemed to fully phase him, a mark of his maturity. Once the gentleman left her unattended, however…

Daehyun was quick to sidle up to the table, absently sorting his own hair. Not even… really looking at her, just gazing off to the side. He probably thought himself a dashing, mysterious new arrival into her life. Dream on, son.

“Damn, he beat me to the post, serving someone as cute as you.”

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Bekah thought that Sprouts was a home cook - he certainly moved like one - so she wasn't surprised at all when he started talking about his background. The way he talked, it definitely sounded like he was a bit of a mama's boy and honestly it was kind of cute enough to where she couldn't help but let out a giggle. Definitely cute.

She continued working as they talked, never looking up much from her work but no less engaged in either task. "I went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris where I studied French technique," she stated simply. "But before that, it was my own mom that got me into baking so we've got that in common, which, ok, sooorta speaking of moms, how old are you Sprouts because I'll be honest I can't imagine you being older than 16. Which, you know, is pretty impressive considering you're running a whole kitchen."

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_{Relationship Scores}

The more he hears, the more March likes Rebekah. Admittedly, her culinary experience makes him feel a bit inferior, but anyone who calls him sprouts can't be that bad. Plus she's giggling, which is a good sign. (Though why she's giggling he has no idea--he wasn't trying to be funny!)

”Ok, sooorta speaking of moms, how old are you Sprouts because I'll be honest I can't imagine you being older than 16. Which, you know, is pretty impressive considering you're running a whole kitchen."

16? 16! 16?! He is a whole 17 thank you very much! He figures she means no harm by it--after all, she's probably been mistaken as younger countless times with a height like that. But still.

“I'm 17,” he responds, pausing for a second to bask in the glory of running the kitchen. Which, as he thinks about it, isn't as impressive when he's just doing it himself, but whatever. “I uh, try to stay very organized. And I'm the oldest of 6, so I know how to take control, I guess.” He shrugs and glances over at Rebekah to see her reaction. “But thanks. Do you, um, normally help the cook?”

Departing quickly from the kitchen as not to give March more things to worry about, Amelia glances around the shop, laughing quietly at Minkyu's befuddled expression when March hands him a handkerchief. March is almost as much of a mess as Minkyu, really, but he shows it differently. Mostly with sarcasm, and freezing up. It almost makes Amelia want to baby him, too, but she bets he would hate that. (Doesn't mean she won't try... later.)

Tapping her foot and waiting for Monty to finish taking the still-annoyed-looking customer's order with a grace she could never pull off, Amelia checks the clock and searches around for something else to keep her busy. Which, in this case, seems to be Mari, who seems about ready to cry, despite her suuuper cuuuute maid uniform and adorable cat ears. She looks over at Minkyu, ready to elbow him into a stuttering mess, but the barista already seems flustered enough. He's probably still not even over Mari calling him "sir", that's how hopeless he is when it comes to girls. Amelia remembers a time when she tried to get him to confess to a girl he liked, way back in grade school, but it didn't go well in the end. For some reason, Minkyu seemed to not like the help. Wonder why?

Shrugging, Amelia walks over to Mari's once-again frozen figure. She really is tiny, isn't she? Doesn't she go to highschool? Are there cute boys in her class? Suddenly, Amelia is filled with a desire to meddle in Mari's personal affairs! (In a friendly way, of course!) But before she can become Mari's friend, she has to play the part of her boss, and so, avoiding Minkyu's suspicious stare, she cheerfully pats Mari on the shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" She asks the girl, noting with happiness how well her uniform suits her. Minkyu, you might be right about this one after all. She really is a munchkin. "Do you like the uniform? Isn't it adooorable? Anyway, we still have a half hour until opening, why don't you stand outside and advertise? Orrrr...." Casting a look around the café, Amelia's eyes come to rest on Daehyun, who is leaning on Minkyu's shoulder like a total bro. Somehow, this annoys her. She doesn't know what to think of that guy; one minute he's complimenting your hair, the next he's intimidating your brother into being friends with him... Amelia makes a note to grill Minkyu about him later.

