Library Conversations

Participants:

heather_icon.gif jennifer_icon.gif mallory_icon.gif

Scene Title Library Conversations
Synopsis Jennifer, Mallory, and Heather have a conversation in the library.
Date October 26, 2008

Columbia University

A member of the Ivy League, Columbia University was one of the first colleges established in the United States. Its buildings and greenswards occupy over 32 acres in Morningside Heights; the university offers a number of quality degrees, from law to nursing, and is also the home of the Pulitzer Prize. Its student body is very diverse, and active in myriad pursuits, from student-run WKCR, what may be the oldest FM radio station in the world, to the Columbia University Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs. It is home to thirteen fraternities, four sororities, and several multicultural organizations.


Another quiet night in the library; some students are studying or writing or whatever it is students do. Mallory is a little young to be a student here, but not so young she's out of place. She's settled in by one of the computers, leaning back in her seat and scowling at the monitor, hands on the grummy keyboard.

Jennifer can think of a lot of places she'd rather be on a Sunday night. Such as, anywhere. But right now, she's got work to do, and that involves here. She enters the library, heading for one of the tables, and tugs out her Macbook.

Heather, of course, if just fine sitting in the library on a Sunday. What else is she going to do? Hang out with her roomie, the drunk? Nah. This is much quieter and peaceful. currently, she's situated at one of the tables and has a plethora of books surrounding her. Well, maybe not that many. But a few. In front of her, cute little pink flowers bloom on the screen of her Gateway laptop. Who let her choose that wallpaper? Between typing, and writing on a pad, she looks like she's working on a full scale paper.

Mallory rises from her seat, shoves the chair back, and stands. Thrusting her arms over her head to stretch them as she walks, she happens to pass by Jennifer and, in turn, Heather. Heather's wallpaper gains her a disgusted little noise from Mallory as the high school student heads for a vending machine.

Jennifer looks up as she sees some other people in the vicinity. "Anyone else suffering through Blake's psych paper?" she asks, making small talk, or trying to as she works on her laptop.

"It's a pain in the neck, isn't it." Heather responds, glancing up as she hears Mallory's noise. Having no clue what the girl's problem is, she shrugs it off and looks over at Jennifer. "You'd think he'd give us an easier topic." She rolls her eyes, waving a hand over the books in front of her. "It's like ten different books by ten different people."

Mallory shoots an annoyed glance Jennifer's way for whatever reason; maybe just because the other girl talked. In any case, she retreats out of sight for the moment to retrieve a can of Coke from the vending machine. KA-CHUNK.

Jennifer looks over to Heather, and nods. "God, tell me about it. The last thing I want to do is be sitting here on a Sunday night. Weekends should not be for writing papers. You majoring, or minoring?" She looks over to Mallory, and the expression, before grinning back to Heather. "Looks like -someone- is PMSsing."

Heather chuckles, her auburn hair swishing as she shakes her head side to side. "I agree. There's better things I'd rather be doing right now." Like, out fighting crime, maybe? "I'm majoring. Psychology. Minor in physics." There's almost a bit of a snort from Heather as she glances just in time to see Mallory disappear briefly. "Yeah, no doubt." No one would ever take offense at her wallpaper. Really!

Hssstpchik. Mallory opens the can on her way back to her seat. "You guys mind? Libraries are supposed to be quiet," she says flatly.

Jennifer looks back to Heather, and grins. "Minoring here; Drama major." And then Mallory is coming back through. "What are you, a cartoon character?" She says, vaguely irked. "We're talking quietly. If you want isolation, there's study rooms that way." She points. "Or get an iPod."

"Interesting choice of studies there." Heather nods. Though like hers are any less weird. PSychology and Physics. Yeah, she can analyze the feelings of particles. "If I could tone it down any further I'd be sucking conversation from the room rather than contributing to it." Jennifer's comments draw a short giggle from Heather. "I hear iPods are coming down in price these days."

Mallory glances between the other two, snorts, and mutters, "God, I hate people." It's all very typical high school outcast. She looks like her hair could stand to have a comb run through it, too. She makes her way back to her seat and grumpily sits down again, shooting a scowl over her shoulder at the other two. She is not nearly far enough away from them for her liking!

Jennifer looks back to Heather, amused as Mallory has her snit. She looks to the redhead. "Emo much?" A grin accompanies her question. "Jennifer, by the way."

"If you want to go somewhere without people, feel free to let me know. I can send you there easily enough." Heather holds out her hand in plain view for Mallory and opens up just the tiniest of vortexes. It's only open for maybe half a second and not even remotely large enough to make a sound or suck anything in. Once it's gone, she gives Mallory a grin before turning back to her fellow psych student. "Heather. I thought your face looked famliar. I think we are in the same psych class time."

Mallory's eyes widen; she stares at the vortex Heather called up, then at the other girl's face. "You didn't just… in public. Are you registered?"

Jennifer stares at the little vortex herself, eyes wide. "Whoa. What was that?" That seems to have a lot more interest to her than the discussion of the psych class. Go fig.

Heather glances around. Highly doubtful that anyone would notice a vortex the size of a kernel of corn that lasted maybe three to five seconds. "I might be. Then again, I might not be either. Does that matter to you?" She stares at Mallory for a moment, before tossing a grin towards Jennifer. "That…was the reason I'm majoring in physics. Think….wormhole"

Mallory's eyebrows go up; she swallows and curls her hands up, palms clammy. "What would you do if it did matter and I had a problem with it?"

