Participants:
| Scene Title | Blind Drunk |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Sometimes, it's the cop who's drawing more attention. |
| Date | January 8, 2011 |
It's the middle of the day, in the middle of the weekend, which is when people are supposed to get to slack off, right? Wrong. These days, slack time comes after curfew — daytime is for Getting Stuff Done. Evan has decided to at least get some fresh air while he's at it, albeit bloody cold air, perched sideways on a bench as he sorts through the last couple piles of papers to be checked over before next week's deadline. It's every bit as exciting as it looks.
With the middle of the day comes the usual number of crazies out and about, though perhaps less today. An older black man walks back and forth along a section of sidewalk, peering in random directions every so often, and talking to himself. Every so often, he bumps into someone, not watching where he's going, but he apologises at least, though he might be oblivious about everything else.
Having heard mister Langford was supposed to be around here, Bethany Travis is outside, pulling her jacket tight with one hand, and her other hand moving around her cane as she walks. Unable to find Evan by eye, she has to resort to less…. subtle tactics to find him. "Mister Langford?!" She calls out, trying to draw his attention, and … if she gets that attention, pinpoint his rough location by ear.
It seems that today, it is just Christine's luck that she's been sent to deal with said 'crazies' near Columbia. Those smarty-pants students don't want to have to deal with the crazies, after all. So Christine, in her police uniform, makes her around the university area, shooing the crazies away. Only she does it nicer than that. There's a shelter not too far away. She makes the…kindly suggestion to them that they go there for a bite to eat. Who wouldn't want free food, after all? Approaching Ziadie, she puts on a small smile. "Sir?" She says as she gets close enough to, hopefully, make it clear that she is in fact talking to him.
Bethany's intel is on the mark, it's one of Evan's more common hangouts on campus: close enough to the department building that he can get back to it on short notice if needed, but far enough and quiet enough that he can pretend it isn't until then. Well, usually quiet; most students who come this way are just passing through on the way to somewhere else. "…yes?" he replies, setting the papers aside and turning to face the speaker. What was her name again? He remembers seeing her last semester, but with a class that large, names start to get iffy.
Ziadie pauses and leans against a wall. Now that he's not moving, he hugs his jacket closer to closed, and adjusts his scarf. There's a glint behind the scarf, but whatever it is, he's trying to hide it. Police medals don't exactly make someone popular these days. Close up, despite being nearly homeless, he's dressed … moderately respectably. Still looks crazy, though, wiry hair a bit out of order, and he's obviously at least slightly drunk. The jacket doesn't close all the way, and the scarf and jeans and boots have all seen better days, but still. In between muttering to himself, he looks at Christine. Either he knows and doesn't quite care, or is plain oblivious.
At least having enough information to get a rough direction of Evan's location, Beth heads on towards the man. When she arrives, or close to it, she's about three foot away from Evan, and not quite in front of him. She starts to talk at where she thinks Evan is, "Mister Langford, as you probably know, I failed your class last semester, and in an attempt to do better this semester, I was hoping you'd know someone who could help me prepare better." She flashes a smile at the air, "I'm willing to pay for it as well."
Being used to being ignored, or having people seemingly oblivious, Christine just smile kindly, tilting her head slightly. Was that a bright little sparkle of something? Perhaps just something precious to the man, is all. Probably why he covered it up. Don't want anyone to see it or take it. "Sir, my name is Officer Jackson. How are you today?"
Evan is actually about a foot to the left of where Bethany's facing, but hey, that's not bad for having only one spoken word so far to zero in on. "I'll take your word for it," he says, picking up the papers again and switching places with them so he'll be in the right place. "I've heard a lot about a guy named Mike, holds weekly sessions somewhere around the north end of campus… the reviews are a bit mixed, though. Some think he's great, some think he's a waste of time. Have you asked any of your classmates about this?" At this last bit, his tone remains carefully neutral, after all she might not want to admit to them what's up.
"Afternoon, of'cer," Ziadie says. As well as leaning against the wall, he's leaning against his cane, and though he's looking at Christine, he's also looking past her. During looking past her, though, his scarf falls back down. The bright little sparkle was in fact an American flag, a commendation for integrity, and two purple hearts. All issued by the NYPD, for those who would recognise such things. "Jus' out 'n a walk, I was." Out on a walk and drunk would probably be more accurate, but well, he's polite, at least. "You?"