Oh, right!" Amelia claps her hands. Bingo! "Minkyu, I forgot to tell you, but I didn't buy any milk yesterday." At the reveal of this information, Minkyu looks horrified, sprinting into the kitchen and returning with a container of milk that he shakes in Amelia's face. The telepathic message is as follows: YOU DIDN'T BUY MILK WHY DIDN'T YOU BUY MILK I NEED THAT MILK!!!, to which Amelia replies with a shrug and a calm down, I got this.

"I thought you and Daehyun could go get some milk for us! It won't take that long, the grocery store is within walking distance, it's just around the block if you go right--do you guys need a map?" Without waiting for a response, as is the von Grado way, Amelia pulls out a notepad and sketches a route to the store with amazing speed. Minkyu looks on with an unreadable expression, most likely conflicted by the thought of Mari and Daehyun going shopping together. (Or, at least that's what Amelia thinks.)

"Here you go," Amelia says, ripping out the page and handing it to Mari after a moment of contemplation. "Don't take too long! And, Daehyun--" Moving closer to the waiter and whispering in his ear, Amelia delivers a short, concise message: "Take it easy with Mari, she's delicate." Aka, a threat. Minkyu looks even more conflicted, then suddenly races into the kitchen with a squeaky "I-I'll help March, then!" Amelia watches him go, then returns to the pair of new recruits.

"So, whatd'ya think? Go on, hurry, we haven't got all day!"

@OliveYou@DestinyStar

Daehyun, being a mortal man by nature, was not sure how it felt to have one’s soul slipping away, but it had to be what he felt now. Cold shouldered, he felt his shoulders cave in, legs become lead, standing dejected and stiff. How could it have come to this? He could almost hear his own neck creak as he slowly turned to give the puppy-dog eyes to Amelia. Did you see that, boss? Did you see that harsh cruelty he was met with?

“Milk?” He asked, joylessly. Forcing himself into gear, moving from shocked to miffed, Daehyun jumped back into playing it cool with fixing his already-fixed buttons. It was Minkyu’s turn to lose his cool anyway, over the lack of milk. Something brought a vague smile to his face, but whatever it was, Daehyun remained silent about it.

Did they need a map?

“No—Yep.”

Didn’t matter, Mari and himself were getting one, it seemed! He took the speedy seconds that Amelia took to plot their destination to turn to Mari, smile plastered on. He didn’t know much about her, but she was a cutie pie! Young, he guessed, and it seemed as though it took her a while to warm up. Mid-teens, he assumed, must have been quite rough on someone. Especially if they needed a job.

“Hey, pleased to meet you. I’m Daehyun, but you know that anyway.”

A hand offered itself to the young, saffron-dressed lass, with a complimentary wink and grin. She certainly suited the colour she wore, he’d give her that! Leaning in to hear what Amelia had to say, his grin slowly morphed into a smile, then a slightly neutral flat-line.

“…I’m an easy-going guy, aren’t I?”

The worst part was, he seemed to believe every-word of that, and look genuinely confused that someone would have to tell him to calm down. How nice it must have been, to live in his bubble… Anyway! Clapping his hands in that totally-easy-going-loud-as-heck way, he cheerfully motioned for Mari to take the map with a spare hand, and marched towards the door, holding it open for the little lass.

“C’mon! We gotta do this for Minkyu, you’re in charge of the map, Mari! Say..." His voice trailed off, eyes glimpsing around to make sure no one was rudely listening in. Lowering his head, he waited for her to get closer before whispering;

"You had breakfast yet?"

@Yomuu@OliveYou

Mari was surprised when Amelia patted her shoulder, but something about the action was oddly soothing. Was she okay? Ah, so her nervousness really was that obvious... The young woman quickly straightened up and nodded quickly in response. "Y-Yes, I'm fine! Sorry! I-I mean thank you!" Her face flushed red yet again - a color that seemed nearly permanent upon her skin- and she tugged once more on the hem of her skirt. Both her and the man next to her were staring! Did she look alright? She, herself, quite liked the outfit, as short as it was, but did it suite her? Did she stand out too much? As if reading her mind, her new boss asked about the outfit and called her adorable. Well, it was a relief... but something about the comment made her feel bashful.

