Participants:
| Scene Title | Hardly Priest-Like |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A random meeting at the Suresh Center leads to a serious discussion in which Melissa is priest-like. Sorta. |
| Date | August 23, 2010 |
Meandering through the second floor of the Suresh Center, Delia is quite lost. She should have asked the doctor how to get around, but she didn't. She never does, she's so like a man that way. Her lips prtprtprtprt as she breathes all of the air inside of her through them, leaving her with nothing. It's a good feeling, this nothing, until it starts to ache.
She takes a deep breath and passes by someone in the hallway that looks just about as lost as she is. "Excusemebutcouldyou…?" Her hurried words are just brushed off by the other person who walks by as though she didn't say a word. "Geez, friendly much?" The sardonic comment doesn't even have an audience, so it's wasted.
Finally making it to the elevators, she pushes the down button and begins to hum the only elevator music she knows, Girl from Ipanema. "Doot doo doo doot dat dee dat da da dat da da da…"
Not everyone in the Center is as lost as Delia, nor as unfriendly as the person who ignored her. However, Melissa Pierce is still rather tired, despite being here for a half day of work. Well, volunteering, but it's really the same thing. She just doesn't get paid. Stupid conscience.
Lucky for Delia, she gets on the same elevator going up that she's waiting for to go down. So when the door opens, the younger woman is presented with the sight of Mel, who looks more like she should be going clubbing than here at the Center. The door opening has Mel stepping to one side to make room for Delia and giving an automatic smile, though it's ruined almost as soon as it forms by a large yaaaaaaaawn.
Delia steps onto the elevator and returns the smile only to balk when Mel's mouth opens wide enough to swallow the room. "Oo," she quips, her tone actually pretty friendly, "You okay? Late night?" She didn't notice that the elevator is going up, she's just glad to be one step closer to the heck out of here.
Not that her visit was bad, not by a long shot, but the longer she stays the more paranoid she gets. This fact is evidenced by her insistent pressing of the 'close door' button. Tap tap tap tap "C'mon… when were you built? The late eighteen hundreds?" Not talking about the center itself, of course, just the elevator that's in it.
"Not a morning person," Melissa explains with a shrug. The impatient button pushing has her arching a brow and canting her head. "Late for an appointment or something?" she guesses, leaning against the wall, hands sliding into her pocket. It's as comfortable as she's likely to get over the next six hours.
"Huh? Oh.. uh.. no." Delia murmurs, pulling back from the button and leaning against the wall beside the other woman. "I just, this place makes me about as jumpy as a cat in a dog pound." There's a weak smile that follows her little comment, and a nothing of an explanation. "You know… because… I just.. Are you?" And she waves a finger around the elevator, possibly meaning the entire building. "Evolved?" That last word is let out in a whisper, as if she's actually afraid to say the word aloud.
That has Melissa frowning and straightening a little. "Why does it make you jumpy? Do you not like the evolved?" she asks, asking her own questions rather than answering the one presented to her. It's more important in her mind.
Delia's eyes go wide, and guilty, as though she's been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "No! No no… it's not that it's just…" Her eyebrows furrow a bit and she clears her throat nervously, "No, I mean, before I knew anyone, after the bomb…" Her voice trails off and a rather apologetic expression crosses her features, along with a deep blush. "I didn't like evolved very much, but that's changed. I was asking because of a different reason." With that, she points her face at the doors and grows silent, maybe a little sulky.
The younger woman is studied for a long moment while Melissa remains still, silent. "Yes, I'm evolved," she verifies with a slight nod of her head. "So feel free to ask whatever you want. Actually, that's sort of what I'm here for. I volunteer here, talk to people with questions about the evolved, their abilities, or counsel people who have evolved family members."
Delia doesn't answer for a little while, preferring to remain silent as she considers just how to say what she's about to say. "Registration? Do you— I mean are you?" It's blurted out before the tall redhead really puts the thought completely together. "I just— I'm not so sure." A timid smile follows and the young woman jams her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "I know you probably have to say I should, because it's the law and everything. I talked to the doctor and the nurse here, they both think I should."
A hand reaches over to the panel of buttons, and hits the 'stop' button, trapping the elevator between two floors. Melissa then turns to Delia, nodding. "Legally, I have to say that you should Register, because it's the law that everyone Registers. Evolved or not. I'm assuming you're evolved though? Newly evolved, probably?"
She looks extremely nervous, the short nod in response is jerky at best. "Yeah, j-just a little while ago. I wouldn't have had a problem with registering… but the visions…" Her voice drifts off and she frowns again, this time deeper and her nervous countenance dips a little darker, much more grave. "I had a bad one and I think that awful things are going to happen. People are going to get killed, and I don't want to be on a list if it happens."
