Participants:
Scene Title | Coffee Crippling Confidence |
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Synopsis | Delia kind of takes Magnes up on his offer for coffee, he's a bit weird and she's a bit mean. |
Date | April 22, 2010 |
The Nite Owl is a survivor from ages past - one of those ancient diners with huge plate glass windows, checkerboard linoleum floor, and a neon owl over the entrance that blinks at those entering. Inside, there's an L-shaped main counter, complete with vintage soda fountain and worn steel stools. All of the cooking is done on the ranges ranked against the rear wall. The outer wall is lined with booths upholstered in cracked scarlet vinyl, tables trimmed with polished chrome. Despite its age, it's been lovingly maintained. The air is redolent with the scent of fresh coffee, vanilla, and frying food.
It's early in the afternoon, and god knows he's grateful for a day off. He's in pain, he just can't take following Tracy and rushing around today. He's wearing a long black wool trenchcoat that stops at the knees of his dark blue jeans, and snow boots. On his back, he's wearing a black guitar case, which he takes off when he slips into the booth of the diner, and sits it next to him. He's waiting for her now, slightly nervous for whatever reason, twiddling his thumbs on the table.
The jingle of the little bell announces two things, the first being the rush of cold air and snow as it rushes through the open door, the second is the tall form of a surly redhead. She brings the door to a slamming close and holds it for just a moment before turning. A scarf covers her nose and mouth and the top of her head is protected by a light blue knit cap. This leaves nothing bu her eyes and a swaths of red hair visible to the outside world.
Apparently, the young woman isn't conscientious of any fashion faux pas when she got dressed for the negative weather. She's got on a pair of bright red mittens, her dark peacoat, a pair of white boots that are so thick they almost look like they should be part of a space suit. When she spies Magnes in the booth sitting next to a guitar case her eyes narrow just a little before she wanders over to seat herself across from him. There's a muffled grunt of recognition, then she begins to unwind the scarf and pull off the hat.
Magnes isn't really aware of fashion faux pas himself, he just smiles when she sits across from him, though winces slightly when he moves the wrong way. He's supposed to be resting, but he believes he needs to learn to deal with a great amount of pain on a regular basis if this is going to be his life. "Hey, Delia! I'll pay for everything. I hope you didn't have too much trouble getting here."
"Uhm.. No, it's pretty close to this place where I — go." The redhead responds, rather evasively. Then she gives him a rather suspicious and narrow eyed expression. "I can afford a coffee, what makes you think I can't afford a coffee?" She's quite uneasy, that's very plain to see. Her posture tenses even further as she sheds the rest of her winterwear and flips over the coffee cup in front of her, signaling the waitress to come on over with a pot o' brew. "I mean.. thanks, I guess. Saves me a dollar for … bus… fare…" The last few words are said rather slowly, as though she's actually trying to think of what to use a whole dollar on instead of coffee.
"Sorry, I uh, I thought it was polite to pay for a girl's… coffee." Magnes coughs a bit awkwardly, eyes averting to the table for an awkward moment that he removes his coat as well. He's wearing a red shirt with a Robin R on the chest. "I'm glad you came though, you seem nice, so I didn't want you to stay uncomfortable around me, not that I don't understand or anything. Did you think about those questions?"
"Not really — I was busy doing homework and stuff. I mean, there's a lot of them, you know?" After her coffee is poured, the young woman dumps five little containers of cream and six sugars in, making it into something more of a sugary latte than coffee. "So seriously? Seriously? You wanted me to go for coffee so I wouldn't be uncomfortable around you? Because I've spent years being uncomfortable and sometimes hating you people. I don't think it's a realistic expectation to erase that over a cup of cof-free." She is wearing a slate blue and grey horizontal striped long sleeve tee and jeans. Nothing spectacular.
"Well, I mean, I don't expect you to suddenly accept what I am that easily, but…" Magnes is starting to dump cream and sugar into his coffee as well, and lots of it. "I want to help. I'm not speaking for all Evolved or anything, it's not really my place to change all of your perceptions and beliefs, I just wanna show you that I'm a nice guy, even if I did draw a strange genetic straw. You can ask me anything off the top of your head, I'm an open book."
"Okay, so how much better do you think you are than regular people? I mean, you didn't get the short end of the stick when it comes to DNA, obviously." Delia takes her first sip of coffee and closes her eyes for a moment in silent prayer to the gods of caffeine before continuing. "You're registered, you don't hide it, you kind of flaunt it. How much better are you than some hobo that's begging for change on the corner? Or me? Or, I dunno, my mom?" The last word is whispered and the young woman takes a deep breath then and purses her lips to keep from saying more. Instead, she cradles her mug between both hands and sips at it.