"Not yet, mister Langford," Beth responds, turning slightly to face Evan more properly now. Still looking over him, as she's standing, and he's sitting. "I think one of my issues lies with the graphs, actually. I kind of suck at them." That much should be obvious, "Do you think I could perhaps get an alternate test in which I can display my ability without having to make graphs..?" She smiles faintly, "That'd be truly appreciated, I already appreciate the effort the university has put in to provide Braille versions of the exams, but, you know…"
"Out for a walk? Well, can't complain with that." Christine says with a shrug. "I'm doing alright." Giving a glance to the pins, she gives a little wave and a point to them. "You were an officer too, were you sir? Which station were you out of?" She seems to be interested enough, though he may recognize her tactics as just indulging the seemingly homeless person. "By those pins, I'd bet you were quite honoured. Probably higher ranking than me. Though that's not hard." She says with a little chuckle, offering him a bit of a salute.
Evan frowns as he gets a better look at Bethany himself, instinctively beginning to raise a hand up toward her face - he catches it almost immediately, but it still leaves him unsettled. Name or no name, he remembers why she's blind with cold clarity. "I… would have to run that by the department head, there'd probably be some red tape to deal with. Literally versus legally, that sort of thing. Either that, or… see if you can find someone to reverse the damage. I'm afraid I can't give you a referral for that, I wish I could."
If Ziadie recognises the tactic, he doesn't give any indication. Instead, he watches the young cop intently for several minutes. He seems to have been a little unnerved that the medals were showing, and as he watches her, he leans his cane against the wall in order to fix his scarf more properly to cover them. His hands shake, but at least this time he won't be having to fix it every other minute. "Out 'f Crown Heights," Ziadie responds, ducking a slight nod. "A' ease." His speech is definitely slurred, and there's the faint smell of alcohol about him as well. Well, a little more than just faint. He seems to be a little nervous about the officer's presence, too.
"We've spoken to doctors, there'd need to be a medical breakthrough for the damage to be reversed…" Beth responds softly, completely unaware of the hand that was approaching her face. "If you would run that by the department head, I'd truly appreciate it, mister Langford… I just need to finish this class some day, and well… it's not going to be easy." She smiles, but the conversation between the cop and ex-cop catches her attention, she doesn't glance over, it would be futile, but she does start to listen a little, and then she notices that smell of alcohol. "Excuse me mister Langford." She turns slightly and walks to the pair, cane swishing a little. "Hello." She greets them, "Did the bars open early today?"
Christine nods and takes an 'at ease' posture. Hey, whatever works, right? "Crown Heights? I've met a few good people out of there. I'm out of the Pelham Gardens area. The Bronx." She says with a curt nod. Though he possibly knew that already. "I hope you don't mind my next line of questioning, sir. It's all part of the job, you understand. But…have you been doing any drinking in the last couple hours?" She watches him curiously, making note of any unusual behaviour that she can.
Evan nods to Bethany — again on instinct, not like the gesture will do her any good. "I'll do that." He still hasn't gotten her name, but he can look it up easily enough. "And— well. It's not a doctor I had in mind." That would be too easy. There are probably thousands of doctors in the Yellow Pages, but how do you go about finding an Evolved healer? Oh, wait, he thinks to himself, and makes a mental note to follow up on the idea around dinner.
The old man looks from the cop, to the girl who walked over, back to the cop. He's uncomfortable, but not terribly obviously, and there's no way for him to scram left anyway, thanks to Bethany. He wraps his arms around himself a little, keeping his jacket closed against the chill. Or maybe closed so that nothing falls out. Could be either one. He's not silent, but he doesn't directly address either of them. Instead, it's something under his breath, unintelligible aside from the word 'choice'. That goes on for a moment, and then he simply nods. Drunk or not, Ziadie doesn't lie. Even when not lying gets him undesired attention.
Christine eyes Bethany. Of course, noticing the walking cane foremost, she sighs ever so slightly. "It's alright, ma'am, I've got everything under control. I hope we weren't bothering you in anyway." She says to her kindly. Toward Ziadie, she says, "There's nothing wrong with drinking, sir, but you may be bothering some people by just loitering. Now, there is a nice place, a shelter, down the road that is serving food all afternoon. If you're feeling hungry, I'd suggest going there. You don't have to stay there, but it's a nice place to just sit around for a while and eat or just…have some time to yourself." Well, shelters aren't exactly known for allowing you alone time, but it is what it is.