"I-I do like it... a lot, actually... u-um, thank you, ma'am..." She felt so awkward! What was she supposed to say? Well, at least the boss was happy. That was enough for Mari to muster a shy smile toward her. Everyone here really was kind... It didn't seem like she would be left out on her own, which was good! Wait, advertise outside? Just like that, the small one began to panic just a bit. She wanted her to attract customers? How could she do that? She wasn't very good at talking to others... What should she say to get their attention? As more and more questions and concerns swirled in her mind, the owner was already onto her next thought, instead deciding to send her on an errand to get milk with one of their coworkers.

Her first thought was that she would be going out in public in this outfit. Would people stare or think it was weird? Mari wasn't sure she could handle many people staring at her... but this was her job! Minkyu seemed quite upset about the lack of milk, so this would be helping him! And he had been so nice to her! So she should help him, right? "O-O-Okay..." She sputtered in reply as the woman was already thrusting a map into her hands. Amelia really moved quickly, didn't she? Just like that, she was off on her first official task, and Daehyun was cool as could be. He must be experienced here, then... After all, he was so calm!

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is M-Mari... I look forward to working with you...!" This was the part she had practiced in the mirror several times. A good introduction was important! You should always leave a good first impression (or so she'd read online). She gave him a deep bow, only following him once she saw him head to the door. He was even a gentleman, holding the door for her...! Yeah, this wouldn't be so bad! She had gone grocery shopping before, and they were just needing milk, right? "W-We'll be back, then..."

As they began to walk down the street together, Mari looked at the map Amelia had given her. It was... a bit poorly drawn, to put it politely. She had scribbled it quickly, but hopefully they would be able to follow it! Her eyebrows knit together in slight concern before she glanced up at Daehyun. Of course, she was being very rude! Should she strike up a slight conversation? This was so awkward... At his sudden question she jumped, a little, being taken out of her own thoughts. "H-Huh?" It was a strange question to suddenly ask. "Ah, y-yeah, I ate at home..." There was something in his eye that told her he must have asked for a reason, and it made her tilt her head curiously to the side. "U-Um... h-have you...?" She mentally smacked herself. What a weird way to ask! He probably was just being considerate and trying to make conversation!

@DestinyStar

“Yeah? You don’t need to be so formal around me.” It was only a suggestion, given that he failed to be formal around… anyone. Hopefully avoiding an eventual future where he head-locked and ruffled Mari’s hair, Daehyun pursed his lips in thought. She’d had breakfast, that made sense. So had he, after all. Footstep after footstep, painfully slow ones, the lad pondered with a finger placed onto his chin. His eyes darted to the street buildings, eyebrows bobbing away.

“Yes, yes I have Mari. How troubling it is, too.” What nonsense was he prattling? Suddenly, his footfalls became faster, hand outstretched to beckon the young lass along! His smile was wide, eyes alight with the sort of mischief you’d expect from a child. In fact, his excitement was so great, he just snatched up poor Mari’s hand. Go easy on her? Not a chance! He’d drag her like a doll through the streets, obliviously.

“But we’ve not had brunch! Which is probably an important meal, I mean, it’s half breakfast.”

It was almost teleportation, the way he dove across streets and weaved amidst the pre-9 o clock rush hour. Everyone, getting ready to go to work! Meaning that… the waffle-bar was totally open. Pancakes and waffles, to be precise! Strawberries, chocolate, golden syrup, sprinkles! Occasionally, he’d spare a manic glance to Mari, just to make sure she hadn’t become swept away by the crowds. If he lost her, there’d be headhunting involved. His head.

“What do you want? I’m buying—and unless Amelia snuck some money into your pocket, I’m buying the milk too.”

The sweet aroma of syrup filled the air… wafting from a static-van down the street. A small, but less humble operation that their little café. It had a que already, but that was fine. Daehyun adjusted the kitty-ears and strolled right on up. He spoke a little louder than he had to; “Our Cat-Cafe will be busy, preparing all those delicious items for lunch-time, eh Mari?”