"I don't think that way." is Magnes' answer, starting to take sips of his incredibly sweetened coffee. He stays calm despite her demeanor, shaking his head slightly. "I'm no better than anyone, no one's better than anyone else. I'm not flaunting it, I have a responsibility, my ability is more of a weight I carry on my shoulders. That's why I have burn marks, that's why I've been shot and hurt so much. I believe, very firmly, that I have to use my ability to help people, no matter what, even if it's a taxi driver stuck in the snow. I don't want to be in the news or have people recognize me, if it were up to me I'd just put on a mask so no one would ever know it's me. But sometimes things happen, and I can't let any desire for privacy get in the way of saving lives or helping someone in need."
"So, you're using it to be Spiderman or something? With great power comes great responsibility?" Oh yeah, Delia is an avid movie watcher. After taking another drink of her coffee, she finally sets the cup down on the saucer. The waitress seems to think this is a signal to come around again for a refill, which of course isn't objected to by the surly woman. "What about money? Do you get money for all your good deeds? Ever think about getting a sponsor to buy you like, supplies and stuff and hire yourself out as a super-dude?"
"I don't help people because I wanna make money, and something like that would put me in the public eye even more. Suddenly I'd be representing the government or whoever's sponsoring me, I wouldn't be just a good Samaritan who sets an example for others. I'm an intern, I don't plan to cash in and try to be a big hero or something." Magnes is drinking a bit slower than her, so he's yet to finish his one cup, nodding to the waitress. "Besides, wouldn't it be a bit unethical to suddenly start cashing in on something like that? I mean, for a firefighter or a doctor, that's different, they earned their skills, they have the right to get paid for it. I was just born with it, I have no right to just cash in on something I was born with."
"My sister was born with looks, she's cashing in on them," Delia states in a rather blaze and matter of fact tone of voice. Like she's really uninterested in the fact that her sister is a piece of catalogued meat. "Lots of people cash in on the stuff they were born with every day." Then she begins to dump more cream and sugar into her cup, making it a lighter color then the previous one.
Suddenly self conscious about it, she looks at her cup and then the Magnes, "Caffeine robs your body of calcium… I figure I'm balancing it out if I make it more milk than coffee." Then she shrugs and picks the hot bevvie up, taking a long drink and closing her eyes as she swallows the warming gulp down.
"I don't know, I guess I'd feel… guilty? Yeah, I'd feel kind of guilty if I started making lots of money with my ability. I read lots of comics, and I guess I just have the mindset that I'm supposed to be altruistic with it." Magnes shrugs slightly, though raising an eyebrow when she explains about her coffee, and suddenly starts putting a lot of cream in his next cup as well. "Besides, you were born with looks too, you're very cute."
Delia freezes for a moment as Magnes makes his compliment and she gives him a very terse and very small smile. "Uhm… Yeah… Not really. But thanks." Her tone is very dry and she reaches up with one hand to finger comb the unruly red locks that are frizzed out around her crown. Then, having nothing left to say, she just sits quietly and sips at her coffee.
Minutes pass before she finishes her second cup and turns the mug on its side. "So, uhm, yeah… Now that everything is all awkward again. I think that maybe I should get going, huh? I'll uhm… Here." Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a crumpled dollar bill and some change. "This'll pay for mine." Clearly, she's not comfortable with him treating the coffee.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make it awkward. I just…" Magnes sighs, having that look of failure on his face again, then just nods and takes the dollar. "I don't always know what to say, in fact, most of the time I talk, I spend it putting my foot in my mouth. I just say what's on my mind sometimes." He looks a little disappointed that things are coming to an end, primarily because he's once again left a poor impression of himself on someone. "Sorry again."
While in the process of wrapping her scarf around her head, Delia pauses for a moment to give Magnes a narrow eyed look. "Maybe you're missing that piece of the brain that edits out stuff that you might not want to say to a person? I mean… You didn't exactly put your foot in your mouth, you just really went out there with something that… Yeah… Anyway, I have to get to work." She finishes wrapping the scarf around her head and pulls her cap on. Then one goes the coat and mittens. "See you around guy, I'll uhm… You'd probably really get along with my sister. She says weird stuff all the time too." Mostly though, it's because of the pills.