"Hmmm..."

With book in hand, Velma was looking for a perfect spot to read. Wanting to change things up, Velma had looked about all of her reading options in the house and had decided to do something different today.

While she loved her little indent that she had made in the couch, the duo had managed to hog most of the couch in an unconscious heap after a particularly filling meal... or something like that. Either way, Shaggy and Scooby had passed out in the living room, so Velma didn't want to bother them by choosing her usual reading spot. And that also made choosing the bow window a no-go, as much as her couch spot. She couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't make some noise and wake them up. And while that wouldn't be a big deal, she hated bothering them if she could help it. Leaving them to sleep in peace, and sought out another option.

'They look so calm when they are sleeping...'

She had given thought to going downstairs and claiming a bean bag spot in the basement. But Daphne had been holed up in her darkroom for the last while. Velma really didn't want to bother the other woman, or suffer a lecture if she forgot to have proper lighting for her reading. Something she forgot often when she got caught up in a particularly good tale. And while she had warning lights set up in case Daphne came down the stairs, it did little to warn Velma once she was already past the sensors. So, it was less of a hassle to try to find somewhere else.

She was running out of her normal places. She could choose the hammock, but she had already read a few books lately in it, and felt like she should try somewhere else before she chose that. Leaving it as a backup plan, just in case.

So, that only gave her two other spots. Her own bed, and the outside porch swing.

Her own bed was nice, but she tended to want to keep her bed, being a bed. A place that she would only use to go to sleep, or be stuck in if she was sick. She had read a bunch of studies that contributed some insomnia in modern households and especially apartments to be influenced with the use of beds. The more things you used your bed for, (reading, computers, etc.) the less you associated the piece of furniture with sleep. And the brain would then have trouble connecting the bed to a sleep routine. Velma liked to try to use her bed for sleeping things, and give her the best chance she could for falling asleep.

So, that only left Velma one other option. She headed out the front door, after putting on a scarf and hat to combat the small chill that had settled in as the afternoon moved in.

The weather had been weird the last few days in Coolsville. Fall was taking its time to be over, and normally the small town would have already been buried in snow at least once or twice in the last few years. But it seemed that autumn didn't want to give up, and was lingering around the town. Keeping the world in hues of orange, red and yellows as long as it could. The trees also seemed to be filled with an extra amount of leaves, depositing more than their normal share of multicolored bounty across the lawn and house of Mystery Inc.

And this is how Velma had found the porch.

"Hm..." She spoke again, considering her actions.

Looking over all the leaves, she was crunching in an ankle-deep layer of leaves that had seemed to have been blown onto the covered porch. How, she wasn't exactly sure, but they were there none the less. Sighing, since she just wasn't going to push the leaves out of the way, she moved back inside to fetch a broom and dust pan so she could take care of clearing the stoop before she got around to the love seat at the end of it.

It had been such a long time she had used it, it probably had been getting lonely around the side of the porch.

"I feel we sometimes forget it is even there..." Velma mused to herself, knowing that she was guilty of that. Neglecting the swinging seat at the front of the house.

Setting to sweeping, Velma worked in rows to clear one side of the veranda to the other. Collecting the piles and depositing them on her flowerbeds that sat in front of the raised deck. Hoping that they would become proper fertilizer as they decomposed. So, they were more used than just placing them in a bag and tossing them to be picked up by the garbage trucks. Plus, it was the wrong day anyway for that sort of rubbish to be hauled off.

As she worked, a rumble of the Mystery Machine pulling into the driveway distracted her from her work, looking up to see Fred as he parked. Giving a wave before going back to her work, figuring once he was done he would use the front door to get back and she could get a chance to say hi before he went inside.

"Hey Velma, crazy weather we are having." Fred mentioned, finally coming around the bend and taking a few steps up the stairs before coming to the landing.

"I swear, the trees were just aiming to deposit their leaves on here."

"Can I help?"

"Sure, I'm almost done but I wouldn't mind a hand." Offering him the dust bin, he tucked something under his arm before moving to kneel and help her scoop up one of the last piles she had left to deposit on to the flowers.

