Roleplaying
2004 Archive
2005 Archive
Seminars
| When: | 4 November 2004 |
| Who: | Adlai (as Terrance), Elizabeth, Megumi, Melissa, Remy |
| What: | Every topic imaginable is discussed, including Elizabeth’s injuries to slightly less confrontational topics such as politics. |
Fado Irish Pub and Restaurant
Fado's has become a hotspot for many of the locals. The place is split between three different sections, the bar and tavern in one room, another room for the restaurant, and an outside patio area as an extension of the restaurant; all of which are no smoking. The owner, Tyrr Ceallaghan, opened Fado's two years ago and has advertised and made enough deals to watch it grow.
The bar and tavern room has a counter top bar where any of the patrons can sit and talk with the bartenders or their fellow patrons. Near the bar there are a few tables where anyone can sit with friends, share a drink, and just have a good time.
The restaurant and patio area is your classic walk in dine-in restaurant, with different celtic elements on the walls and in the way the rooms are built. The waitresses and waiters are dressed in all black, and always very courteous, as the owners insist on top quality customer service.
Elizabeth has grabbed an otherwise empty table in the tavern area and is nursing her usual Shirley Temple with her briefcase on the floor next to her. Stacks of papers sit in front of her on the table as she leafs through them one by one, red pen in hand.
Remy enters the door to the Pub, taking his hat off as he enters. His gray eyes scan the room before he heads to the bar, ordering an iced tea. A few minutes later, he is served, and he looks around again, noting... Ah, a familiar face. The librarian walks over towards the teacher with iced tea in hand, arching an eyebrow inquisitively. "Hello there... Relaxing after a hard day's work?"
Elizabeth sets down her pen, looking up at Remy. "You could say that," she says dryly. "Although considering the amount of grading I've left to do, the day's work looks hardly over. Here, have a seat." She starts tidying up her papers, putting them back into the briefcase. Her motions are smooth, the burn on her right hand hardly seeming to bother her.
Megumi walks in and spots Remy and Elizabeth together! Perfect! She smiles and slides forward, first looking like she's going to head to another table...before instead she turns suddenly, making her way to a nearby seat as well. She orders two iced teas. Two! But they don't come immediately, "It's been a long time, you two, did I miss anything?", charming smile! Isn't she cute?
Remy takes the offered chair, nodding Elizabeth. "I see... And did you-" The question is interrupted, of course, by the appearance of Megumi, who Remy looks over to in mild surprise. "Nothing significant. I've been busy with my work at the Center recently." He returns his gaze to Elizabeth, then, and nods towards her hand. "What happened to your hand?"
"Indubitably," Elizabeth says to Megumi, before answering Remy's question. She looks down, not meeting Remy's eyes and mutters, "I, ah... spilled some alcohol on myself, Remy. It caught fire." She affects an intense interest in her drink, swirling the little plastic sword around in its syrupy, non-alcoholic depths.
Megumi gives an aghast frown at Elizabeth's hand. "My my, Elizabeth, how horrid! Alexander did not burn you with his precious lighter, did he?", she bites at her lip fiercely, "I thought he would have been happy with just beating you up once for that, but he isn't really hounding you on some sort of vengeance streak, is he?", she tsks suddenly, and turns her head, "You have no need to cover for him!", she pauses for a moment, and then looks to Remy, lowering her voice, "That bum beat her up for stealing a lighter. As a prank. You surely can't believe that to be justified."
Remy frowns slightly. "An unfortunate accident..." He looks back to Megumi, blinking in surprise. "Alexander?" He returns his attention to Elizabeth. "It appears I've been left out of the loop. Since Megumi seems fit to tell the story on her own, would you like to clarify things to make sure she is not exaggerating? Because this does sound rather serious..." He tilts his head slightly as he waits for Elizabeth's answer, listening to the strains of the Symphony.
