A Matter of Decorum (Adrian/Open)

[Adrian]

Adrian's eyes widened somewhat as the girl told him just how much she made off of her books alone.

"Ten... million?" Certainly, compared to his family's earnings it was akin to a drop in the bucket, but Adrian was no fool, and for a girl to have earned a total of ten million doing nothing but inking, coloring, and writing comic books, well, that was quite a feat. "That's no small task, Emily. I'm impressed. Well, I guess I'm not the only one who's hurting for money around here, am I?"

Adrian laughed, and handed the comic back politely. It really just wasn't his thing, after all. After she would receive the comic, Adrian layed back upon the grass, his eyes closed and a distant smile on his face. "Of course, I'm quickly finding out that I'm really far from being the only one, after all..."

Adrian trailed off, thinking about Mathew's helicopter and Kate's, well... Kate-ness. It was an intriguing thought, that apparently no one at this or his last school could be taken at face value.

[seishounohana]

"Ten... million? That's no small task, Emily. I'm impressed. Well, I guess I'm not the only one who's hurting for money around here, am I?" Emily laughed with the Hanlon, taking the comic book from him and placing it back onto her bag. "Of course, I'm quickly finding out that I'm really far from being the only one, after all..."

Emily smiled, looking at Adrian's face even though he wasn't looking. He was certainly charming, and of course Emily dismissed the thought quickly. "Everyone's got money -- the question is just how much, but you, Adrian Hanlon, are the only one in existence."

Her smile grew as her honesty began to show. She was being friendly, as usual.

She was not trying to inflate his ego, but she was rather trying to give him a compliment. Emily wasn't exactly very good in socialization no matter how much she tried. Well, she was learning after all these years of talking with people. "... At least, so far." She chuckled.

"For now I don't know what to do with my money. It's just lying there at the bank, doing nothing. I'd invest it in something but I'm not exactly interested in having it grow. I'm fine living a middle-class life, as absurd as that may sound. >.. So after buying myself several things I need, I... I'm thinking of giving it all away."

Personal reasons, and her own insecurities fuel that mentality, and it was that reason that she was willing to give most of that money away to something.

[Adrian]

"You're thinking of WHAT now?!"

Adrian would sit up suddenly, looking over at her as if she had just said a dirty word. The wealthy youngster could and would let a great many things slide with Emily, considering she was a nice girl that meant well, and had never once done anything to upset or piss Adrian off, which in and of itself was quite the feat. The thought of making, of earning, so much money and just giving it away... it was just absurd.

"Why would you ever do that," Adrian began, questioning her. "I mean, you're clearly a smart girl. Everything, minus, all of it, equals nothing. And where does that get you? It won't make you feel better, I can promise you that."

Adrian didn't know whether or not she felt bad in the first place, just as much as he didn't know whether or not giving her money away would actually improve her mood. He just spoke from his side of things, and the way he saw it, there was absolutely no reason to let go of something you worked hard to earn.

"You earned that money, right? Doesn't that mean something to you? A physical recollection of your skills, a mathematical count of your talent? There's no rule saying you have to spend it if you have it, Emily."

Certainly, the words would seem strange coming from someone who so freely throws his money away, but he meant every one. Just because he chose not to do so did not mean that Adrian couldn't understand the value of saving money.

"You never know when it might come in handy. Something could always come up, and you would be glad to have that nest-egg on hand. Or, you know, you could suddenly decide that you want something else nice and fancy. And then you could have it. It wouldn't have to be often. Just every now and then. Wouldn't it be a more comforting thought knowing that, if ever you really wanted to splurge, you could without worry?"

Really, wasn't that what having money is all about? Adrian's eyes implored the girl as he finished his little spiel, wondering what her reply would be.

[seishounohana]

Emily's head bowed down a bit, still smiling as she listened to Adrian's lecture about money. It was as if he was implying that she should save something for herself, which she already did. All she had to do right now was to buy some sort of vehicle for herself and pay the rest of the bills for her new apartment and other necessary furniture, but her money was still a-plenty.

In her mind, she got all that she needed to survive, if not more. She hugged her legs, letting her forehead rest on her knees. "You never know when it might come in handy. Something could always come up, and you would be glad to have that nest-egg on hand. Or, you know, you could suddenly decide that you want something else nice and fancy. And then you could have it. It wouldn't have to be often. Just every now and then. Wouldn't it be a more comforting thought knowing that, if ever you really wanted to splurge, you could without worry?"

"I have all I need. I bought an apartment when I moved here, and I plan to buy some sort of vehicle for myself soon... some furniture as well. But you see, Adrian ---" She would turn her head to look at the Hanlon, still with an honest smile on her face. "No matter how much money I save up, I can never get what I really want for myself. I might as well give the money to those who need it, because I really can manage without that much."

Money could never buy it.

Not ever.

And sadly, it wasn't easy to give or take either.

But of course, this only showed how simple Emily was. She wasn't really into the life of luxury, and her experience with David's mansion only got her to make up her mind.

It was lonely inside a big house.

Very lonely.

