It's All in the Cards

Log Info

Title: It's All in the Cards
Emitter: None
Characters: Mariscka, Adrian, Jonathan, Wilberforce
NPCs: None
Place: Student Center, Steranko Institute
Time: Around Lunchtime - July 2, 2010
Summary: Adrian gets a Tarot reading from Mariscka while Wilberforce watches and afterwards they discuss the future, sports and meddling mothers.

It is a Friday in the Summer, in Cove City, Maryland. The temperature coupled with the humidity makes being outdoors in Mariscka's typical attire stifling - even if it's all cotton. So the woman has put up her 'sign' and wandered into the Student Center, taking over her little room she uses for Tarot readings. Having just finished a salad, the young woman slurps on her smoothie as she basks in the glory of modern Air Conditioning.

Adrian is on his break between classes for the day, and since he enjoyed the day outside yesterday— including an impromptu flight around campus —he's opting for air conditioning today. The reason for this includes the fact that he saw an ad in the school paper that piqued his interest: Tarot Readings. Mom would never approve. And this, coupled with the person doing those readings, is why he's heading to the second floor of the student center. Adrian, who is fast becoming 'Adj' thanks to Linus' nickname for his twin, has a soda in hand that he grabbed from the snackbar downstairs. He'll grab his real lunch before Ethics class.

Knock. Knock. Adrian taps on the door to the room that Mariscka has claimed as her "shop" and the boy pokes his head in with a grin. "Got an opening for a reading?"

Having had her own encounters with the mystic, Jon's much more open to the concept of things like Tarot than she once was. So here she comes to check it out. Who knows, might learn something about her situation, maybe find a lead? Or maybe find unfortunate news. She sees Adrian up ahead, and pauses at the door. "Uhm, mind if I watch, myself?" she asks. "Kinda curious 'bout it all." She can get a reading for herself next time.

Mariscka pauses mid-slurp, silence flooding the room as the hazel-eyed mystic blinks and peers at the door. "Wha….?" she starts peering at both Adrian and Jonathan curiously. Then her cheeks flush faintly and eyes widen. "Wait, you're both serious? Really?!" she gasps before suddenly a flurry of motion cleaning up her little 'workspace' and draping the dark-colored shawl she brought along as a table cloth.

Once that is done, Mari waves both young men/woman into the room. "Come, come, it's fine. Please. I don't mind at all, actually," she notes, smiling brightly and trying to calm her nervousness. "Sit. Whoever is first … they must shuffle the deck," she notes slowly unwrapping the ancient cards from their silk protection. "Oh, and have a question in mind. Nothing frivolous … they get angry when it's frivolous and decide to be mischievious rather than helpful."

Wilberforce has a burger in the generic white wrapper from the cafeteria in hand, one bite missing, as he wanders up to the second floor of the student center. He pokes his head into Mariscka's room when he spots the door open, "Hey Mariscka, had any mo…" then his words trail off as he spots that there are people in there other than just her. "Oh, sorry, um… want me to close the door or something?"

"Hey Jon," Adrian says with a grin over his shoulder at the catgirl, "Nah, I don't mind. If you want to go, you know, ladies first?" There's a teasing sparkle in Adrian's brown eyes at that, but then he moves to pull one of the chairs out across from Mariscka, "Completely serious. I've never done this kind of thing before."

Adrian looks at Jon and then at the deck. After a second of thought, he picks up the cards to shuffle them. He does it with a little reverence, since he's seen what Mari can do with them! "I hope by touching them I don't mess them up… not that I think it works on objects, but, probably should've thought of that first." Another face in the door and another voice, cause Adrian to pause mid-shuffle. "Hey, Wil. What's happenin'?" Adrian doesn't appear to mind an audience. He offers the cards back to Mari. "So, no asking if I'm going to be famous or rich or if I'll get indigestion from lunch, or anything like that? How about: What does having this power I've got mean for me?"

