Participants:
| Scene Title | Muffin Break |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A chance introduction- - proper this time. |
| Date | September 23, 2020 |
Break Room, Bio-Science Wing
Never a dull day at Raytech, or at least that's how Delilah has been settling in. Maybe it's her. She did only have minimal employ before the war… and after, well, there was a lot of working on her own. A workplace like this one can be overwhelming at times; to make it just a little less intimidating, Dee sometimes brings carbs to the break room on her floor. The easy way to make nice is muffins, bagels, maybe some donuts. They always disappear by lunchtime. First come first serve- - but the muffins in particular are big enough to be split. Good luck with that.
In the time before she's set to meet with someone, Delilah is hanging out in the break room with a textbook in her lap, periodically sticking tiny paper tabs onto the edges of pages. There is some sort of codifying, but nothing obvious.
"…This syllabus is a fucking disaster." The redhead mutters, comparing a paper0l0
o some of the book's contents, features twisted in a frown.
Some people always seem to know when there's food for the taking. No matter which floor or which office, it draws like a cat to a can opener. Jac Childs is one of those. She’s at least waited out of sight until the offering had been placed and attention from it fixed onto something else entirely unrelated.
While Delilah mutters over a textbook, the teenager wanders into the break room with an air of belonging. She's a familiar face throughout the company; an intern who's quick to help and always ready to learn, known to insert herself into some pretty advanced topics without fear of how little she knows. It's an approach that seems to take her a lot of places, too. Like now.
She makes a beeline for the counter and it's treasures without concern of being stopped. Jac glances at Dee in passing, but only really pauses to look at the woman after a bagel and a muffin have been liberated. The first one is wrapped in a napkin, either for someone else or for later. The other is held in a hand and, with her attention settling on Delilah — she's seen the older redhead somewhere, she's sure — a much slower departure is made.
If there's something she's learned how to do, it's to sense the presence of someone beelining into the kitchen to nip a snack. Usually they aren't supposed to, though. The spidey-sense is still there. It's when Jac hovers that little bit that Delilah arches a look upwards, instinct expecting a nine year old and getting someone else.
"Hey," A smile blooms for the teenager, an expression too familiar to be totally unknown. "You're Jac, right? I've seen you around here…" Delilah marks her page and closes up the book, keeping a curious eye on the girl. She doesn't bring up where they first met, instead opting for a less abrasive opening. "You're Gillian's, right? I don't think we've met…" Searching, squinting, "Properly."
"Delilah." A tiny wave, rather than an attempt to get into Jac's bubble. There. The name should ring a bell, at least in passing.
If there's an expectation of guilt, it's definitely missing from Jac’s face as she breaks off a bite of muffin. Unless there's a name on it, or it's a cake that isn't cut into, food in the breakroom is fair game. Nearly shuffling steps do come to a stop when Delilah speaks up, and she angles herself to look at the woman more directly.
“Yes, I'm an intern.” Inquiry of Delilah’s presence in the building hangs from her tone and a faint, curious frown. “I've seen you at the Doyle library, with… your kid?” She's sure that's where she remembers the woman from, sometimes talking to Gillian or with a small, red headed boy.
“Gillian’s my mom,” Jac adds in quick afterthought.
"Yep… that's me. With the kid." Delilah's brows arch up, and she briefly mulls 'the lady with the kid' being how she's known off the cuff. Oh, well, damn. She's that one, huh? At least it's something. Still, she smiles, albeit sheepishly. "I've known your mom for years." Fingers lift to trace the air near her face, " Ever since the days where she wore three eyes' worth of makeup."
Must have definitely been a long time ago.
"I'm interning in bio-tech," Delilah can tell when she's dealing with curiosity. The book in her lap gets a short, idle wave. Something about introductions to genetics. "Management, not science-fairy." That's an Eve-ism she's been fond of, truthfully. "I'm sure I'll get roped into something, though, the way things are around here…"
When the book is motioned to, Jac tips her head for a look at the title. It isn't one she's immediately familiar with. However, “Genetics is fascinating. I started reading it because I found out the person who gave birth to me wasn't actually my biological mom. My lineage is… pretty complicated.” Obviously, if she felt the need to study genetics.
“I've been shadowing Richard,” she goes on, lifting her eyes from the book. “I've asked about learning what he does. And I’m also going to be working with Zachery Miller. I like doing science.”
"Oh, a surrogate? That's… definitely complicated. Did you ever want to find your donors? Is that too personal? It sounds too personal- -" Delilah seems to sympathize with complications, given the upward knit of her brow and the press of her lips. Chattering seems right in her wheelhouse, however.
"Hey, you know, if it helps- - my son has three dads. Sort of. I definitely get 'complicated'." Sympathy turns more vocal, sharing one oddity for another. For all that they have only just formally met, Lilah seems more than happy to be relatable- - even if personal. That's just how she is, for better or worse.