"Just toss it on to the area where the Gaillardia... er Blanket Flowers usually spring up. The spot where those little kinda orange and red flowers normally bloom and No no, over there. Yeah." Velma directed, making sure he placed the leaves in the right spot.

"I'm surprised they aren't still hanging around since Fall wants to stick around." Velma wondered aloud, not sure why the little plants weren't still milling about in the strange warmer weather.

"Well, there was that cold snap last week, maybe that finally did them in till next year?" Fred offered as an explanation, which made the most sense. It had gotten pretty nippy then, but not so much to see the first snow fall of the season. Chilly to the point where the poor plant just shifted into hibernation till next year. And cold enough to break out the mugs and have hot chocolate weather. At least till how it was now, being warmer than they had expected.

With two people, Velma and Fred made quick work on the last stragglers of leaves from the porch and the love seat.

"Do you plan to do the whole lawn?"

Fred wondered, looking out to the expanse of grass before them. Not really jumping to get to that, but he would help her out if she was dead set to get it taken care of. One of the many things of being adult that had to be done, but wasn't the most fun. At least compared to hopping into the finished product, once all the foliage had been put in one jumpable place.

"Nah, though we should maybe get it done later or tomorrow. Before it actually does snow. But I just wanted to clear off the love seat for some light reading... Which I figure you are maybe looking at as well?"

Tilting to the side and pointing, Velma brought attention to the tucked object that he had been clinging to as he helped her work. She knew a book when she saw it, and was curious at which he seemed to be clutching... And if she had read it before.

"Heh, yeah. I had to make a run to the library this morning to renew this book before it became overdue. I know I'm almost done with it, but I didn't want to end up having it be late, in case something happened and I couldn't predict it. Like a Mystery popping out of nowhere. Less I anger the librarian in charge, the better."

Fred rationalized, not wanting to incur the wrath of the library lady. She knew him far too well, and Velma too for him to want to be on her bad side and have money due. It is like angering that strict looking teacher, and getting that disapproving look. And even though he was long out of school, he still didn't like getting that look if he could help it.

"Ha-ha, yeah. Ms. Maenard can be a bit scary if you owe on a book. It took me a while to get back on her good side after one of our Mysteries that delayed my book for several months. I forgot which one, but she was quite grumpy whenever I came, even after I paid them back." Velma admitted, giving a laugh.

"Probably the principle of the thing. The Famous Miss Velma Dinkley should set a better example than owing on a book." Fred tried to do his best stuffy Librarian impression, but fell far off the mark.

Snickering and moving over to the love seat, Velma gave the little hanging seat a tug to see how well it was holding up. Since it had been around long before they had owned the house. But they had updated it and repaired it several years ago, along with other housing updates. So, it still should be sturdy from then.

"Har har." Velma gave him a small look, "though you might be right. She is a fan of ours, even though it doesn't look like it."

Velma pointed out, having seen the newspaper clippings the woman had kept in a notebook that had once fell over and Velma had placed back. Prodding the squishy padding, she gave it a few pokes before settling on one side, leaving the other for Fred if he wanted to join her for some joint reading. Tucking herself all the way up into the seat, making it swing as her short legs were not long enough to reach the bottom when she was sitting so far back.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed her to be one. Fancy that." Fred had never considered the stuffy lady to be one of their fans, since she always seemed so strict on policies and such. But fans come in all shapes and sizes. Even in the form of a strict teacher librarian.

He stood off to the side for a bit, before Velma let loose a small cough to get his attention. Looking at the offered side, he blinked at it a few times before it registered what she was offering.

"Oh... Don't mind if I do." Taking his book in his hands, he sunk into the other side and made the whole thing swing a bit. Brushing his shoulder up against her as he settled. Though he was tall enough to reach the ground and settle the seat so they weren't shaking too much.

Pulling out her own book from where she had tucked it in her sweater, she fiddled with the bookmark to keep the little piece of plastic covered paper on hand in case of emergency. She never knew when a rogue element would appear and make her loose her page, so she always kept a bookmark or two on hand. But curiosity overcame her. Peeking over the top of her larger than average paperback, she cast a glance at the back cover of Fred's open book. Trying to glance at the writing as Fred held it out in front of him.

"... So... What you reading?"