Roll by Remy: (4) (4) (5)
Elizabeth frowns, hunching her shoulders forwards. She says repressively, "I fell down the stairs, Megumi. Can we just leave it at that?" Her voice sinks to a small, quiet tone as she adds, "Besides, I... I provoked him. He said that he was punishing me." She takes a quick gulp of her drink and busies herself with putting the last of her grading safely away.
Megumi seems indignant! She snorts a little and says, "What, by shoving you, or did he just kick your legs?", she seems to glance at Elizabeth's legs as if to search for something that looks like it was done by a -kick-. And then, a lightbulb goes off in Megumi's head. Granted, the lightbulb was made by Vapula so it has a few stitches in it, but still...an idea! "You know...", she says, "Abusive husbands say that stuff all the time," It's true! "They hit you a lot for screwing up a dinner, burning the edge of a pancake or the scrambled eggs or something. Maybe that's why he's a bum, lost all his money on a divorce.", oh look, she has her iced teas. When did those get there? Megumi slurps on her straw in a long draw for a moment before gulping and adding, "They say it's punishment.", she glances on over to Remy, "I wouldn't tell you this if I didn't trust you, Remy, I believe you're a very honest gentleman and I trust you to do the right thing."
Remy listens, but the strains of Elizabeth's reply is lost to him into the Symphonic whole. He blinks then, as Megumi begins rattling off her rather damning accusations. And as she finishes, Remy frowns at her. "This isn't proper conversation for such an occasion, and frankly I am finding your theories on the matter somewhat farfetched. Why would you want to say such things about people without proof?" Inwardly, he sighs... Things are becoming much more complicated than he likes to deal with... Especially if Sarah was right about Alexander. "Are we going to have to sit here and dig down to the truth of these matters, or are we going to relax and save it for another time?"
Elizabeth just sips at her drink, seemingly content that Megumi has diverted Remy's attention off of her.
Megumi raises an eyebrow at Remy, "I would think seeing him chase after Elizabeth with the...the fires of Hell in his eyes..and then seeing her, like, the next day... bruised and battered like a covergirl for Wifebeater Magazine.", she crosses her arms irritably, looking over to Elizabeth for a moment, and then back to Remy, "You're right, I don't know that Alexander had anything to do with the burns, but I know he did the bruises. And even if I don't have undeniable proof...I do this because, Remy...", she turns her eyes towards Elizabeth, "I just want what's best for Elizabeth, and right now...that's making sure Alexander doesn't get near her. Right, Liz?"
Roll by Megumi: (1) (5) (6)
Roll by Elizabeth: (5) (4) (4)
Remy shakes his head. "No, not the Fires of Hell... Though you make rather interesting arguments. I'll be interested in determining the Truth of the matter soon, as these occurrences are unseemly and dangerous."
Elizabeth looks up from her drink to meet Megumi's eyes and says, "I... I suppose you're right, Megumi. I should try to avoid Mister Alexander. It's good to know that you're so concerned about my welfare, especially after I was so snippy to you when we first met. Forgive me?" She rotates the glass in her hands nervously.
Megumi looks aghast at Remy for a moment, "Metaphor, dear.", she almost seems distracted out of her care, her true, dearest care of Elizabeth, but not quite! No, not at all. Megumi looks deep into Elizabeth's eyes and murmurs quietly...not too quietly so Remy cannot hear, of course, but quiet so it's kept private. You know, between friends. "Of course I do, Elizabeth. I should apologize too, in fact. I was rather rude, and I've been trying to make it up.", she seems relieved, and takes in a breath, "Thank you. This means a lot to me.", namely bonus points with her superior.
Remy sighs, leaning back and untensing himself, picking up his glass of iced tea (unsweetened, even!) and taking a long sip of it before speaking again. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regardless, we should turn our efforts to less confrontational issues."
Elizabeth smiles at Megumi and reaches forward to squeeze her hand briefly. "Thank you, dear. It's good to have that settled between us." She glances back at Remy and inquires, pleasantly enough, "Well, what would you prefer to speak about, the presidential election? Oh, wait. You said '/less/ confrontational.'"