Jon's careful to keep a safe distance from Adrian. She definitely likes being made a guy again, but not when unexpected, and not around people who might not expect it. Like Wilber, someone she doesnt' think she's met yet. He gets a polite nod of greeting. "Believe me, mischevious or angry spirits, gods, whatever, they're major bad news," she says dryly.

Adrian gets a smirk at the ladies first comment. "Definitely no lady," she says, even more dryly than before. If that was dry, this comment could soak up the pool.

Poking her head up at the voice, Mariscka smile at Wilberforce and motions him insde. "Come on …" she says, " -ALL- of you. Though, perhaps close the door after you make your way in. Is the burger good? It just didn't seem appealing today," she states before settling down into a chair and taking the deck from Adrian.

"That's right. No silly questions, but … that last one is good enough. I'll do a pattern called the Two Paths … where you have a focus - something critical which decides what will happen. Then you have a card on the left or the right of that one which is what is drawing you to one of two possible outcomes. And then you have those outcomes," offers Mariscka tapping the table where she is going to put each card.

Wilberforce gives the door a push closed after he slides himself on in. "It's alright, enough mustard, ketchup and pickles can cure any burger, right?" He comes on around and offers it over, "Want to try a bite?" is the offer to Mariscka as he gives a, "Hi Adrian… " the half sure greeting he's giving thinking he has the right brother. "And hi, I'm Wil." He adds for the female looking feline and a cross armed offer of his hand. "I'm guessing it's safe to shake hands with you, I hope?"

"I think Linus and I are the only two on campus that you have to worry about shaking hands with," Adrian says, "And then you've got a fifty-fifty chance of either seeing someone else wind up with your power or winding up without a power at all. Though, Eshe took me flying yesterday and I didn't zap her powers so it's not a sure thing." This confirms Wil's hessitant guess as to which twin it is. Adrian takes a sip of his soda and watches with interest as Mariscka indicates where she's putting the cards before she starts flipping them. "Okay, sounds fair enough."

Top left: Strength. Top Right: Reversed Queen of Cups. Middle left: King of Cups. Middle Right: The Sun. And the bottom card: The Nine of Swords.

Jon offers her fuzzy hand for the shaking. "Jon," she introduces herself. "And yep, I'm safe to shake hands with. Just as long as as you only shake it. Kiss it, and we got problems," she says with a crooked grin." She nods to Adrian. "Looks like it's something you can control in time, which oughta be pretty good." She then goes quiet to watch the cards getting laid out, tail flicking slowly.

"Woops," Jon says as her cell phone rings. "Y'all excuse me, I think that's my uncle, might have some news for me," she says, stepping outside as she answers the phone.

Wilberforce slides into a seat to chew on his burger and watch Adrian get his reading, most of his attention on the reader rather than the cards on the table. But other than that he keeps his mouth shut although he does tilt his head a little bit at the reading. But he resolves his confusion with another bite of burger.

Mariscka is smiling at all and sundry as she starts to flip over Adrian's cards. However, with the last card, the young woman blinks, her hand hovering over it a moment, before she slowly, and carefully withdraws from it. Hazel eyes flash to Adrian, a flicker of concern, before she looks back to the cards with a studeous frown.

Clearing her throat, Mariscka begins explaining each of the cards. "Well, first here on your left," she motions to a card. "This is Strength, and in this position, this represents one outcome. Basically, raw power. Health and physical fortitude. A surge of tremendous force. Recovery from sickness. Victory after apprehension and fear. The ability to face and overcome opposition brings the inner qualities of strength and forbearance. Delays and setbacks will be overcome."