Smiling faintly to Christine, Bethany speaks again, "Oh, no, you weren't bothering me at all, I was just curious." She chuckles softly to herself, "I did wonder what was going on though, it's not every day you see a cop being both respectful and trying to shoo someone away, after all. Curious mixture of behaviors." Then, back to Evan she calls, "Mister Langford, is the drunk bothering us?"
Well, isn't she the outspoken one? Evan wishes Bethany had shown some of this talkative streak in class, maybe he could have started working with her earlier. "I'm not bothered if you're not," he calls out, pleasantly enough. Whatever's driven the old man to a liquid lunch is his own business, and most likely something that Christine would be better suited to understand anyhow.
"Was jus' a walk," Ziadie says. "Mebbe'll jus' walk more." He pauses, then continues, in that way that drunk people often have of going on well past when they ought to have stopped saying anything. "Nuth'n curious 'bout it." It's not belligerent, but it's clear that he's at least drunk enough that the finer points of what Christine just said went entirely over his head. And he had been walking, even if it was mainly just walking back and forth along the same block over and over again. Somewhere in his reasoning, though, is the fact that most shelters aren't exactly known for allowing people alcohol, either. He holds his jacket closed a little tighter, and looks between the various people around.
Christine raises an eyebrow at Bethany. Something that would no doubt not be seen, but she does it anyway. It's more of a habit then anything. "Ma'am, I appreciate your help. But really, I'm here to make sure that only students and teachers and the like are here. That's my job." She shrugs a little. "I really do appreciate you coming over here, but it wasn't necessary." She gives a nod to Ziadie. "That sounds like a good plan, sir. Walking is a good thing. And nothing suspicious about that at all. You're quite right. If you need me at all, I'll be in the area."
Pausing briefly before continuing, her tone is jocular, "Well, shouldn't you be leaving then? After all, you're not a student or teacher yourself." She grins, and continues, "In fact, I'd dare say you are drawing more attention than the drunk, who was just harmlessly wandering around until you started to bother him." Okay, she isn't entirely sure that's true, but she hadn't been bothered by him, at least.
Oh, good thinking, Bethany, make fun of the active-duty cop, albeit one who seems to be in a generally good mood. Come to think of it, she looks a little familiar… is she the same one that Evan ran into a few weeks back, other side of town? Hard to say for sure, the lighting was bad and he was in a hurry. He watches quietly, waiting to see where the conversation turns from here.
"Yes'm, of'cer." Perhaps it's the fact that Christine's a cop that makes what she says get through the haze of drunkenness to where they're actually understood. Nonetheless, Ziadie seems more than a bit confused by the entire exchange between the two in front of him. But he's still between them and a stone wall, without much of where to go. He idly reaches up to run his fingers over the medals on his jacket, and in doing so, a few papers and a plastic bag or two fall from his jacket. Which results in a long string of slurred cursing, though most of it being politically correct terms, like 'darn'. Ziadie slowly kneels down and starts to pick everything back up.
Even if Bethany's tone is jocular, Christine isn't quite amused. "Ma'am, I suggest you go on your way now. You've said your piece and that's that. You've got school to do, no doubt, and I've got a job to do. A job that, while I…appreciate you thoughts, you are in fact keeping me from doing." Her tone suggests, as well, that she is not amused. As Ziadie drops his items, she kneels down to help him pick them up, getting a piece of paper or two and passing them to him. "Here you are, sir. I'm sorry if I've detained you from having a walk." Once he's taken the items from her, she stands and steps to the side, allowing him better access to be on his way, wherever that way may take him.
Beth shrugs and turns, "Have a nice day officer, drunk, mister Langford." She says as she starts making her way back towards campus, "Will you keep me informed regarding my question, mister Langford?" She asks before she is truly gone, pausing to wait for an answer to that inquiry, but no longer than that. Her white cane is already swishing in front of her, to prevent herself from accidentally bumping into people or other stuff.
Evan arches a brow — for a moment there, it looked like things were going to drag on some more — but relaxes again as Bethany walks off. "I'll let you know," he calls out, before returning his attention to what's left of the other class's papers to finish going through.
Ziadie seems grateful at least for the help picking up his items, and frantically looks through the few papers, before he is satisfied that they're all in fact, still there. He murmurs what's probably thanks, straightening up slowly. "G'day, of'cer," he finally says before walking off, one hand gripping his cane and the other hand holding his jacket shut once again. He nods to Evan as he passes the professor. "G'day."