Poppy tucked her hair behind her ear. "Well, I don't think you smoked in the woods," she said, smiling across the table at him. "And you haven't smoked on the plane yet. You're doing pretty well."
"I smoked in the first during my shift, it was a quick one, though." He continued eating his food, keeping his eyes down."
She rolled her eyes, amused. "Forget I said anything," she said, finishing the last sip of her water. She hadn't really touched her food, but she seemed content at their table.
"I'm not really hungry," she said, shrugging. "I didn't really do much between lunch and dinner. I might turn in early, though."
"Alright then," he said simply, nonchalantly adding an excess of whipped cream to the top of his coffee.
She laughed, her brow raising in surprise. "I would never have taken you for a whipped cream guy, Francis."
"I love whipped cream. And powdered sugar. And candy. And normal sugar," he listed, finishing with the whipped cream and starting again with powdered chocolate.
Poppy pressed her hands to her forehead in disbelief, smiling widely. "I can't believe this," she said. "I would have predicted that you liked... I don't know. Marmite or something. Anything but this."
He finally started drinking his coffee again. Once he put it down, there was a dab of whipped cream on his nose. "Marmite is much too bitter. I like sugar better."
He wiped it away with his thumb, then finished the coffee quickly. "It's an acquired taste. Like fine wine and the right suits."
"Right," Poppy said, unconvinced. "Dignified." She stretched her arms out, rolling her wrists. "Well, I think I'm going to head to bed," she said, standing up from the table. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
"You too. Enjoy your coffee," she said, pushing in her chair. Her curls bounced as she walked away, and then she turned the corner and was gone. (silently chants *loopyfrancisloopyfrancisloopyfrancis*)
He waited a bit longer, before pulling the night pill out of his pocket and swallowing it with the water. He excused himself from the table and went back to his room. A half hour later, there were strange noises coming from the hallway, and scraping noises on the walls. (Oh boy oh boy)
Poppy opened the door of her room and peered out, her sleepy eyes squinting in the sudden light. She wore a simple grey tank top and shorts as pajamas, and her hair was slightly frizzy from having been slept on.
Francis was laying on the floor, wearing the same thing he was from before, only his hair was disheveled and his shirt was only partially tucked in. "Heyyy, you!" His voice was slurred as he pointed to Poppy.
(Oh. My. God.) Poppy sighed and stepped out into hallway, her feet cold from the cool air. "Hey, Francis," she said as kindly as she could, kneeling down next to him. "What are you doing?"
"Well obviously," he began, "I'm sitting here watching the walls move around." He stuck out his tongue. "Duh."