He was shameless… but with a plan. People were turning, and even a few were fawning. That girl was so cute! So adorable-- and hard to miss, with the yellow fabric.

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A smile played at the lips of the little chef's mouth as Rebekah heard the same short tone she took when she had to assure people that she was older than what others had often guessed. Serves her right she supposed, but then again he should be flattered for thinking he was so competent at such a young age! And, honestly, she was still fairly close. Being a year off wasn't so far from being right.

"Mm, when I was working during school they usually had me helping the head chef, yeah. I focused on baking though, so I was always more helping with making cakes and pastries and stuff. Sometimes they let me help out with decorating and those were always the real exciting parts. At home though, I'm my own head chef. I even made myself my own cute lunch today. To be honest I didn't expect to be working so soon, which, oh!"

Suddenly remembering that she was in fact. not hired at all and she had finished all the prepwork she thought they reasonably needed, she stuck her head out the door only for her to bump against Shy Bean's chest.

Her head recoiled back with an "Agh!" Recovering quickly however (if not gracefully), she straightened herself out and her dress, and quickly took off her custom made cat hairband that she definitely was not wearing before she was even hired at all. "Oh Be- I mean, Minky! Am I still good to apply to work?"

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_{Relationship Scores}

@Yomuu

"Ah, okay..." Mari tried to relax when he mentioned she didn't need to be so formal. He was a coworker, after all. They should get along just fine, right? A small smile formed on her lips at the thought. I'm actually on an errand with a coworker...! It still felt too good to be true; if she had a tail, it would have been wagging with happiness. "Hm?" The young woman tilted her head curiously when Daehyun seemed to be troubled by something, and her eyebrows furrowed in concern. What was wrong? Had she said something that made him upset? A slight panic built in her, before he spoke again. Suddenly, she noticed his movements becoming quicker... and quicker... until she was running to keep up with him.

"W-What...? W-W-Wait... D-Daehyun!" She didn't want to get left behind, so without thinking she found herself reaching for his hand. What was happening? One moment they were walking along, on a simple errand, and the next they were darting through crowds and weaving their way toward a waffle house! Brunch? Weren't they working? Amelia had wanted them to get the milk... As they approached the waffle house, he finally released her hand, and she bent over to rest on her knees as she caught her breath. "Where are... W...Wait..." She struggled to form a sentence with how heavily she was breathing. As she caught her breath, she walked after him, only to notice what he was saying. Was he really trying to advertise their cafe at another restaurant? Her cheeks flushed bright red, and little alarms of DANGERDANGER went off in her head.

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah, it... it will be... B-But Daehyun! We are supposed to be getting milk... I-I don't think we're supposed to stop for food..." She tried to be the voice of reason, but her voice was timid as she realized how many people were staring. Nervously, she followed him up the line, only for her voice to trail off at the sight of a strawberry crepe one of the customers was eating. It was so... so adorable! It looked delicious! Mari had an obvious weak spot for sweets, and she practically drooled as her eyes sparkled at the sight of it. Quickly, she shook her head. No, we're going to get in trouble... We have to go...

@DestinyStar

“Did Amelia say that to you? Did she say, Mari, go straight to the shop and back? She didn’t say it to me.” His arms helpless shrugged upwards, eyes vaguely widened, and lips pursed towards one side. It was a practiced innocence. “March is a busy bunny; we can’t just inconvenience the chef like that. It’s rude, Mari.” Matter of factly spoken, as if this entire move was her decision, and she couldn’t go back now. Dark pools swiftly followed her vision to the strawberry crepe, theatrical arms falling to his sides... and then a finger curled around his chin in thought. Whatever he was thinking, it inspired his head to nod.

"Good choice… yeah, great choice! Strawberries are cute.”

Popping the button on his wallet, the exchange was begrudging between a suspicious waffle-chef and a smarmy Daehyun. A crepe, wrapped in doily paper and loaded with strawberries and chantilly crème, was all but thrown at him, plus a cup of… some kind of coffee that contained ice. It broke his heart to betray Minkyu this way, but what coffee was he going to be making without milk? Not the sort Daehyun wanted to sip. Within moments he had turned to Mari with the item, holding it down towards her. Wide grin permanently etched onto his lips; one eye winked towards her.