Megumi smiles, not too much...after all, Elizabeth has burns and bruises, but enough to show the great process of 'repair' is continuing along. She even squeezes Elizabeth's hand back. "Well, I found it pretty amazing that people are calling this a 'wide margin' when it was like a three percent difference. Last I heard, anyway, I sort of stopped watching after a while.", she seems perfectly happy to talk about this 'less confrontational' issue. "I heard that the electoral map was really similar to last time."
Remy actually chuckles at that. "All I can say on the matter is that the people chose who they wished. It doesn't get very much more straightforward than that. It's important that they exercised their right to choose their future... And soon we'll see the shape of the future they chose."
Elizabeth retrieves her hand and says, "The remarkable thing, Megumi, is that this is the first Ammerican presidential election since 1988 where the winning candidate has actually carried the majority of the popular vote. For the past several elections, the winner has had a mere plurality - more then the next highest contender, but still less than half. With 51% of the popular vote, Bush has a better claim than expected to having a mandate from the people. With a Republican-controlled House and senate, I think we can this this as an astonishing indication of national unity." Uh oh, she's slipped into lecture-mode!
Which is unfortunate, but not too unfortunate, the division is still pretty hefty. Megumi says, "That's true, it would be wrong to say he stole this one, though plenty of people have their doubts on the first one.", she looks to Remy, "All the same, even though he was actually elected by the majority, it was still really close. The losers actually are the minority this time, but they aren't the minority by much. It's still close, just..less close.", she glances over to Remy, "Fourty something percent of the people didn't choose this route.", she tries to hold on the reigns a bit on her own beliefs, however.
Remy nods at that, taking another tip of his tea before replying, "Yes, but they will have another chance later on. If the President does a poor job, as some appear to expect..." Just imagine all the rants he gets to listen to, working on a college campus! "Then the majority will likely choose differently next time. Everyone has their own opinions on how the world should work, but thei mportant part is that whatever people do, they do it together."
Elizabeth chuckles, then takes a sip of her drink before replying to Megumi with a casual shrug. "Oh, don't look at me. The Democrats have it easy. Over 99% over the voters didn't choose my favored route. I voted for our local Austin boy, Badnarik. 'The goverment governs best, that governs least' is a pretty good heuristic by my lights, even if not an absolute rule."
Megumi seems pained for a moment, just in the face, but she takes a gulp of air and says, "I didn't get my registration card on time.", she shakes her head, "I had a feeling so I didn't pay much attention.", she presses her lips together thoughtfully, "In a way, it's good to see people so fired up. It's better than Apathy, whichever way you spin it."
Remy considers the turn of conversation for a moment, and nods. "Optimally, the government wouldn't need to intervene much at all, yes. Positions of power can draw people who are unsuited to them... But it would take a rather significant amount of changes to the system to give any third party a chance to win at this point... A pity, really. Many of them have interesting possibilities."
"You don't think a big change is coming, Remy?" Elizabeth asks with a lift of one eyebrow, leaning back in her chair. "There's a mighty schism a-brewing within the Republican ranks, and unless the Democrats whip their party into shape as a viable threat, the old-school conservatives and the neocons are heading for a falling out. The primary reason why the small-government fiscal conservatives voted for Bush and his big-ticket spending programs is because the alternative was Kerry. With the presidency secured for the next four years, I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of Republicans breaking with the party line." She sets her drink down, folding her arms acroos her chest.
Megumi sips at her -second- iced tea. She could go for the first, but she wants to keep the 'tea levels' the same. Swallow. "That should make things interesting.", this heartens Megumi. Elizabeth gets a mental gold star! "What sorts of changes would you suggest, Remy?", she asks. The conversation has drifted to the point where she no longer has to try and distract the conversation by bringing up squirrels or something. A pity in some aspects.
