Participants:
| Scene Title | Is This Thing On? |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | The company telepath goes out for lunch and her mental radio goes on the fritz. |
| Date | September 4, 2008 |
The Orchid Lounge, owned by the mother of Senator Nathan Petrelli, is an Asian-inspired martini bar lit by candlelight and the soft glow of wall sconces spaced evenly throughout the room. Although there aren't any employees at the door to check for identification, it's unusual to find anyone in the college-aged crowd at the Lounge, which caters to young professionals with plenty of extra money to burn. During the day, the plush burgundy drapes affixed to the windows are used to filter out the sounds of traffic and at night are drawn back to allow passers
by a glimpse inside.
Seating is simple: clusters of rectangular tables fashioned from white marble, each with two leather benches parallel to the longest sides. Silk pillows in varying shades of red, brown, yellow and orange lend a splash of colour to the Lounge, vivid against the pale walls and black-painted cement floor. On one wall is a giant mirror with an intricately carved frame that reflects almost everything in the room and makes the space appear twice as large as it really is. Clearly, the proprietor of this establishment wanted to get her money's worth - real estate in this part of town isn't cheap!
It's the lunch hour, a little busy of course, some hustle and bustle moves around and it seems that at least one officer of the law has decided to stop in here for something to munch on. Officer Trask is at one of the tables in the corner,sipping on a coffee, and making his way through a cup of soup, while reading reports.
It seems this is a nice little spot, and a young doctor is already over at one of the tables waiting for some sushi that she had jus ordered. She's dressed rather casually in a blouse and a pair of comfortable looking jeans, the most casual out of everyone here as she looks over a few journal articles..all from JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The steady buzz of background noise, is completely unaffected by the police officers presence, at least in the real world, on the other hand the dull roar to Doctor always seems to hear in the back just seems to begin to go on the fritz, stopping and then starting up every so often for no apparent reason. Something that likely has never happened before. Ten feet away the police officer is eating his soup. As he reaches for the salt he comes just within range of the Doctor, as he sits back down everything goes back to normal. A little more salt static again. Seems he has some problems with the seasoning of his soup
The steady buzz of people's surface thoughts has been quieted down to the point that it usually doesnt bother her. It's something she's lived with for a good part of her life, ever since she manifested at the age of sixteen. However, when things all of a sudden go quiet, she blinks blankly and looks alarmed. What? She didnt concentrate really hard? Something she's been trying for years has suddenly happened.
Everytime she shifts her position to just be out of his ten foot range,her powers go on once more and she winces, not having adjusted the volumeof other people's surface thoughts. Claudine winces and closes her eyes, doing it again,until she goes back into his range. It's shut off again. The young woman looks confused and worried as she looks around the room now, trying to remember everyface, describing people in her little notebook. JAMA be damned.
Trask goes on eating his soup, acting like nothing is wrong in the world. He definitly stands out in his blue uniform. He turns another page on his report and leans away from her to get a drik from his soda, and her power comes back on again….possibly just happenstance, right?
Claudine blinks once more as she hears people's surface thoughts once more. This is all so confusing and she winces. Perhaps it's time to go in for a check up..or something, so as a little experiment..she tries to listen in on specific people's thoughts. Assuming she can read everyone's thoughts one at a time, something is just probably wrong with her…
As she does her little scan of the room she picks up the waitresses thoughts as she approaches the table, the woman smiles at her and then passes behind her and suddenly the thoughts end mid sentence. The rest of the room is still a steady buzz though.
Now this is horribly confusing. SHe can still hear the buzz of people's thoughts, but not that waitress. Could she have an evolved ability? Who knows? Claudine makes note of the waitress' name and jots it down. Okay, now she's paranoid. She doesnt want to think it's something wrong with her afterall.
And then the power goes out completely again. Just pure peace and quiet. And it stays out, <Since the Police Officer readjusted his chair a little, to get a better view of the waitress walking away.> He flips a few more reports as Claudine finds herself trapped in her own mind, no matter which way she leans now, unless she actually gets up and moves.
She's not trapped in her own mind per se, but it's just an odd experience. It seems she's taken for granted being more connected to people through her abilities and now, her head is just filled with her own thoughts. How terribly disconcerting! Claudine puts the back of her hand on her forehead, making sure she isnt feverish and then just looks around. She's still hoping that there's someone blocking her powers and it isnt caused by her own malfunctioning powers. So she continues to make a note of everyone present.
Trask stands up and puts his money on the table, he turns to walk out, passing right by Claudine' table as he gets about 10 feet past her the buzz comes back. Then he stops in his tracks, frowns, and turns back around, walking back to his table, -Silence- He picks up his folder of papers he left. "Can't forget these."
Claudine isnt stupid. Her powers seem to flare on and off and now she's making some sort of connection with the man. She peers towards him, trying to see if there's a name, a badge, something. She smiles warmly and lets out a nervous chuckle as she wrinkles her nose and nods. "Oh, that would be a shame.."
Trask collects his files and nods to Claudine, smiling, then he heads for the door again. As he gets outside range there is little doubt left in her mind, as she is assaulted by the sudden return of her powers again.
This time she was prepared. She had her suspicions and it seems they were right. She lets out a sigh of relief as she isnt the one experiencing the wierdness. As he leaves, Claudine pulls out her cellphone and gives someone a call..
Trask doesn't even know he's in trouble of course, he just goes about his work day normally.
 September 3rd: The More Things Change... |
 September 4th: A Recent Death |