"I...work, yes." Shou bit his words down hard. Would it lower himself as a professor in his students' eyes to tell them he was out, gambling and drinking the night away? It most definitely would. Word got around fast, anyway. Despite his ability, he still felt paranoid: As if dangling on a thin line with his career. He spoke no more of the matter, though his eyes met Shizuka's with more behind them than he could say in just that moment. One part of what she said did stick with him, though.
"...yes. I think I'll try to take better care of myself indeed."

The focus shifted to the animals in the cage, curious and so blissfully unaware they were the topic of conversation. In a way, Shou almost envied their lifestyle of ease.
Or not...
"Injured in a trial, you say? Poor little guys." Shou's shoulders slumped as he examined the hamsters a little closer. You wouldn't be able to tell on first inspection, but there was definitely something off, as if the lingerings of a past injury. Maybe it was the way they moved, the limp in their scurry. But it was all but invisible. Shizuka really was doing an amazing job with them.
...something about them being in her care was soothing to Shou. Out of all his students in her batch, though he wouldn't admit it to her personally without going hot and embarrassed, he was happy she was taking care of them. Her quiet, attentive nature seemed surefire to do them only the best.

He stood up now, almost a whole foot taller than Shizuka's 5'5. He pondered her statement about grading papers for the moment. There really was nothing, and Shou knew she knew, and there was no point in lying through it, perhaps even to just meet her in his office again.
"There's nothing I'm aware of, no." he smirked here, his age being lost for a younger man, in his early 20s, to surface, even if just for a second. It was something about the playful way he teased her.
"You're too good to me, Miss Otonashi. Wouldn't say I won't be jealous if you take as good care of your lover as you do those hamsters."

It was accompanied by a fond ruffling of the girl's hair. At this point, it wouldn't have even been considered weird. Shou had known Shizuka for the entirety of his teaching career at Shine Academy, and she'd always been such a help. Though she was quiet, her presence had a way of reassuring anyone - Shou was sure - that everything was going to be just fine.
Even if the girl herself was a little unsure of herself time and time again. And in Shou's opinion, she had no reason to be.

Moving away from her finally, with the hints of pink creeping to his pale cheeks at being so close to her, and alone in his office otherwise, he went back to the desk and gathered the papers into his shoulder bag. Noticing his coffee had now gone cold, or whatever was left of it, made him sigh as he threw the coffee-to-go cup in the bin just under his desk. Though it was a shame, it certainly woke him up plenty.
Fetching a cigarette from his shoulder bag, he popped it between his lips, unlit for the moment. He gave Shizuka a final smile before walking to the door, holding it open for her to walk through. As she passed, since their paths would turn different directions from that point on, he used the opportunity to say something softly to her, a parting note. Though he was smiling, his eyes remained oddly...melancholy?

"Good luck, Miss Otonashi. I look forward to hearing all about how the recovery process went when the hamsters are better. I have no doubt they'll be right as rain in just a couple more days in your care."

-----

[b]Shou Matsuoka
1:05pm[/b]

Errands, errands, errands. There were always errands to run on a Sunday. Grocery shopping took priority, though, and Shou pondered the thought of where to leave his car. Perhaps he'd leave it at the Mochavine, and come back after grocery shopping and walking the dogs, to grab a coffee and go home? That sounded like a better idea.
So, after driving home to drop off the books in the shoulder bag, and just fetching some essentials, and one very impatient Jinxie, he soon found himself settling the Ford into a snug little parking at the otherwise very busy Mochavine. Living out of the city had both its advantages and disadvantages, Shou thought.

[i]Oh well...[/i]

The park fell somewhere odd in the city, so that the large supermarket was on one end and the smaller shops and cafés did better on the other end. Among the shops near the supermarket were higher end clothing stores and even an outdoor market sometimes for fresh produce when it was in season. All in all, Shine City was charming, even during the daytime.

As the German Shepherd cross jumped out of the boot of the car, and Shou carried the Jack Russel and placed her onto the cobblestone pathway before she'd hurt herself, he couldn't help but glance through the large glass windows of the Mochavine.
There he saw many people, but by far the oddest, or the most standing-out, were a pair sitting at a table. A girl with bright blue hair and a man with re-
Shou recognised him! It was Arty. From the cooking class!
He couldn't see their expressions from where he was, but huh...were they on a date?
Must have been.
Shou let out a low whistle with a chuckle to himself, which made Romeo blink up at his master with a rather curious glance, tail thumping against the ground.
[i]If that was Arty's girlfriend, he sure was a lucky guy.[/i]
And before he passed the Mochavine, he even noticed a green haired girl going to sit with the duo. Red, blue and green. They could have been a superhero trio.

Also, curiously enough, sitting right by the window, Shou noticed one Junichi Hirose, all by himself. With Romeo and Jinxie in tow, he moved to where the boy was and tapped on the glass to get his attention. His former cigarette had been swapped for a lollipop for now. He smirked at the boy, even giving him a wink after noticing one very pretty blonde sitting not too far over. Shou mouthed a quiet "get some" before replacing the green apple lollipop between his lips.

Just before he left though, it was unmistakable. He couldn't have mistaken that flash of pink hair anywhere else. Though obscured by tables and customers at the busy Mochavine, it was undeniable that April was among the people there. She seemed to be breathless, you could see it in her cheeks. Was she overworking herself? 
Shou didn't know that her shift had just, just started.

He found himself gazing at her with a rather entranced smile as she waited table after table. Though, eye-contact was inevitable, it still caught Shou off guard. He'd almost choked on his lollipop!
Giving her as suave a smile he could manage, he pointed at his watch, signifying he'd be around later. Though it was a vague sign, and a hurried one as he briskwalked out of her line of sight, he hoped it would suffice.

On the way to the park, there were many stores indeed. Shou could think about just a few things, courtesy of meeting April being one of the major ones at the forefront of his mind. And like clockwork, he happened upon a florist.
The Enchanted Florist, to be specific.
Hesitating for just a second, he swallowed his breath hard and walked through the doors with the two dogs, a little bell just above the door chiming to indicate someone had entered.

...but there seemed to be nobody there. Perhaps they were just busy? But the sign did say open. So someone must have been there...
Not noticing the young lady fetching a watering can at the very back of the room in his slightly jumpy state, Shou busied himself with admiring the flowers. There were so many kinds, he wondered just kind of flowers April would like.
...though he himself was enchanted indeed by the orchids, and especially the lines of blue that stood out and shone among the white and the pink.