There's another moment of silence, then Melissa nods and puts the elevator back into motion. "Why don't you come with me? I think I can help. We'll find someplace private to talk, other than an elevator, I mean. My name's Irene, by the way," she says with a smile.
There's another moment of silence, then Melissa nods and puts the elevator back into motion. "Why don't you come with me? I think I can help. We'll find someplace private to talk, other than an elevator, I mean. My name's Irene, by the way," she says with a smile.
Luckily everyone here but for Brennan and Megan know Mel as Irene, so she doesn't have to worry about blown cover. She smiles and nods. "No problem. Like I said, this is what I'm here for. Okay, so maybe not exactly this, but close enough." When the door opens again, Melissa motions for Delia to follow, and steps out of the elevator and down the hall, to find an empty room they can use.
When she finds one, she pushes the door wide and motions for Delia to step inside. "After you, Delia. Just have a seat, get comfortable."
And comfortable is exactly what she gets. The young woman slumps into one of the chairs and lets out a long breath as she waits for Mel to settle in as well. "Thanks," she says quietly, clasping her hands in front of her and tucking them between her knees nervously. "I hope you don't have appointments and stuff, I mean, I can make one if you do. I can come back or— " she pauses for a moment and shakes her head, "I mean, I could even meet you somewhere else, just in case someone else wants to test me again."
The door is shut and Melissa drops down into a chair, getting instantly comfortable, and she smiles, shaking her head. "We won't be bothered. And I don't have any appointments. Besides, like I said, this is what I do. If I'm not able to help anyone who comes in here to the best of my ability, I'm not doing my job. As for testing you again…" A hand is waved absently. "Don't worry about it right now. No testing, just talking. So why don't we start by you telling me what you're comfortable sharing me with me, and we'll go from there, hmm?"
Delia nods and again it's quick. "I guess, you wouldn't— you can't tell anyone what I tell you, right? Because of confidentiality and stuff?" Her eyebrows twitch again and her lips purse a little into a thin line but she swallows and takes another deep breath. "I guess it started when they first came out with the Linderman Act… And I know that everyone has to register because it's a non-discrimination thing, but they had to register in South Africa too, for apartheid. That wasn't exactly on the up and up, you know? People would be asked for their papers in the streets and beaten because they were black, or colored, or.. different. Not white." She frowns and lowers her head, "I had more of a problem actually admitting to myself that I am evolved than anything. The visions, they came before, and I was already scared from that. Now it's worse."
"Anything you tell me is just between us," Melissa verifies with a nod. "Think of me like a priest in that regard," she says with the faintest of smiles, because she's hardly priest-like. Then the smile fades as she listens, nodding. "Why did you not want to admit to yourself that you were evolved? Was it because at the time you didn't like the evolved very much?" A pause, then, "What sort of visions did you have, Delia?" she asks gently.
Delia's lips twist into a grimace of pain and anger, "I hated evolved people. My mom died in the bomb, my dad and sister were both… gone. I didn't know what happened, she never came ho-home." The redhead blinks rapidly and shakes her head, waving the thick curls. "Sorry, I'm just like a lot of people. Was just like a lot of people. I started rethinking things when I turned into an evolved person. I didn't know I was… I didn't find out until last week, but it happened months ago."
She stops talking for a moment and looks over at Melissa, "This guy in a coma saved my life, he died because he thought I was worth it. He's the reason that I stopped hating, he wouldn't have made it anyway but he didn't have to do it… But he did." Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes for a second before they open wide again. "My vision though, we were being loaded onto boats and there was a blonde lady there, she was shot because she was trying to help some kids that they were shooting at."
"Mmm. Yes, a lot of people hated the evolved for the bomb, and I could spend hours on that topic alone, but I don't think there's any need right now," Melissa murmurs, brow furrowing, thoughts turning in a direction she doesn't want it to go. A little shake of her head and she nods. "The evolved are just like the non-evolved. Some are good, some aren't so good. It's a good thing that man did for you, saving your life. And I'm glad it took away some of the hate you felt towards the evolved, especially given your own evolved status."
Mention of the vision has her nodding slightly. "Was this vision on the day that everyone seemed to have visions, Delia? Or is your ability one that allows you to see visions of the possible future? Either way, it's just a potential future, not one that will definitely happen." Or at least she hopes that's the case.
"Yeah, it was a vision on that day, my.. ability.. isn't anything like that. I have to be asleep," she smiles a little and lowers her head as her cheeks turn a particular shade of pink. "And… another person has to be asleep too… and I have to be touching them." The pieces of phrases are very slow in coming together, mostly because the young woman turns a shade redder with every small admission. "So you see, it's no wonder I didn't know. Heck, I could have been evolved for years and I wouldn't have known it."