[Adrian]

Adrian listened to her as best he could, as amazed as he was. She told him that she had all she needed, and that, once she got a little bit more last-minute things out of the way, she had nothing else to buy.

The rich boy let out a sigh.

"You can give to charity. That much is expected of anyone who earns enough. But to give it all? Certainly you have everything you need, and I know, I know, money can't buy happiness. But it certainly can keep you warm until happiness comes. Maybe you can't get what you REALLY want with money, I don't know," Adrian said, taking an incredibly lucky stab at it, "but I assure you, if there's something you kinda want in the meantime, I'd be willing to bet you'll want a little cash aroudn the house to make sure you can get it without any second thoughts."

Adrian laughed, and leaned back again. "But listen to me, lecturing you on how to spend you're own money." He shook his head, looking back at the Filipino girl with a smile. "Do what you want, Emily, but don't think that just because it's your namesake, that you need to sacrifice everything you own. Sometimes, being selfish has its own rewards."

[seishounohana]

"You can give to charity. That much is expected of anyone who earns enough. But to give it all? Certainly you have everything you need, and I know, I know, money can't buy happiness. But it certainly can keep you warm until happiness comes. Maybe you can't get what you REALLY want with money, I don't know," Emily smiled, listening to this lecture from someone who looked as if he had everything in the world at his fingertips. It was more or less amusing, really. "but I assure you, if there's something you kinda want in the meantime, I'd be willing to bet you'll want a little cash around the house to make sure you can get it without any second thoughts."

Adrian laughed, and leaned back again. Emily's eyes followed him, and continued to listen. "But listen to me, lecturing you on how to spend you're own money." He shook his head, looking back at the Filipino girl with a smile. "Do what you want, Emily, but don't think that just because it's your namesake, that you need to sacrifice everything you own. Sometimes, being selfish has its own rewards."

Emily smiled back. "Heh, I... thank you for that advice, Adrian. You do make sense, so I'll set ten to twenty percent aside for myself. alright?" She looked at the distance, looking towards the gardens near them. "It's not a matter of my name being attributed to sacrifice, but... just in my experience, I lost everything I cared for... because I was selfish. Not that I'm being too selfless, I know when to stop -- I just like seeing people happy."

She stopped there, but she was supposed to say: "happier than I am."

Other's happiness was made her own. It was something that was difficult to take away from her, as the world had raised her to be that way. How she was named was mere coincidence.

[Adrian]

Adrian couldn't help but smile at Emily's reply. The girl just radiated a sort of goodness that Adrian couldn't hope to match on his best day. She took his advice, though, and for that he was grateful. Even as she explained herself, and the meaning behind her willingness to give things away, though, Adrian began to really see where the girl was coming from.

"Balance in all things," he said, speaking more philosophically than he was usually inclined to do. "Become too selfish, and you lose yourself in the eyes of those you love, become too giving, and you lose yourself in your very own. Even us rich folk know when to back off sometimes."

Adrian grinned over at Emily. "You really are a great person, Ms. Santos. I admire that in you."

Adrian, at that moment, wondered if she ever received the letter he had sent her last month.

[seishounohana]

"Balance in all things: become too selfish, and you lose yourself in the eyes of those you love, become too giving, and you lose yourself in your very own. Even us rich folk know when to back off sometimes."

"Us middle-class sometimes don't." She joked. Though sometimes it was the case. Overzealous ambitions usually drive lower-middle class people to being greedy -- and that was already one sin out of seven.

Some end up being too content and never aim higher -- a level of sloth, probably.

Emily began thinking, as she usually did, until Adrian grinned at her and spoke again: "You really are a great person, Ms. Santos. I admire that in you."

She turned her head to face Adrian and smiled grinned happily. This was already a very nice day. "... and so are you, Mr. Hanlon. "

Emily smiled. "Have you ever thought of anything else you'd like to be besides the Owner of some multi-dollar corporation? Surely, you wouldn't like to be known as just one thing alone."

[Adrian]

"I don't know..." Adrian began, in reply to her question, deftly deciding to not comment on her thinking of him as a good person, a definition that he believed few other people would agree with.

"I've somewhat considered politics, to be honest. I've been told I have the aura of a natural leader, and, well, it's never been too hard to get people to like me, granted, if they get past my little test..."

Adrian smirked, openly revealing a bit about himself for the first time to someone. He didn't out and say what it was, but he did put it out there, so if Emily were to ask, he'd be obligated to explain.

"I'm still young, though, I figure I've got lots of time to really figure out if there's anything else I need to do before Dad kicks it and hands over Hanlon Networking to me."

[seishounohana]

"I don't know... I've somewhat considered politics, to be honest. I've been told I have the aura of a natural leader, and, well, it's never been too hard to get people to like me, granted, if they get past my little test..."

Alas. Politics. Something her adoptive father was into as well--- and yes, Adrian had the aura of a natural leader. But test? "... Test?" she asked, curious.

"I'm still young, though, I figure I've got lots of time to really figure out if there's anything else I need to do before Dad kicks it and hands over Hanlon Networking to me."

Hmm...

"Do you want to take over for your dad though?"

A comeback of a question.

Emily was honestly interested in this conversation.