First Wish | Action

[saiyanscholar]

Who: Jeffrey and YOU?
When: November 22nd
Where: LCU Campus
What: Jeffrey tries to figure out what the heck he's been dragged into while not looking suspicious about it. Let's see how that works for him.


A:

[Oh god, oh god, oh god. What has he fallen into? He's been studying that weird network as intently as any of his schoolbooks and all of it sounds like something he should avoid like the plague. Though as he understands it, even trying to avoid it is no guarantee of safety. What's he supposed to do about this? Clearly, he needs to study it more.

[He doesn't usually do that kind of thing in class, or when he's supposed to be getting his TA work done, but anyone familiar with how network usage looks from the outside might notice the telltale signs when he periodically checks things out.]

B:

[The police are hunting them? Great, just great. And there's been more of them around campus lately. Taking a lead from what his reading has been telling him, he begins to notice the periods of spacing out when an officer walks by. That's . . . hm. When an officer passes by him within what looks like the right range, his stomach tightens up. His first instinct is to dive somewhere and hide, but that would make things worse. Instead, he forces himself to do his best spaced-out look until the officer is gone.

[To any of the Numbered, it probably looks like he's been hit with the effect. Except nobody else sighs in super-obvious relief at the officer being gone. Or looks as freaked out by the whole thing as he does. He needs to calm his nerves. Give him a second. Or don't; it's up to you.]

Comments

A

[worldmother]

[Sitting in class, writing notes the old fashioned way, it got to her a little bit seeing how many laptops were open around the classroom. Moreover, how many were open with something other than notes happening on them. Sitting toward the back of the lecture hall--it was one of her few 100-level classes she chose to neglect until the latter part of college career--she could make out screens quite clearly.

That was when she saw it. She knew that screen.

Oh. Crap.

To be fair, she had made the same mistake not a few weeks before, trying to sneak a peek at the network in her off time, but in the middle of class? Quickly scribbling down her number, she wrote in the margins of her notes.]

I can see what you're doing. That's not smart. I might not be the only one who can, either.

[The text appeared in a pop-up on his screen, very obviously in someone's handwriting instead of print face. Should he look around, he'll see a red head toward the back of the class look at him with lips drawn tightly together, then looking back down at her own notebook.]

[saiyanscholar]

[He jumps a little bit at that and his gaze darts around the room. Real inconspicuous, Jeffrey. Good job. Maybe somebody else would have bristled at that, or gotten defensive . . . but Jeffrey is so non-confrontational it almost physically hurts.]

Yeah, you're probably right.

[Get the network out of your computer, Jeffrey. Good boy. For now.]

[worldmother]

[Could he be any more obvious? Elly tries her best not to wince too hard before writing another message.]

After class. I'll be outside, in front of the building. Find me.

[Her pen stops on the page.]

Red hair. Pretty hard to miss.

[Because, with the reaction that he had, she didn't exactly expect him to be perceptive to who the mystery messenger was.

Time passed, and as the class let out, she passed him, giving him another glance, as if to reinforce that she was the one to seek out. He knew where to find him; but it was hard to say just how long she would wait.]

[saiyanscholar]

[Actually, he probably could. He could have yelped or talked or something. It's not much better this way, but it still counts.

[He's actually pretty good with faces; it's his nerves that are terrible. He packs up as casually as he can manage after class and actually manages to do an okay job on that score. Punctual sort, too. She won't be waiting long.

[It's not unusual for him to look apologetic when he approaches people, so he should be fine on this.] Hey. Sorry.

[worldmother]

[She appreciated not having to wait long. Standing outside with her bag slung over one shoulder, she glanced over. It hadn't been more than two weeks since she was in his shoes, so far be it from her to give him a hard time.

Instead, she smirked.]

You don't have to apologize to me.

[Tilting her head a little, she started to walk, expecting him to follow.]

[saiyanscholar]

[Far be it for him to inconvenience anyone.]

Right. Sorr -- Ah. Nevermind. [He's so horrible at real-time conversation. But following people? Yeah, he can do that. He readily falls into step behind her.]

I know I should be paying attention in class, it just . . . [He leaves it at that. Look, he's actually not being too obvious! He may not be a lost cause after all.]

[worldmother]

I did the same thing.

[She didn't glance back as she walked, trying to act as inconspicuously as she could. They were friends on their way to class, or to lunch, engaging in casual conversation on the way.]