Remy shrugs. "Sadly, I'm not as learned about the state of government as you are, so I can only accept what you say at this point. I can't argue points without a solid ground to stand on." He looks back to Megumi, and gives one of his small smiles. "If we got into that, we'd probably be here all night, Megumi. As much as I like the environment, I wouldn't want to remain here that long."
Elizabeth leans forward again, resting her elbows on the table. She tilts her head to look at Remy at an angle, and says with a small smile, "Arguing? I'm sorry, I had thought we were just having a lively discussion. If you feel that I've attacked you, Remy, I apologize. It was not my intent to make you feel uncomfortable. We can always talk about something else."
Now is the time for decisive action! "Like squirrels and rabbits," Megumi says helpfully. "That doesn't take too much time.", she realizes this may not be enough to spark some interest, so she adds, "Which ones are -really- fluffier?", she eyes Remy carefully.
Remy chuckles. "No, no, Elizabeth. Not at all. I didn't intend to use the word 'argue' as meaning a displeasurable conflict of ideas. I should have used the word 'debate' instead. After all, I'm always the one talking about striving for clarity of communication." He smiles in a self-depreciating manner, and glances over to Megumi with an odd look. "Why do you ask?"
Elizabeth gives Megumi an odd look as well. "I, ah... I've never made a practice of petting either, so I'm probably the wrong person to ask," she says. After a moment she adds, "But bunny pelts, while soft and sleek, are not generally particularly 'fluffy'. The fur tends to lie flat, or at least it does on the furs I've touched." Megumi says, simply, "I like animals, I find them...", she thinks for a moment, "...Cute. Except the ones that try to eat you, anyway.", she pauses, "Or claw you," another pause, "Or step on you.", she leans back, "I was thinking squirrels too. My favorite animals are bats though, they eat insects and stuff."
"Ah, I see." Remy finishes his tea, and stands. "It was a pleasure seeing you both, but I must take my leave now. I'm sure we will meet again." The librarian puts his hat back onto his head, as he prepares to leave. "Oh, I like animals too, Megumi," Elizabeth says with a wicked smile. "I like cows, and pigs, and chickens, and fish... I can't really say that I find them 'cute', though. 'Tasty' is perhaps a more accurate word. Not much eating on a bat, though, I'd imagine." Looking up at Remy's abrupt announcement, she says with some surprise, "Uh, good-bye, Remy. Are you okay?"
Terrence steps into the bar and slings his backpack over his shoulder. He is wearing a white shirt with very thin brown bars running down at regular intervals and khaki slacks. He gives a cheerful head nod to the cluster of people as he makes his way towards the bartender. "Evening," he says with a cheerful ring to the bartender, "You guys have Guinness?"
Megumi glances towards Remy, sipping on her iced tea again for a thoughtful moment before she sets the glass down. She says, "I'm sorry, I didn't think small furry things was going to cause any problems," honest! She doesn't cringe at the idea of eating non-cute animals, though she does seem to consider pigs. They may be super fat, but they're kyooty! She glances towards the newcomer.
Remy shakes his head. "No, there is no problem. I'm fine... I simply have to leave now." The librarian returns his nod to the sociable Terrence, and heads out of the Pub.
Elizabeth follows Megumi's glance to look at Terrence. "Friend of yours, Megumi?" she asks quietly. "He seems a bit old for you, but I know that you hang with the college crowd."
Megumi says, "I have no idea at all who that is.", with absolute certainty. Not that that is anything new, of course.
Terrence withstands the withering glares given by the bartender over the obvious question and pays for his beer. Once he has obtained it, he hops up onto a bar stool facing the room rather than the bar.
Elizabeth shrugs, and finishes off her drink - well, the liquid bit, at least. She swirls the little plastic sword around in the glass, jingling the ice. "So, ah..." She gropes for a topic. "What do you think of Remy? I seem to recall that you were very solicitous of his hat, earlier."