She lets off a sardonic little laugh and shakes her head again, ending it all with a sigh. "My dad calls it dream walking, the doctor called it Oniermancer or something like that. But like I said, I have to be asleep, and the other person has to be asleep, and we have to be touching. So it's not that useful unless I … start sleeping with someone."
The blushing and embarrassment has Melissa grinning, and trying to hide it. "Well, you could just sleep with a hand on someone's shoulder, so there doesn't have to be anything romantic about it, but I see your point. But back to the point…You're afraid to register because of the vision you have? You think that if you do, you'll be rounded up and put on a boat and possibly shot?"
"Something like that… I think we were on boats because we were running. I was scared and I didn't know anyone there, my dad has this friend…" Delia pauses and clicks her thumbnails against each other slowly, tick tick tick. Shrugging, she continues, her voice a little softer than before. There's a general sense of peace about the redhead when she talks about the woman. "She sort of looks after me, you know? Watches my back when he's not around. If she wasn't with me, then something really horrible was happening. She wouldn't leave me alone like that, ever. Heck, she even picks me up from work if she thinks it's getting too late."
"Have you told this woman about your vision? Or your father?" Melissa asks, head cocking. "Told them about your worries from your vision? But as I said before, it's entirely possible it won't actually happen. A lot of people had a lot of different visions, and I find it hard to believe that all of them would come true."
Her eyebrows twitch again and Delia looks down at her feet. "I told him when he was asleep, when I got pulled into his head. A lot of stuff happened in there, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me to register. He's registered, but he's not evolved… He's sort of…" A line forms in the middle of her forehead and she tenses her jaw and unclenches it for a few moments before continuing. "He's on the other side of things, with HomeSec. Before I would admit that I was evolved, he knew, he and Huru— his friend both knew."
With Delia looking down she misses the tension that comes into Melissa's shoulders, before she can force herself to relax. But 'HomeSec' and 'Huruma' are two words that she's very not fond of. "Like I said in the elevator, legally I have to say that you should Register. But since this is confidental, I'll tell you that I think it's a personal choice. I'm Registered, but only because I had no choice. There are reasons on both sides of the issue, and in the end, it's a personal choice, not something that anyone else can decide for you."
Delia looks up again and her lips go up at one side in a half smile, it's a frightened one. "Yeah, I wanted to wait until after the visions to register, just in case. I don't want to be on a list for easy picking, you know? It sounds stupid and paranoid, but all the same…" She ends her statement with a long sigh and purses her lips. "The doctor told me that if my vision did come true, that things would only get worse if I was caught. But if they do come true, they'll know that I'm evolved, right now… they don't know.. except my dad… but I think he's worried too."
"I can't say the doctor is entirely wrong," Melissa says with a wry smile. "If you are caught without registering, you can get into trouble. Which is part of why I said it's a personal choice. No one can decide for you if you want to risk that trouble. But…Why don't you give me your name and a number I can reach you at? I might be able to help."
Melissa's request earns another flush of embarrassment from Delia, "This is going to sound medieval but, I don't have a cell phone." The confession is quick and painful, like ripping off a bandaid. "All I have is the phone at home and I live with my dad. If— If you have a number, I'll get a trackphone or something and give it to you as soon as I get it?" The redhead might be the last person on the planet without a mobile, even her dad has a mobile. "I haven't had a cell since mine broke during the storms. No insurance and it froze up."
"Yeah, I'll bet a lot of people's phones did," Melissa says, nodding and smiling sympathetically. She stands and finds a piece of paper, scribbling a number down on it. It's offered to Delia. "I can't promise anything, but I like helping people when I can."
"Thanks, I'll get a phone with my next paycheck, or something." Or something might be roping her dear old dad into buying it for her under the guise of safety. Standing up, Delia folds the paper and places it carefully in the back pocket of her jeans and then tucks her fingers into the front pockets, letting her thumbs hang out. "Thanks for the advice, but… Can I ask you one more question? And will you answer honestly?"
"If you weren't registered already, would you do it now? Or would you try to find a way around it?" It's a loaded question and Delia knows it, she knows it very well.
"Personally, I don't think the government has any right to demand we register. I think it's an invasion of privacy and steals away our rights under the guise of national security. So no, if I could get away without Registering, I would," Melissa answers honestly and with a small shrug.
Melissa's answer is given a smile in return, a genuine smile that reaches the tall woman's eyes. "Thanks, that's sort of how I feel just in better words." Delia pulls one of the hands out of her pocket and waves it lightly before walking to the door. "I better scoot, I have to be at work really soon. Lucky thing it's not far away. Thanks for taking the time… you've given me even more to think about." Then she pulls open the door and wanders back toward the elevators, this time she actually knows where she's going.