Mariscka then moves towards the card opposite of Strength. "This is the second possible outcome, actually. The Queen of Cups … notice she is up-side down to you. That is what is called reversed. Basically, in this position and in this state she represents the dark essence of water, such as a deep and foreboding lake: Discomfort with the worlds of mind and matter, leading to a retreat to the spiritual. The embrace of negative relationships, driven by the desperate fear of being alone. Devotion to fantasies and daydreams, to the exclusion of practical skills or the pursuit of knowledge. Insecurity leading to dishonor, vice, and undue susceptibility to outside influences." Hazel eyes flick towards Adrian's features a moment, to guage his reaction.

Then the woman's hands are moving on. "This card here, leads to the first outcome. This is the King of Cups and he is the essence of water behaving as air, such as a billowing cloud in the blue sky: Great maturity, endless patience, tolerance of other points of view, and a deep knowledge of human nature. One who intuitively knows the strengths of those around him, and gently cultivates them. Remaining calm and relaxed in all situations, and making artful use of diplomacy or a quiet word to resolve conflicts. The ability to listen to what another person is saying, and truly understand what is in their heart. A rewarding partner and a beloved leader."

Now it is time for the card opposite the King. "This is what leads you to the second outcome. The Sun. This one … well, it may not seem connected but it is. It is a time of contentment and freedom from restraints. Creative inspiration. Achievement, success, and warmth. Light and love in personal or business matters. Happiness and faithfulness in a relationship. Basically … things seem good, but you just sort of … let them happen, rather than trying for yourself."

Finally Mari comes to the final card and frowns at it again. She motions to the card without actually touching it. "This one … this is the critical point, the focus, which will lead you down either path. Here you make a choice … and one choice leads you to this," she says pointing to Strength. "The other leads you to this," she then intones with deep meaning in her voice to the Queen of Cups. "This card … is the Nine of Swords, and represents … well … cruelty. Something is going to happen which causes debilitating mental anguish or ill health. Being dragged down by the dishonor of others. Participation in a shameful or regrettable act. Inescapable guilt, mistrust, and doubt. May indicate a death or other catastrophic loss."

Brown eyes follow the cards and look from them up to the gypsy girl giving the reading. Back and forth. Adrian looks thoughtful, even smiling a little as he listens, until she gets to that last card. That's when the smile drops and he lowers his soft drink. He's quiet for a long moment, brow knitted together with a little bit of worry when she explains what it means. Then, abruptly Adrian grins, "So, something bad is going to happen and because of it I'm either going to be all carefree and happy about the direction things are going that's going to bring me to…"

Adrian gestures to the Queen of Cups, "This upside down lady that will actually prove to be a bad relationship where I'm not going to care about learning and instead let myself be open to bad influences. OR… I'll act maturely, patiently, etc. etc. and wind up strong and able to overcome opposition." Adrian shrugs, "Sounds like a classic good choice, bad choice scenario."

"It is," notes Mariscka, watching the cards for a moment. "But so much of life is defined by our experiences, our choices, and how we handle our mistakes," she notes. Another pause, and a hint of a frown, before the young woman reaches out to try and hurridly draw the cards back into the deck. "It only gets more profound and complicated when we have … certain … abilities."

Continued chewing from camp Wilberforce. Clearly the hamburger might taste alright with the extra mustard and pickles, but the bun and meat have not become more edible as a result. Thus the extra long chewing. Finally he swallows and chimes in a bit, "Doesn't sound too bad. Given what they expect to happen to most of us, I'd be suspicious of any glowingly cheerful future."

"So, what? Now I just watch and wait for something catastrophic to happen?" Adrian asks, his lips quirking upwards. Maybe he's not taking this so seriously as he should. The boy grins at Wilberforce, "I guess that's what I get for asking what my powers would mean for me. The spirits seems to say what everyone else around here says, 'You can be a hero, or you can be a villain'… there should be an option three where 'you get to live a normal life without the spandex and masochism.'"