“Hold this, but don’t take a bite yet.”

Not until he fumbled around and replaced his wallet with his phone, leaning in to sidle his head—and beverage next to Mari. It was curiously absent of any waffle-shop. “You on any social sites, Mari? They’re a big hit—and good for checking out new places. Big smiles now. Let’s look cute for Amelia!” Reflecting back with… pink filters, and sparkles and erm, whiskers. He moved the phone upwards, decided Mari’s shortness would benefit. They called it cute factor, he decided.

“Don’t be shy now, one picture and we can go get milk, yeah? Get this up before lunch time and we should be -very- busy.”
Mr Popular over here. A single pause was all he spared the poor lass, as if he'd suddenly been hit by a hammer.

"You're alright getting your picture taken, right? It's only going up on my page."

He missed out the number of 'friends' on purpose.

Mari was taken aback by his questions. "W... What? Well, no, she didn't, b-but... um... Rude?" She shrunk back a little when he said that. He did have a point; it would be rude to ask March to make them something when he was so busy with the kitchen. The young girl took a moment to ponder this, a sort of worried look in her eyes as she thought about what would be the best thing to do. What she didn't realize was just how easily Daehyun was taking advantage of her- actually, she legitimately was beginning to feel bad that they might have caused March trouble. Not only that, but she didn't want her new coworker to think ill of her. It was only a small bite to eat, right? It wouldn't hurt anything to stop for a minute...

Before she could even make the decision for herself, her new companion was thrusting the most delicious strawberry crepe into her hands. Her eyes glistened at this most beautiful gift she had been given, before quickly looking back at Daehyun. This was all so overwhelming! He really hadn't needed to use his own money on it, either, since he was buying the milk... "O-Oh! Thank you..." She murmured in reply, her cheeks flushing red. This was the first time anyone had treated her like this, not that she really ever went out with friends much, as timid as she was in busy places. Still, receiving such a cute crepe made her incredibly happy! Then, he said not to eat it and she tilted her head to the side, curiously. Why had he bought it if they shouldn't eat it?

Then he suddenly tried to take a picture. Her mind just couldn't keep up with this guy! Really, they were spending too much time as it was, but he seemed responsible and confident. He had probably done tasks like this many times before! And, though she wasn't sure how, he kept saying something about getting a lot of people to come to the store, though she didn't know how. She trusted him to know what was best. "I, uh... yes, I am... and I-I guess that's okay..." Still, taking a picture like this in such a crowded place was sort of embarrassing, and she instinctively held the crepe in front of her, a bit, her blue eyes peeking out from behind it shyly (and adorably) as he took the picture. As he uploaded the picture, she licked some of the now-melting creme that had dripped down the side and giggled, happily. God, this crepe was delicious! Mari always looked liveliest when eating sweets.

"Can I eat it now?" She asked, excitedly. If she had a tail, it would have been wagging. Once he gave her the go-ahead, she bit into the top of it and happily munched with a bit of whipped cream on the tip of her nose. As she ate though, she noticed his coffee and then looked back at the stand. It seemed like such a waste to leave with just a drink... "Aren't you going to get any food?"She asked curiously, oblivious to the fact that they had only come here as advertising. She was so caught up in her excitement over the dessert that she seemed to have completely forgotten that they were sent to get milk.

“You’re a good kid, Mari. You’ve earned it, eat away!” The green-light was ever so graciously given, as he thumbed over filters, sparkles, zooming into this and that to ensure that only the worthy would be privileged onto -his- social media. A moment of panic set in, was that a blemish? Ah, heaven no, a flick of his finger discarded a speck of dirt or dust. Close call! Once that the utter perfection that was their selfie had hit the masses, no doubt reaping in all the hearts, thumbs and smiling reactions imaginable, could Daehyun be pulled from his phone. Him? Eat something?