Jennifer just looks back wide-eyed. "Wormhole…like Stargate?" Cause that's about the extent of most people's familiarity with it. And she looks back to Mallory with a dedicated "Are you nuts" expression. "Toss you into deep space, maybe?"

"Kinda like Stargate. Yeah." Heather nods, her paper totally out of mind right now. "Basically a portal from one location to another. That is, unless I decide it not to go anywhere. Still haven't figured out where things go when I do that." A hint of amusement floats through her voice as she talks and looks towards Mallory. It's the body language that gives away the nervousness. Eyebrows ftw! "Calm down, kiddo." Even though she's not that much difference in age from herself. "I'd ask that you politely leave. Or else, I'd leave and find someplace a little more 'isolated' to study in." Library checkout cards help.

Mallory glances at Jennifer, nose wrinkling, then back at Heather. She nods slightly. "You don't feel threatened by the anti-Evolved sentiment out there?"

Jennifer looks really impressed. "That has got to be the coolest thing -ever-. You can teleport." She looks to Heather, with eyes wide.

Heather's grin falters at Mallory's question. "Sometimes, yes. Sure there are a few Evolved out there causing trouble that give us a bad name. But the rest of us aren't all that bad." Or at least she isn't. She hasn't killed anyone with her power. "Sometimes I think the Linderman Act was both a blessing and a curse." Ok, serious discussion time over. Time to bring the smile back as Jenn mentions teleporting. "Not exactly. Think of it like the express train to anywhere."

Mallory gives Heather a thoughtful look, finally taking a sip of her drink. Her gaze flits between the other two. "Even places you haven't been?"

Jennifer looks impressed. "That's awesome. And cool that you're more open about it. Lots of people are all stressed over the whole thing."

"Just gotta give me something to go off of." Heather nods in Mallory's direction. "A picture is the easiest. Coordinates is next easiest. But basically you show my a picture of anywhere, I can open a portal there." It's a dangerous power she wields. What's not to stop her from opening a vortex into a bank vault? Her shoulders shrug a bit and her gaze darts to Jennifer. "I don't hide my power. What would be the point of having it, if I had to hide it? So long as I don't kill anyone, I'm fine. Even registered." There's the answer to Mallory's original question as Heather produces her registration card.

Mallory leans far out of her seat to squint at the card. Huh. "You could have people after you just for having a power in the first place," she says. And has another sip of her drink. "What happens if you try to go somewhere fictional?"

Jennifer looks over. "Or you could not have been so uptight about it. And why would you -try-? Gate yourself into a book or something."

Heather slips the card back into her pocket after it's viewed. "I pity the person who comes after me trying to get my power. Or make me use it for something I don't approve of." That mugger got off easy the other night. Glancing between the two girls, she closes the lid to her laptop. Paper is pretty much forgotten now. "Fictional places to work. If I were to try and create a vortex to a fictional location, it just collapses in on itself immediately. As if it doesn't know where to come out at."

Mallory almost absently flips Jennifer the bird without looking in her direction. "So you've tried fictional stuff. Huh. Drawings, or just photographs? And coordinates, you said?"

Jennifer makes a face back at Mallory, and puts her laptop away. "Okay…It's been great, guys…but I gotta split." She looks to Heather. "I'll catch you in class, okay?"

"Don't party too much, Jenn." Heather teases, a wide grin stretching across her face as she does. "See you there." Attention turns back to Mallory. The younger girl is certainly curious about her ability, and she's more than happy to oblige. "Yeah. Lattitude and longitude coordinates. It's a little harder to focus on those, but it gets easier the more I do it." A frown immediately appears on her face as she finishes that sentence. It almost sounds as thought she does it often.

"Have fun brushing your hair," Mallory deadpans in Jennifer's direction. Another sip of Coke. "So that's kind of relying on your knowledge of geography maybe. The coordinates."

Heather offers a wave as Jennifer disappears. Settling back in her chair, she resumes her conversation with Mallory. "Oh yes. That's why I spent quite a bit of time in high school and my first year of college here neck deep in geography information and classes." Casually she closes one of the books in front of her. It's more an idle move than anything else. "Enough about me. What about you? Any fun abilities? Or are you just your run of the mill teen?"

Mallory has another long sip and shakes her head. "Is sarcasm a super power?"

"Only if it brings others to a screeching halt." Heather laughs, shaking her head. "Just your run of the mill teen then. One that needs to brush up on her people skills." Humor just drips off that last little bit. "I'm just kidding. When I was your age I was kinda the same way." But that, for Heather, seems like ages ago.

Mallory sounds dubious. Not that that's anything new. "I'm not brushing up on anything," she says flatly. "'When you were my age'? How old are you, anyway?"

Heather doesn't seem detered by the fact she's not changing the way Mallory acts. She's not really trying to. "I didn't say you /had/ to. Just something to think about for the future." She shifts just a bit in her chair, propping her elbows up on the table in front of her. "I'm twenty one. If I had to guess, I'd say you're around eighteen or nineteen."

Mallory looks back at her computer screen, which has gone into screensaver mode. She frowns, checking her watch. "Close enough," she tells Heather as she stands. A notebook and pen are stuffed into her black and purple backpack, which is zipped and shouldered. "Gotta go."


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October 26th: Cherry Cobbler
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October 26th: Petty Bribery
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