"That is more along the hero line," offers Mariscka as she starts to wrap the cards up in their silk protection. "You would be a hero to your family, after all. But you still should be careful. But … that is the same with everyone," says the Gypsy girl rolling her shoulders. "Powers or not, someone still /CHOOSES/ to rob a bank, or return a wallet full of money. Someone still /chooses/ to follow the law or break it. This … was just showing the consequences of your choices at a critical juncture in your life. IT could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be when you are a grandfather."

"Hey, at least there are options, right?" Wilberforce adds as he crumples up the wrapper from his burger. Then he tosses it in a long arc towards the trash bin in the corner. "Just it looks like if you choose the wrong one you end up with catastrophic loss. No pressure in that, right?" He asks with a grin.

Adrian watches Mari fold those cards up, and takes another sip of his soda. The boy then glances at Wil. "Is that it? Or is the catastrophic loss the point that the two paths spring off from? Though, option two isn't exactly cheerful." He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, "Either way, no pressure at all. There's potential disaster looming around the corner. No biggie."

Mariscka places her cards down on the table, all wrapped up in silk, then she peers intently at Adrian. She is silent for a very long time, eyes narrowing faintly. "It is from that point of disaster that your path can diverge. It is always from a choice that more than one paths open up." The gypsy-girl opens her lips to say something else, then stops, blinking and rethinking her words. She pulls her lips into a thin line then looks down at the table for a long moment.

"So … gotten into more trouble doing the right thing since the Soda Shop incident?" she suddenly asks to change the subject.

Wilberforce grins, "Is that what that was, the Soda Shop Incident? I think the only trouble I've gotten into since then was my essay on that history test. I got a big red Don't Ramble! on it." Then he looks over at Adrian, "How about you, did you end up asking that girl out?"

Adrian pushes up from the chair he was sitting in during the reading and pushes it back under the table. He nods, sipping at the soda he holds in one hand, while he shoves the other into the pocket of his blue jeans. He shakes his head, "I don't know if you'd call it getting into trouble for doing the right thing." He grins at Wil, "Which girl? Tyche? Yeah, we went to the movies Saturday night and…" Adrian closes his mouth, rethinking what he was going to say. "The movie was nice, but the evening didn't really end on a good note. So, I don't know how that's going to turn out. Probably better anyway. I just got here and I'm just starting to get to know people. No need to rush into a relationship."

That causes Mariscka to blink several times before she shrugs. "Well, even if you were in one, there is no saying you can't hang out with your friends with or without her, right?" she then asks curiously. Mariscka sighs and rises, firmly holding her hand out to Adrian. "I take it you want to leave," she notes, motioning to the returned chair with her other hand. "You don't have to, you know. I know so few people here, and … well, I'd like to make friends and hang out sometime. Threesome, foursome, whatever," she notes, smiling over at Wilberforce.

Mariscka gets a smile back from Wilberforce. "Yeah, I'm not hear for a fortune reading. I just thought I'd come hang out with Mari a bit. Sit and stay a while." He grins a bit more, "What movie did you see? I haven't been in to see one yet, there any theaters close by that have that stadium seating?"

Adrian shakes his head, "I'm not really in a relationship relationship right now. There's a girl back home I had started talking to and there's Tyche, but I don't think one date qualifies as a relationship." Even if she did call him her boyfriend during it. They should probably talk about that at some point, along with other things that happened during said date. Adrian looks at Mari's hand and then shakes his head. "Thanks for the reading, but I probably should go get something to eat before Ethics class."

"Unless you two want to head down to the snackbar with me. I guess I could just get something to eat there instead of heading all the way over to the Dining Hall. I'd like to get to know you too. Seeing as we thwarted evil together and all." His lips quirk up in amusement at that, then he nods over to Wil. "Yeah, there's one not far from here that's got stadium seating. We saw the new Karate Kid movie. It's not the classic and I was pleasantly surprised that Jackie Chan didn't steal the show, but it was worth seeing."