Megumi says, "I like his hat very much. It reminds me of Noir flicks. They have Fedoras in Noir a lot, it's part of the style. It wasn't intentional, but it's become attributed to the Genre all the same.", she -could- talk bad about Remy now, but she doesn't. Instead she says, "When I said I thought he was honest, I meant it. Sometimes too honest, too inclined to speak his honesty at least, but he hasn't done anything that made me dislike him, and yet enough to make me think fondly on him.", she glances again to Terrence. He's...in the wrong direction. Maybe...hyper?
Terrence drinks from his Guinness for a while. He seems mainly interested in chatting with the waitresses and relaxing. His backpack is kept comfortably leaned up against the stool. Eventually the random chit-chat with the helpstaff begins to pall and he looks about with more loneliness than relaxation. It is a strike-out night for him on even conversation, it seems.
Elizabeth brandishes the little plastic sword with a flourish and starts biting the cherries off of it. "Well, it's nice that you think fondly of Remy, or at least of his hat," she says with a grin. "But don't you have any friends your own age? I realize that it must be awkward at times, taking college classes while still in high school."
Megumi grins, "He must be fond of his hat if he doesn't accept replacements.", It takes a special kind of Fedora! "I have a couple people I get along with well enough. I've found I got along with adults more than teens more often than not...Though I like younger kids usually, sometimes they barf on you or something, or they're spoiled, and so forth.", she scratches the side of her left ear, "It'd be nice to get in the real world soon."
Terrence gives up on conversation for the moment, buys another Guinness, and slings his backpack over to another table. He sets the beer to one side and pulls out paper, pencils, calculator, and his calculus textbook.
"Is this your senior year, Megumi?" Elizabeth asks, crunching on the ice from her ex-drink. "If so, I do hope that you've already sent in your college applications. Although there are still plenty of schools with deadlines later than this, the top colleges can afford to close admissions earlier."
Terrence looks up from his homework and gives a twisted grin. "Believe me, miss," he calls over, "Sometimes the adults will barf on you too. Avoid the frat houses if that is not an experience you treasure."
Megumi smiles, "Of course, I hope to go to the University. I have no intention of leaving Austin.", she glances towards Terrence, "...Frat houses..?", he asks. Oh-ho! "You mean..the party places, right?"
Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "Just don't drink anything you didn't watch getting poured, Megumi," Elizabeth cautions. "There have been some rumors around campus that some of the fraternities aren't above slipping a little something extra in a pretty girl's drink. You watch out for yourself, okay?"
Terrence says, "Fraternity houses. I suppose most of them are not much good for anything but parties. A few of them are more study oriented, but either way they tend to end up as party central at the worst times." He shrugs a bit and tugs on a pin on his shirt. "They make for relatively cheap living, which is why I probably should not criticize them too much," he notes, "But that is also why I am working on tangential planes here." He frowns at what Elizabeth says and adds, "I think she is right. I have never heard of it happening at the house I am at but I know that some houses are not the most safe places."
"Oh? And what house are you at, sir?" Elizabeth asks Terrence lightly. Then her eyes narrow. "Come to think of it, who are you? I don't believe that we've been introduced yet. If you're going to strike up a conversation with utter strangers in a bar, it's only polite."
Megumi says, "I'll avoid getting drug-raped, I'm not sure I want to try alcohol as a 'public activity' either, but I'll be careful of juice. I've heard stories about those getting spiked with various crap too.", she bobs her head to Elizabeth's statement, "Yessir, learn my lesson before it's too late."
Terrence finishes an equation quickly, and sets his pencil down. "Terrence. Terrence Jefferson. Pleased to meet you, ms. I am with Delta Chi. They are good guys, usually, but tonight they are taking an early weekend for a Saturday Night Live marathon. If I hear one more bad James Belushi Deli Samurai impression, one more chug toast to Mike Ditka and "da Bears," or worse, Christopher Farley impressions, I think I will go mad. So, homework, a good beer, and a good bar," he finishes, holding up his Guinness.
