The Perk [Wednesday afternoon]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

So it turned out that the newspaper from yesterday hadn't been incorrect, and Irene had apparently either been thrust into a very stupid joke, or traveled through time. She was open to either -- if anyone in the world was capable of either or both those things at once, it was the man who'd placed her here -- but the most important thing to her mind was to figure what had happened in the two-odd years she'd missed.

So, Wednesday found her taking a break from her own inventory and curling up in the corner of the coffee shop she'd found with a stack of newspapers and her laptop. (And coffee and a muffin, of course. She could not live on news alone.) She'd work her way through the print media, first (careful not to get any ink smudges on her skin or clothes), and then see what the internet had to offer. That seemed like the most efficient way to do this.

"Oh, good," she murmured to herself as she perused the entertainment section. "Those damned Kardashians are still around."

She'd kind of hoped that a perk of time-travel (if she had done such a thing) would be that the bothersome people of her own time might be solidly out of the spotlight, at least. No such luck.

[ooooopen!]

Comments

[newroutines]

Wow, look at Mike actually being on Fandom and neither tipsy nor hungover! Yeah, he'd maybe lost a few weeks to some really unwise coping mechanisms. But maybe he was over it now? God, he hoped he was, because he knew how that whole thing worked and the kinds of things he didn't want to go back to.

Not that he was thinking about that right now. He had a notebook and a pen in hand when he made his way in, and he headed straight to the counter to order an iced coffee. He needed one. Sleevelessness alone would not keep him cooled down.

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

No, but he did cut an admirable figure with those sleeves being absent, and all. Irene certainly took notice, glancing up from her newspaper to smile at the new arrival.

She also noted the pen and notebook, almost as quickly as the sleevelessness, and decided he was clearly too old to be a student. (She hoped. Otherwise this would probably be much more boring than she'd like.)

"Is it terribly warm out?" she asked politely, once she saw that he was in fact in possession of an iced coffee. "I haven't quite adjusted enough to the climate here to spend much time out of air-conditioning."

[newroutines]

"It is pretty hot out there, yeah," Mike confirmed, having turned away from the counter to look for a place to sit. He was grasping that damn iced coffee like his life depended on it. Or like he just wanted maximum coldness against his hand. "'S why I'm here putting ice in things that are usually hot."

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Naturally," Irene agreed, watching him. She moved her stack of newspapers so there was an empty seat, if he'd like it, but she wasn't going to actually offer it, just yet. "This might sound like a silly question, but it's July, isn't it? I know that sounds idiotic, but I swear it wasn't when I left home, so...."

[newroutines]

"Yeeeah, that happens sometimes," Mike said with the kind of sympathetic look that suggested he'd been around this island a while. "Yeah, it's July. The fourth is on Friday."

He'd noted the empty seat, but wasn't making a move for it yet.

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

She squinted at him a little, then the significance of the fourth actually registered. "Oh, it's Independence Day, right. That'll be fun. I've never been in the States for it, before."

She was being remarkably calm in the face of confirmation of time travel or mental illness or something, really, but what was she supposed to do about it?

"Have you been here long?" she asked. "Just a guess. I feel like I'm telegraphing my newness with stupid questions, every time I talk to someone."

[newroutines]

"Getting closer to two years now." And wasn't that a weird thing to realize? Jesus Christ, no wonder he'd been going off the rails lately. "Gets easier, I promise. It's an adjustment for most folks, but you get used to all the... funky time differences, and all."

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Oh, so this is a common problem?" Irene flashed him a smile, rolling her eyes at herself. "And here I was thinking I might be awfully unusual. Really sort of makes me feel better, in a way. Always nice to hear you're not just a loon, you know?"

[newroutines]

Mike's smile was a bit crooked, but sincere. "Yeah, Fandom's common problems are sorta not so common elsewhere, you know? That kind of thing happens all the time."

Among other things. Because the island was ridiculous.

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Oh goody." Irene arched her brows. "What other sort of fun do I have to look forward to? I'm not wholly convinced this isn't a hallucination, you know, but I ought to be prepared to make the best of it. It can't be so bad here, though, if you've stayed so long, Mr....?"

[newroutines]

"Mike," he said. "Well okay, if we're going with the Mr. part, then it's Lane. But just Mike is fine."

And here was where he actually stepped closer to her table. He set his notepad and pen down on one corner of it so he could actually lean over and offer her his hand. Manners, see?

"Hello."

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Irene," she said with a bright smile, shaking the offered hand delicately. "Adler, with we're doing the last names bit, but I'm okay with not. D'you want to have a seat, Mike? You're welcome to."

Besides, she was already interested in his notepad. "Unless you were going to do work, or something, and would prefer to be alone."

[newroutines]

"Nah, no work," Mike said, as he moved to take the offered seat. Sitting by a pretty lady was no hardship. "I was just gonna work out some plans for the next phase in my house renovations."

So, not an overaged student. Just a guy trying to figure out his house to get his head on straight.

"Nothing that can't wait."

[throughaphase]

After spending some time at the gym practicing her dance stuff, Kitty stopped in at the Perk to get whatever kind of iced tea looked good. And hey, it meant she got to wave at the new girl while she waited for her order.

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

People here were remarkably friendly. Irene could get used to this, and waved back at the girl. "What'd you get?" she asked, peering at Kitty's cup. "I think I might've made the most boring choice possible, just because it's only my first time here."

[throughaphase]

"We're going with the trusty raspberry lemonade iced tea today," Kitty said with a smile. "What's the most boring choice possible?"

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Iced coffee, black," Irene said, holding it up with a sigh. "Caffeine was more of a priority than experimentation, I'm afraid. Muffin's good, though."

She raised an eyebrow at the girl, curious. "You've been here long enough to develop favorites, though, which is an advantage."

[throughaphase]

"I've been here two years and it's close to home. Sometimes I'm amazed they don't have my drink waiting for me when I get here," Kitty said. "How new are you?"

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"This is my second full day," Irene admitted, twirling her straw a little. "So quite, quite new. I rather like it so far, though. It's...quiet, here. That's probably because the students are on the other island, though, isn't it?"

Oh, Irene. Still thinking that your biggest problem is the teenagers, you silly.

[throughaphase]

"Partly. That's temporary, though. There was constant singing, I guess." Not Kitty's problem, mwahaha. "But it can definitely be quiet here normally. There aren't a ton of people and it's a small town."

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Perfect," Irene sighed. "That's absolutely perfect." She had had quite enough excitement for awhile, thank you. "So, what do you do here, on this very quiet island, Miss....?"

[throughaphase]

"Kitty Pryde," she said. "I teach, and I run one of the bars here on island. And I run the radio station. Which I know makes me sound like a crazy person?"

Wait until she also started superheroing again!

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Not necessarily crazy, just a very busy girl," Irene commented lightly. "And I suppose that with so few people on the island, one might need to double-up on duties." She wondered what unusual, unexpected new hobbies she might pick up while here. "D'you have a favorite?"

[throughaphase]

"Not really. I love teaching, and wouldn't mind keeping that up," Kitty admitted. "But I've been running Caritas since I was eighteen and it's been all me, so it's sort of my baby that way, you know?"

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

Irene's brows shot up. "You're quite young to be so enterprising," she noted. "Not something you see so much, these days."

She approved. Irene had been around Kitty's age when she'd gotten started with her own empire, after all. (Slightly different business, but still.)