“Oh I’ve had breakfast, yeah? You enjoy the crepe—infact walk and talk, walk and talk, Mari! We’ve got a mission to do, we can’t just loaf around.” …Because it had totally been Mari’s idea to do all this. At least he had the decency this time to stroll at a more casual pace.

“Besides, I wouldn’t repeat this to everyone back at the café, but I don’t really like sweets or cakes.” Daehyun placed an index finger on his lips gently, in an attempt to usher poor Mari into a binding secrecy.

“Don’t get me wrong, the café food looks amazing, I just don’t have a sweet-tooth. I’m more of a… scald, burn and disintegrate my mouth and throat with spice, kinda guy. Until they start serving a spicy BBQ cake, miss me with it.”

Blasphemy aside, they were gaining their way to the shop. The shop that was SUPPOSED to be around the block and wasn’t supposed to be taking them the amount of time he’d wasted on selfies and free advertising. Infact, there was the audacity to wistfully stare into the arcade centre too, as he forced his legs to carry him by. He could beat some high scores in there—but Mari’d probably get bored, that was the deciding factor that drove him towards their destination.

“If you don’t mind me asking this.” He began again, feet stopping just outside of the automatic doors heralding the grocery store, in case Mari had to finish off her forced brunch. Hands thrust into his pocket; the tall lad paused only briefly before sauntering in past the air-conditioning. “You seem really young to be working. You got a family?” Maybe it was the chill from the fridge section with all the milk, but something seemed to have slowed him considerably. Either he was -40 ice resistance, or something was troubling his one-track brain. Absently, he reached out to pick up… cold coffee? It looked like a bottle of pre-made latte. What was the world coming to? Daehyun’s smirk was growing wider. Of course, he picked up a bottle of regular milk too, but... pfft.

“You hold the regular stuff, alright? I’m gonna walk in all; ‘Ah Minkyu, we decided to save your time and get you this to heat up.’ That’ll be funny. Besides I like this stuff anyway.”

Mari was surprised at his response, but it made sense. If he had already eaten, of course he wouldn't want to get any food. However, she hadn't exactly said she was hungry so why had they come here, again? Her head tilted to the side quizzically as she pondered this thought, though the peaceful quiet lasted only a moment as she quickly found herself being whisked away once again! His reminder of what they were supposed to be doing made her cheeks flush bright read with embarrassment. The poor, young girl had been so swept up in the excitement that she had nearly forgotten they were working! How much time had they spent here, so far? Now flustered, she quickly wiped the whipped topping from her nose and ate as quickly as she could while trying to scurry along behind her new companion. "S-Schorry!" She mumbled through her full mouth, though she couldn't help taking at least a moment to sigh, happily, at the flavor of it. Sweets were so delicious and soft and cute! Which is why it broke her heart to hear that he disliked them!

She tried not to judge others- Mari knew that everyone had their own tastes. Still, why work at a cafe, then? It didn't feel like the right time to ask a question as heavy as that. Life choices were sorta personal, right? And they had only just met. Before entering the store, she scurried over to the bin to toss her paper- after wiping her face with the napkin- and hurriedly followed Daehyun inside. Something about him seemed to change, once again. How was he suddenly so calm? So much for worrying about personal questions; his directness caught her off-guard and her cheeks flushed. "H-Huh? Oh, yes, I do..." Her gaze drifted down to her feet for a moment with a sort of sad smile as she thought about her reasons for starting work at the cafe. Really, she didn't mind sharing with him. "A-Am I really that young? I-I guess... Well, m-my dad lost his job, and m-my mom has been really stressed, s-so I wanted to do what I can to help out! I haven't really... had... a j-job before, but I want to do... w-whatever I can..." Her face flushed red and she looked back up at him with a smile. "A-Ah, I didn't mean to bore you with a-all of the details...! A-And it really is fine, my mom taught me I can handle anything I put my mind to!" She grinned, a bit, only to blink at the sight of the bottle in his hand.

It seemed like a rather mean prank to play. "M-Minkyu works hard to make the coffee, r-right? He might be upset..." Again, though, her warnings seemed to go unheard and she sighed, going quickly with him to the register. It was difficult to get a grasp on this guy, and it was making her head spin.