Elizabeth chuckles, and says to Megumi, "Sorry, was I coming on to strong? I'm not your mother, so I'll try to cut down on the lecturing. Speaking of drinks-" She peers down into her glass and says mournfully, "Mine is broken!" Indeed, even the ice is now gone, leaving an inedible plastic sword. She rises from the table and heads over to the bar where she orders another drink.
Melissa steps into Fado's, late in the evening. She's still wearing her business attire, and has clearly decided this is a pleasant place for a drink in the evening. She glances about thoughtfully before spotting Elizabeth chatting with... oh, the horrible child from that lunch a couple of weeks back. Frowning slightly, she moves towards their table, detouring to the bar to request a drink.
Megumi waves to the absolutely wonderful Melissa. "Oh, I'm not that sensitive, 'Liz.", she then considers Terrence's words and murmurs, "This -is- a popular pub.", she puts a little extra emphasis on the pub, but still quietly.
Terrence winces. "Man, two gaffes in one night," he says. "I will live with it though," he says with another bright declaration. "It has been a good week. From my midterms it looks like I am on a steady route to As in my classes."
Elizabeth makes her way back to the table with her replenished drink, waving jauntily at Melissa en route. Sitting back down, she smirks at Terrence and says, "You present a certain temptation to break into a Christopher Farley impression myself. If only I could do a halfway decent one..." She sighs wistfully, and beckons Melissa over towards the empty seats at the table where she and Megumi sit.
Melissa follows quite happily, setting her drink and coaster down on the table before seating herself at the table. "Good evening. So... why are we discussing Christopher Farley impressions?"
Terrence holds up his hands in front of his face in a credible semblance of terror. "No! No! Mercy! I cry mercy!" he tells Elizabeth and then turns to Melissa. "My house is doing a Saturday Night Live marathon and it has driven me to the edge. The lady here," he indicates Elizabeth, "Is contemplating furthering my torment." He shakes his Guinness regretfully and finishes, "Well, seeing as two is my limit, I must flee. I know an apartment I can crash at."
Elizabeth snickers at Terrence's departure, although she does stifle it for long enough to get off a quick good-bye as he passes. Turning back to the table she shrugs at Melissa's question. "You heard the boy," she says. "He previously mentioned that the Chris Farley impressions were the worst of it, so..." She winks at Melissa and says, "Well, you've probably noticed how much I like to tease."
Melissa laughs softly at Elizabeth. "Why yes - I have noticed that particular fact from time to time." She watches the young man flee with a thoughtful expression, taking a sip from her drink. "Pity - he sounded like an interesting sort from the small bit I overheard. Young -and- bright. Not a common combination."
Elizabeth raises her eyebrows. "Not so rare as all that, I should think," she says. "After all, the older bright ones have to come from somewhere. The young bright people frequently /act/ like idiots, but that's just folly, not stupidity." She sips at her new drink with satisfaction. "Besides, he's not my type," she adds dismissively.
Melissa regards Elizabeth's bruises and burns thoughtfully for a moment. "No, I seem to recall you saying about your type being a bit more... interesting. But I must agree that the bright ones must come from somewhere. But really - a young man coming to a pub to study? Not common at all." She raises her own drink in a mock toast before taking a sip. "I meant to ask the other day - how are those injuries healing? The bruises are looking... better, but did you get too much sun?"
Elizabeth sighs, and rolls her eyes. She looks down into drink again and says, "Look, I already went through this with Megumi and Remy. I spilled some alcohol on myself. It caught fire." She shrugs, and takes another gulp of her drink. "Thanks for asking, though. I think the bruises should be all gone in another day or two."
Melissa tsks. "You should be more careful. Still, I don't see any blisters - just keep the burn from drying out, and it should heal just fine." She chuckles softly. "Consider it professional interest. I hardly care how they happened - that is entirely your perrogative."