Slowly Mariscka pulls her hand back and turns the lamp upwards to peer at is, as if trying to figure out what was on it to make it undesirable to touch. "Uh, well… sure, what's a little more sugar to teenagers, hmmm?" she asks, before glancing over at Wilberforce. Her head and shoulders shrug in the direction of the door. "Come on!" she suggests,letting her hands fall to her deck of tarot and scooping it up. She bends to place them in her large bag, then she folks the shawl and puts it in there, too. And still there looks to be plenty of room for more. Is that one of those proverbial Bags of Holding?

"My smoothie is all melted now anyway. And they just aren't as good melted."

Wilberforce gets to his feet as well, "Sure, trip to the snackbar sounds good. That burger wasn't going to cut it as all of lunch anyways." He pushes his chair back in and goes to get the door. "Sounds like a good movie to see. I'm a sucker for any movie with a training montage, they always make me laugh."

Adrian notes Mari's reaction to his not shaking her hand and says, "It's becoming a force of habit for me not to shake hands. Sorry… I'm just trying to retrain myself not to be so hands-on, since it has the potential for disaster around here. The whole thing with Eshe yesterday was because she touched me. Thankfully nothing happened, aside from her giving me a birds-eye-view around campus." He takes his hand out of his pocket and offers it to Mari, "Want me to carry your stuff for you?"

He nods a thanks to Wil when the other boy gets the door. "I'm hoping they have something that's not just loaded with empty carbs down there. But yeah, the movie is totally worth the trip. Last Saturday was crazy crowded there though, so if you do go? I'd say plan on getting there early and do what Tyche and I did. One person wait in line for snacks while the other goes and finds seats."

Mariscka shifts her bag and considers a moment, before she shakes her head. "Oh, thank you, but I'm quite all right. And I do like keeping the cards near me. They were a gift from my great-grandmother," she notes. Seeing the hand outstretched again, Mariscka msiles more and reaches out to shake the offered hand. "I haven't seen the original. Perhaps I will have to go. But knowing the Spirits, my mother will show up and ask me either why I'm not with a boy, or why I'm with a boy and actually /watching/ the movie," she notes with a roll of her eyes. "I dislike being this close to Baltimore … I'd rather be across the country, I think." And as an addendum, mariscka looks over her shoulder and shakes her head. "Mom called last night. Wants pictures of all the cute guys, so she can rate them for me," she offers with a roll of her eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind. With the summer schedule though I'm thinking a weeknight might be the best time to go for a movie. Avoid the big weekend crowd." Wilberforce holds the door while giving Adrian a glance with slightly tighter eyes as he offers to carry Mariscka's bag. Then he adds on to Mariscka's comment about her mother, "Well, why don't you go with me to see the movie. I sure wouldn't mind giving you an excuse to tell your mom some boy took you out."

"That's understandable," Adrian says of her wanting to keep the cards close. "Family heirlooms, then?" He gives her hand a squeeze, "Really, thanks for the reading. It was interesting." He steps through the door just ahead of Mari, oblivious of Wil's reaction to his offer to carry Mari's bags. He's too busy looking back at Mari with upraised brows, "You Mom wants you to date? And she wants to… rate the guys here?" That isn't normal, and everything about Adrian's expression says it. "So, why don't you go with a guy to the movies? I'd offer, but I've already seen it." And then Wil offers, "See… a willing volunteer. I think I'd go crazy if Mom lived closer… she's great and all, but it's nice to get some space."

"Let me give you a little background on my family," starts Mariscka, smiling after Adrian. Though, she does pause to blink at Wilberforce, and considers. "I might take you up on that," she notes with that warm and easy smile of hers, before looking back to Adrian. "My mother had me a few months before her nineteenth birthday. I don't even know who my father is, she doesn't remember," is offered with a shrug. "We are a family of women, and my grandmother and great-grandmother were very traditional, moral, upright people. My mother … rebelled. She didn't want anything to do with fortune-telling, spirits or all things Romanii. So, before her 'gifts' 'matured' at the age of Eighteen, she got pregnant. She has worked hard, and been reasonably successful enough for us to be comfortable. She is /great/. But she doesn't want me falling into the Romani … 'trap' as she calls it. And is trying to get me …" there is a pause and Mariscka frowns. "I think she's trying to get me laid, truth be told," she says softly as her cheeks turn a bright red. "I'm happy with my abilities and gifts … thank you very much, however."