"Shadowing Richard." The older redhead snickers, "I've read Miller's file, not too closely though. He sounded…" Dee squints into the air, debating her choice of words. "Intelligent yet troublesome. Does that seem right?"
Her donors. “I…” Found them. Jac shakes her head. “It's… complicated.” And not something she wants to get into further, if the slight fall of her expression gives any hint to that. She's relieved for the change in subject, even if she isn't sure what's funny about shadowing Richard.
“Yeah. Watching, learning what he does.” She's even less sure if it needs to be explained, or if there's some joke Delilah knows that she isn't privy to. Jac lifts a shoulder slightly. “Sounds like how people might describe me. Curious to a fault, knows things she shouldn't? Besides, some things might never have been discovered if people weren't curious enough to try even when they're afraid.”
"Curiosity we have in common. But I know that some real shits were curious too. I'm just glad that Raytech… well, isn't one of those." Not in this world. Delilah smiles to one side, quiet for a moment more. "I'm glad that they have people your age here. You're lucky, even if it's just learning by example…." Something sad comes and goes.
"I'm only just now taking classes… Always wanted to, but never had time. Had a baby, and ah, there was a war on." Delilah raises her brows, chuckle a bit dry. "Is there anything in particular you might want to study? I'm winging it just a liiittle." Complete with the miming of her fingers around something teensy.
“I don't… know,” Jac says slowly, like she didn't know it's something she should be deciding sooner than later. “I missed most of a year, so I have to catch up again. And then I need to take the exit exams.” It seems like a lot, with the only reprieve being that she, like Delilah seems to be doing before she interrupted, is able to do some of that schoolwork while at Raytech.
The teen shakes her head slightly, shoulders lifting with a small shrug. “I like to know how things work, and solving puzzles. So maybe I'll stick with something science? Maybe medical science, or engineering. Or something in physics. Forensics is interesting too. I don't know, there's so much to choose from.”
"You're tellin' me. Once upon a time I was thinking about nursing, or opening a pub, even flight lessons, now I'm reading a textbook on genetics." The journey from Undecided to…elsewhere, that's a curvy road. "Sounds like some kind of forensics is right up your alley, Jac. All that mystery with nobody to solve it… and I remember way back, when I first met you… coming to the council meeting about the underground and having made all of those maps… that was clever and brave." It is after a short discussion that Delilah doesbreach the subject, a tender sort of approach even then.
"I'm- - " Dee chews on her lip, just for a few long seconds. "I'm really happy for you, I want you to know. Even if we're not really, er, more than acquaintances, I know just how hard it is out there." And from the sound of her words, a personal experience. "You couldn't have made better friends in the Lighthouse kids, and Gillian is amazing."
Looks like Delilah knows a lot more than she lets on, too; she didn't exactly broadcast it.
Standing up in front of the council, the night Jac let the whole of the Safe Zone know she existed and had more knowledge of the underground than anyone could have imagined. The memory and praise for it brings a warmth to her ears and an uncertain grin. She hadn't thought about those days in a while, even though she still had the maps rolled up and on a shelf at home.
“She is,” Jac agrees with Delilah’s opinion of Gillian quietly. The teen looks down, finding a keen interest in the muffin she'd swiped. “They're all really… the best.” More than she feels she really deserves in friends or family.
"Besides… If the kids adopted you," Delilah chuckles, still amused that she calls them the 'kids' even now. "Then you're not so bad yourself." It's a small attempt at reassurance in the face of that furtive look and the compliments paid to the others; Jac deserves them too. "I hope we get to see more of each other. And if you let me know your favorites- -" The older redhead gestures with a thumb to the baked goods. "I'll be sure to sneak some in for you."
Once, Jac would have readily agreed. The feeling that she's strained her relationships, ruined every chance she'd been given, still haunts her. Being home, fitting into the norm that had been built up over the last year, is difficult at best, but all the same, she tries to hide her doubts behind a thin-lipped grin. “That's very nice of you to offer,” the teen replies, allowing a quick look to the pastries. “I'm not picky, and maybe we’ll be able to work on a project together.”
A beeping chimes from Delilah's pocket, and she glances up at the wall's digital clock rather than whip out her phone. "Ah, looks like I'm outta break. Whoops." As if practiced somehow, she sweeps her book and other things up into one arm, cradling them at one hip when she gives Jac a wide grin in the face of the closed one given.
"I hope so. There's always so much happening." Brows knit as Delilah ambles closer, seemingly going to follow the younger redhead on her way back out.
Nodding, and making a sound that seems to be an agreement, Jac turns from the table. “I should get back too. I have some homework to do, I wanted to get it done before I start on this thing with Doctor Miller.” A shrug follows, likely because whatever the project was will be better explained once it's time to be working on it. It's pretty normal, once one is used to such practices. “I'll see you later, though.”
"Gonna hold you to that," Delilah laughs softly, a hand briefly touching Jac's shoulder as they make their way out. "Have fun with some mad science for me." It's where they part now, with Dee heading one way and Squeaks the other; the former wags her hand in a wave before making her escape.
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