Elizabeth brightens. "That's right, you've studied medicine, haven't you, Melissa? Thank you for the advice, then. Perhaps I'm a little defensive; Megumi here described me earlier as looking like 'a covergirl for Wifebeater Magazine,' a comparison which I can hardly find flattering." She raises her eyebrows at the young woman in question, smirking a little.
Megumi has, in the meantime, fallen silent. She opens her mouth, as if to protest the 'alcohol spill' deal, shuts it, and says, "I did not mean to offend with that, but I do not find beatings on you to be an attractive concept, after all.", she rubs at her eyes with a hand for a moment, "Well, I won't press the issue this time, for your sake.", she adds.
"Wifebeater Magazine? That seems rather excessive - dissapproving of a relationship, is she?" Melssia peers over the top of her spectacles at Megumi, before pushing them back up her nose. "No casts, after all, and I imagine no hospital visits? No serious harm done then, in my expert medical opinion. We can't live other's lives for them."
"I'm afraid that Megumi seems to have a rather active imagination," Elizabeth says to Melissa. "I fell down the stairs. I'd hardly say that falling down a flight of stairs constitutes having a relationship." She snorts, and adds under her breath, "Besides, I've already had my lifestyle disapproved of last night."
"Perhaps I took the metaphor a little too far," Megumi says softly, "It is not a married relationship I dissaprove of, merely a violent one, but hopefully the violent part won't happen again.", and then she raises an eyebrow, "By who?", she seems genuinely curious.
"One of the local businessmen," Elizabeth says with a disapproving scowl. "I hope he won't withdraw his support of our internship program for undergrads over the matter." She takes a swig from her glass.
Melissa tsks faintly. "Mr. Chambers seemed rather disapproving of Elizabeth's openness to multi-partner relationships." Sipping from her drink, she shrugs. "I personally see nothing wrong with it, provided one isn't overly promiscuous about it." Setting her glass down, she glances from Elizabeth to Megumi. "And there seems to be disagreement. I'm willing to believe Elizabeth's injuries to be accidental - the bruising certainly is consistent with a fall rather than a beating."
Megumi raises an eyebrow, "I'll be an undergrad soon!", she frowns and chews at her lip some more. Slowly, and then quickly, she seems to get agitated as she stands up, "...But you're clearly in the right. If he withdraws support over a personal belief such as that, he'd have to be really petty. He isn't really petty, is he?", her tone turns worried. She glances over to Melissa, "Please, Melissa, we both already had to go through this once today. Remy suggested less confrontational issues.", she glances over to Elizabeth beseechingly.
lizabeth shrugs and says, "Really, I don't know Mr. Chambers all that well. I suppose that events will reveal if he's as petty as all that or not." She favors Megumi with a wry grin and says, "Let's hope that he doesn't; if you end up at the university next year, you might want an internship yourself."
Melissa smiles faintly. "While Mr. Chambers was agitated, he struck me as the sort willing to seperate the personal from the impersonal. And while he my disapprove of you personally, the program helps all sorts of students." She swirls her drink thoughtfully, glancing up at Elizabeth with a wry grin of her own. "And if he does do something silly, I can try and talk him out of it - as a favor to a friend."
Megumi makes a few 'shimmah down now' gestures with her arms and hands, mostly to herself. Minor Panic attack ends.....Now. "Yes, yes, quite right. Just because he's ignorant, doesn't mean he's full of malice after all.", she rubs at her forehead, with a hand and shakes it away from her body lightly, "There's a quote similar to that. 'Do not blame with conspiracy that which can be better explained by stupidity.'", she looks to Melissa, "I would appreciate that, if that should happen. Well, if I get in, maybe I won't.", she bobs her head to Eliza's reminder that it's not exactly set in stone.
Elizabeth sips at her drink before sitting back in her chair. "Oh, the internship program will survive just fine even if Mr. Chambers does withdraw from it," she assures Melissa. "We place students with dozens of different employers around the city, so the loss of one wouldn't make much of a difference."