I also had someone who thankfully set me straight. This isn't the place for that. Things are difficult, too many people who could see. People who shouldn't. It could cause trouble.

[She was purposely vague and hoped he would be able to pick up on the tone well enough.]

[saiyanscholar]

[About as casual as Jeffrey can get with conversation, anyway. At least with somebody he's only just met. But he does relax just a bit. She seems nice enough; she would have been within her rights to scold him more for what he'd been doing, and she's not.]

And there's too much of that going on already. [Just current events talk, that's all this is!]

[worldmother]

[She should be scolding him for being careless, for being stupid, and part of why she didn't could have been her first dabblings on the network. But there was something almost familiar in the way that he acted; it reminded her of someone in some ways.

She nodded.]

More than you could imagine.

Do you live on campus? Here isn't the best place to talk, and I imagine you have some questions.

[saiyanscholar]

[And he would have bowed his head down and nodded at it all. Because he would have deserved it and wouldn't want to make a fuss.]

Uh, actually, no . . . [He'll stop short of mentioning that his parents have a house set up for him off-campus. It's kind of embarrassing.]

[worldmother]

[She made a face. Going to her apartment was technically possible, since it was on campus, but she would get grief from at least one of her roommates for sure. It was a safe place to talk--all three of them were Numbers--but.]

If you don't mind a cramped apartment, I can take you back to my place.

[She paused, not liking how that sounded once she said it.]

To talk. If anyone's home, you'll still be in good company.

[She wasn't getting out of this, no matter how it sounded. She was grateful that they were on the other side of campus from what she tended to frequent, at least, so it was unlikely that anyone she knew would eavesdrop.]

[saiyanscholar]

[He only just barely catches onto how that sounded before she amends it. Which means he can stop himself from choking on it. Bless his near-obliviousness sometimes. The only indication that he realizes that anything had sounded . . . forward about that is a little throat-clear.]

So . . . all part of the club, huh? [He's read enough to know how to refer to it where people might be able to hear. Good little bookworm that he is, he's been studying the whole thing very seriously.]

[worldmother]

[She noticed, and smirked a bit. Good, he was a quick learner. She wouldn't have to explain the vagueness to him.]

That's right. It's pretty convenient. My apartment isn't too far away from here.

[She looked over her shoulder again.]

So how long have you been a member? You seem new.

B

[reincarnationception]

Pretty clever.

B

[saiyanscholar]

[There's a startled jump, here.} Huh?

[What was that about being clever?]

[reincarnationception]

[Daniel surreptitiously looks around and tilts his head in the direction of a park on campus and starts moving in that direction, indicating Jeffrey should follow]

[saiyanscholar]

[He's . . . not sure what to make of that, really. Either this guy is the same as him, or he'd been out of the area of effect. Which doesn't necessarily preclude the former possibility, but . . .

[Oh, to heck with it. He'll follow. Silently, because what is knowing how to properly converse?]

[reincarnationception]

[Daniel waits a bit until they get into a more secluded area]

So, had a bad run in with the cops recently?

[saiyanscholar]

[Secluded could be either good or bad. Whichever. Jeffrey's just kind of a nervous guy in general.]

Uh, not exactly.

[reincarnationception]

It's almost like you're worried they've got your, uh, "number". If you will.

[saiyanscholar]

[... Well, that answers that. He relaxes marginally. But only marginally. Because talking to new people is hard and the broader situation is pretty scary.]

Looks like they don't, so far. From what I've looked at, them having it would [... mean that he'd be taken off to be shot] ... pretty bad news.

[reincarnationception]

I haven't had any trouble, but I guess it's good to be cautious. I'm Daniel, by the way.

[He extends his hand]

Looks like you've stumbled into the club.

[saiyanscholar]

[Being cautious is way better than being dead.

[He shakes the offered hand, his grip noticeably lacking. His kind of a stick figure. Did you expect strength?] Jeffrey. And yeah, I guess you could say I did.

[reincarnationception]

You probably don't need to be as freaked out around the police. The feigned spacing out thing isn't a bad idea but if you act natural you're probably fine, especially on campus like this. Unless they have their dogs, of course.

[saiyanscholar]

[... Okay, yeah, he's feeling a little silly now. But he'll cover that up with a self-deprecating laugh.] I guess that's what happens when you read too much. They would've found me out a long time ago if I'd been needing to do that to avoid notice.