Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2014 2:19:47 GMT -5
It wasn't very often that someone could walk into a room and see a shaggy haired guy with a screwdriver clenched between his teeth, but it was exactly what could be found in the NYU computer labs on this particular August afternoon. Everything was getting upgraded ready for the start of the semester and the last thing the IT crowd needed to hear was that there were problems with the systems around the campus. Patch had received an e-mail from one of his professors earlier in the week, asking if he was available to come in and lend a hand fixing up the old machines and basically taking some of the mundane tasks off the professor's hands. Patch loved playing with computers, whatever the reason, and what needed to be done to the university computers were the kinds of things he did for friends and family all the time. The only thing different was that these computers operated with a shared network server when most others tended to be private to the owner. Not that it made a difference, but Patch had prattled on about it when explaining to his boss why he couldn't work the afternoon at the Apollo.
There was no one else in the lab with him, since the professor had left him to finish up in there while he went and started on the library desktops. A lot of students used their own laptops these days, but there was still always a fight and a rush to grab one of the desktops on campus. Students either had to be there ridiculously late or ridiculously early. If not there was a lot of not-so-subtle hovering around happening throughout the day. Patch had experienced it frequently during his first year on campus and especially in the time when he didn't have his apartment. Back then he needed the university computers to get anything done! He sat up just long enough to comb his fingers through his hair, keeping it back from his face, and then he was back under the next desk. Switching the system on he crawled up to spin in the chair while everything loaded up. Most students wouldn't dare be caught dead on campus during the summer, but Patch lived in the city and didn't have much else to do. He didn't take the long trips back to home towns during the break since he was already from the state and only had a short drive to see his parents and Grandma. He could head out there on weekends and reading weeks.
Fiddling with what needed to be adjusted, Patch checked to see that the updates had gone through on this particular machine. The program ran easily enough and he just had to push the 'enter' key when everything was done. Screwdriver back in mouth and he moved to the next one, humming around the tool as he ducked under the desk. Patch could happily have spent his entire day doing this and nothing else, and he was lost in a world of his own when he heard movement and a voice that didn't belong to his professor. It made him jump slightly, not expecting anyone to come in, and he hit his head on the desk. “Ow!” Crawling out from under the desk, he moved the slim screwdriver to push behind his ear, moving his hair with it. Scanning the room with dark eyes for the intruder, he finally landed upon them. “You can't use that one.” He stated directly. In his mind he continued to explain why, but the words never actually left his mouth; a frequent mistake of the forgetful computer geek.
• • •
TAGGED! Open!
WORDS! 655!
OUTFIT! Perky Patch!
LYRICS! Springsteen - - - Eric Church
NOTES! <3