Roll by Melissa: (6) (5) (4)
Melissa meets Elizabeth's gaze for a long moment before pulling off her glasses to rub at the bridge of her nose. "Well. I should talk to some of my fellows, and see if we might be able to open up a position or two. I'm sure a bright young student or two around the place would keep some of the assistants on staff more sharply on their toes." She pouts slightly. "It's amazing what they think they can get away with. And they don't -think-."
Elizabeth smiles at Melissa and says, "Why thank you, that /would/ be appreciated. Send me an email and I'll put you in touch with the internship program coordinator. Much as I'd enjoy working with you myself, I only deal with the internships for the economics majors; you'll no doubt be shunted off to natural sciences, or maybe pre-med."
Megumi says, "I am not really sure what I want to dedicate myself to pursuing. Perhaps a Writer, make E-Books or something though I don't really know how that works out. Or ..mm... I adore looking through blogs and such, sometimes people say really dumb things, but you can see so many different points of view. And there is some money in it if Livejournal is offering 'special' pages.", she laughs a little, "I agree, I think that would be an excellent idea, Melissa. It's unfortunate you are having problems with your staff, but perhaps it's an opportunity in disguise after all."
"Certainly. If you could give me a card with the correct e-mail address, that would help," comments Melissa, smiling. "And I'm sure we'd love to have them, whatever their field." She glances at Megumi for a moment, and then shakes her head. "The internet is no longer the wave of the future, Megumi. Biotech research is - and while blogging might be an interesting hobby, it is hardly something one can make a living at."
Elizabeth rummages in her purse, pulling out one of her own business cards and handing it to Melissa. "I'm afraid that I don't recall the appropriate address off the top of my head," she apologizes, "but if you just send me an email as a reminder, I can look the number up at work." She too glances over at Megumi and says, "Don't let Melissa discourage you, dear. Find something that you enjoy, even if it's not cutting-edge. After all, Sarah's found a career as an archaeologist, and it hardly gets more out of date than that."
Megumi says, "I am not planning on being the wave of the future, Melissa, I am hardly a scientist, you know? Well, I wouldn't mind learning, actually, but I would need a good teacher that could recognize I prefer Books of Fiction to Notes and Equations. Even though we've gotten off on the wrong foot, I wouldn't mind learning new subjects. I've found that education is more likely to be a personal affair than anything else.", her jaw drops a little as she glances to Elizabeth, "An -archeologist-? They still have those? Didn't we put all of them in museums?"
"An archaeologist," Elizabeth repeats gravely. "Like Indiana Jones, only without the hat, the whip, the movies deal, and a lot of other things." She grins, suddenly. "Except that Remy's the one with the hat, isn't he?"
"They generally work in museums, yes." Melissa regards Megumi with a mix of amusement and exasperation, as she takes the card from Elizabeth. "If you want to write, I suppose that works just as well - but really. I've read a web log or two, and aside from those belonging to already skilled writers, they're mostly postpubescent whining about how horrible and rotten the world is." She smirks at Elizabeth. "I cannot see either of them as adventurers in that style... far too outrageous."
Megumi nods, "Maybe they're like Indiana Jones seperated into two people.", she looks towards Melissa, "Oh, plenty of them are, there's no denying that, but they aren't -overwhelming-. Plus, you can usually tell pretty quickly if it's going to be full of whining. They try to get poetic, and babble on about cutting themselves. hrrgh. Every medium has its downsides, I suppose.", she nods however with a sigh, "I suppose we'll have to cut the movie deal then. Very distressing."
Elizabeth considers the matter gravely and suggests, "Perhaps Sarah had some adventures during her time in Africa that might be suitable fodder for a movie? And she might be able to borrow Remy's hat, or get one of her own. Still no whip, though."
At this point Melissa's connection decided to disagree for the evening. The others chose to halt the scene after looking at the time.
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