savetheearth | [Action]

[ 'varista.'

over the course of his starbucks frequenting career (which wasn't very frequent, really), alex had quickly come to learn two things: 1) his name was far too common, and 2) many starbuckers stopped listening after hearing their name.

or shared name, as the case may be.

after several instances of drinks being swiped by other alexes, alexander varista had started giving the barista's his last name. sometimes they looked at him ('you think you're a smartass?'), other times they joked about it, and other times still no remark was made, vocal or otherwise, because they were in the order-taking zone and fuck you if you snapped them out of it.

on this occasion, alex stood off to the side as he waited for his drink, skimming through the network on his phone. invisible to regulars, not quite so to numbers. ]

[Julien's name is often subject to creative interpretations when it comes to spelling, pronunciation, and actually even which name it is. Comes with having been given it in French; he doesn't seem to notice or care and responds to about a dozen different things that sound similar, none of them being all that common in Locke. So he's just gone after an Americano that was for "Yuri" and is idle, waiting for it to cool, glancing over the crowd...]

[Some of the spy stuff he likes - even now, with the uncomfortable hint that his other self was some kind of agent - stresses how important it is to be able to watch a crowd and scan around while appearing casual, so for years he's been working on that kind of thing, just for fun. And that does include glancing at the screens of phones, these days! Sometimes it pays off.]

[What's something innocuous-to-normals?]

Any interesting extras?

[ alex glances askew at julien, not quite catching on. ] Pardon?

[He raises his eyebrows and gestures phonewards with the coffee-hand, restrained enough not to spill anything.]

The club. Looks like you're in it too, huh?

Lyall showed up a couple minutes late to his get-together with Julien. It was a bit of a surprise to actually have a lunch date, to begin with, but he'd been held after a bit by another teacher as he tried to get his tests turned in for grading. Scantrons were the easy part. He'd be doing the essays all night, he was sure.

For now, though, he had a friend to meet up with. He scanned the heads for the familiar blue hair, and tested the air for the familiar scent, hoping Julien hadn't been waiting too long.

Julien was chatting up a friend, gesturing dramatically as he illustrated some point. She mock-punched him, not actually coming close enough to touch; he spun as if dealt a mighty blow in slow motion, saw Lyall during that, and made his excuses before coming over.

"Smallworld! Good to see you! I see you're still in one piece, finalwork hasn't shredded you yet!"

[ his expression shifts, a subtle surprise he reigns in as he smiles almost nervously at julien. it's not enough to show his canines. ]

Oh, yeah.

[ so, by 'extras', does he mean... ]

If we're talking Harry Potter D&D magic stuff, then I'm woeful to report my answer in the negatory. You?

Sorry! I had to say something, it's hard to tell sometimes.

Nah. Nothing for a couple weeks. Guess I was more asking if anyone's reported, oh, leveling up. [He doesn't seriously think they're being listened in on, but hey.]

Lyall lifted a hand to wave when Julien turned his way, and smiled a bit at the greeting. "No, thankfully. Though after I leave here, I am going to have to get back to a stack of written questions, and the last bits of labwork grading. Exciting, I know. Teachers lead such glamorous lives."

Ah hah, naw. [ suddenly, he seems to want to burst into a grin and bites down on his lower lip to restrain himself. ] There's this really angry dude, though...

[ he tilts his phone so julien can see the screen more easily. karson's post is on it. ]

[Julien looks, but just for long enough to be able to recognize it and takes out his own phone to find the post. He skims.]

Oh no. Trolls... as far as the eye can see... [And laugh] Of course, Chris is Air Force. Of course.

Chris? [ that is far too common a name ~~like his~~ for him to remember who it belongs to right now. ]

Julien responded with a shudder. "Sounds exciting. It's good to get a chance to focus on other stuff now and then I'm sure. So, how much longer before the term's over? I seem to remember grade school going on longer than your average uni."

An employee gestured them towards a corner, where there were options. "Table or booth? I'm good either way."

I've met her a time or two. Has a flight license, loves planes. Not that I can really blame her!

Uh huh. AF gave it away, huh? You know, I'd bet--

[ "varista!" calls the barista. "one venti cappuccino and a venti iced caramel macchiato."

alex slides on over to the counter, pocketing his phone and taking his order (with two bagels!) in a carrier. he returns to julien's side, not at all dissuaded from continuing their conversation. ]

Sorry about that. So, what? Oh, yeah, I'd bet a linguist would have a blast ID-ing us by syntax and all that shit alone.

[Julien waits for Alex to resturn, idly rising from flatfooted to the balls of his feet several times. Even on his toes he's pretty short.]

Not a problem. The whole thing could be better designed! So annoying trying to find people out. But look - the whole number doesn't show all the time, but there's part of it. After long enough I recognize it, I associate it with her.

Still think I've gotten things wrong a couple times. [He wrinkles his nose and grins.]

[ his brow twitches in confusion, head tilting as he takes a look at julien's screen.

there really are partial numbers! ]

Those don't show up on mine. Man, I need an upgrade.

What, really...? [And another look at Alex's] Wow. Wow, yeah, you do! That's gotta suck.

Speaking of mysteries, good sir Varista, I'm actually named Julien.

"This is finals week, which is the only reason I can meet you this early, today, and which means I have a few days of grading ahead of me, then a couple weeks off until summer school," Lyall answered, and nodded to the employee. "Booth, please-- you didn't come here with your friends?" The latter was to Julien himself, since the young man had apparently found someone here he knew.

"Gotcha. Man, you do summer stuff too? And here I thought the good thing about being a teacher was stopping for a few months." He shook his head, smiling.

Julien settled easily, fiddling with the laminated menu. "Nah - or one dropped me off on her way to something, anyway. But I have friends everywhere, and it's good to say hi while you can, right?"

Siegfried had gotten distracted from his walk to the library as he often did and was paused next to a large oak tree, looking up at the branches intently with a warm smile on his face. The keen eye would spot a trio of grey and white birds hopping from branch to branch calling to each other.

"If a teacher doesn't work over the summer, a teacher doesn't get paid over the summer," Lyall pointed out, easing into the booth, himself. "And bills don't stop. Sometimes if I have enough in savings to tide me over, I won't work, but more often than not I try to sign up for summer school. This year I have another reason, though-- I want to be somewhere the kids can find me, if they need to, at least part of the time."

The kids meaning, his Numbers Club students and former students, for the most part.

Automatically Julien tracked his gaze. He had to get a little closer to see the birds, and he did. Jays? No, smaller than that. Familiar in a vague way, though. ...ah, he had it.

"I saw one of those pulling fur off a dog once," he said. "Bold little things."

"They use it for nesting," Siegfried nodded, eyes still on the birds. "And the dog can't get to them if they're on top of it. It's not as dexterous as they are."

"That's true, I guess. Oh, adulthood." He shook his head again in somewhat feigned sorrow. "Is it shorter hours than normal term stuff? I know there'd be fewer students total."

[Action]

sbux!!

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Tuesday, June 11, hamburger joint

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