"You know what door to pound on if you want to go out, Mari." Wilberforce follows up his offer, serious enough about it. He doesn't say anything to comment on the whole part about getting laid, even though he has a bit of pink show up in his face at the thoughts. "And they are your abilities and gifts… shouldn't do anything to lose them that you don't want to, right?"

Adrian coughs, having just taken a sip of his drink about the time Mariscka mentions getting laid. Wilberforce isn't the only one to have his cheeks pinken. "So, losing your… uh… that would make you lose your gifts?" Adrian asks. He leads the way over towards the snackbar, dumping his empty cup in the trash as they pass it. He browses the selections on the menu, talking still with the other teens. "And here I just have to worry about my Mom calling me every few hours to make sure I'm okay. I'd probably want to find a good deep hole to crawl into and die if she started asking too much or meddling in my relationships. At least she leaves that much alone." He grins, "Hah. Chicken Ceasar Wrap… that's not too bad." Okay, it's still not the best choice, but it beats going to the cafeteria and having another argument with the Food Nazi that he can eat what he wants and be fine.

Cheeks do not stop burning, and Mariscka ducks her head, trying to swing her hair forward to hide her face. "Well … they won't grow, at least. Um … my mom is really the only one in recent memory to have done such a thing and .. well … she didn't want to know about them in the first place so it's hard to tell and all that," is offered with a wave of her hand, before it goes to covering her cheeks. "I know she means well … and it will be nice to have someone I can be completely open with but … she's so insistant. She dropped me off in front of a club in Baltimore once, just to see me go out. I didn't go in, but I found a fake ID saying I was 17 when I looked in my wallet the next day."

Mariscka clears her throat, then smiles thankfully at Wil. "That is a wonderful offer, Wil, thank you," she says only faintly oblivious to the meaning behind the offer - or rather, forced obliviousness. "I am just like every other teenager, though. I just want to be able to make my own choices, mistakes or not. Ooooh, they have yogurt parfaits! Delightful… though it's probably horrible fruit, still…" she says digging into her bag and magically pulling out her wallet. "I'm not quite full from my salad, and that sounds wonderful."

Wilberforce takes a moment to intently study the food in the snack bar, it's a good way to get his mind to stop thinking about all the meanings of what he just heard. Eventually the pink does leave as he pulls out some money for a low-cal vitamin water and an apple from the fruit bowl that doesn't look like it's been sitting there all week. "Yeah, well, hopefully being in the dorm here will keep her from being too nosey and all up in your business." Then he eyes the snack bar a little longer and adds on oatmeal raisin cookie. "It's not like I'm in training anymore that I can't have a cookie if I want one, right?" As if the choice to have a cookie or not is somehow on the same scale of decision.

"That's pretty serious meddling," Adrian says, "Your Mom actually gave you a fake I.D.?" He shakes his head, then nods to the server behind the snackbar, "Let me get the Chicken Ceasar wrap and… um…" He frowns, considering, "No, just that and a diet Coke." The boy slides his school meal card over, then looks at Wil. "Training kept you from having cookies? Man. You know, I ought to see if my Mom'll make a care package and put some of her homemade cookies in there. She's a caterer. She makes awesome food."

"Oh, I burned it when I found it. After all, what if I was caught just HAVING it on me! I would have been expelled and … or worse and … " Mariscka just shakes her head, mentally flailing at possibly doing something 'that' wrong. Then she blinks and looks at Wilberforce. "Did you like training? We totally should have an inter-school squad just to see what sorts of awesome things people can do. And think … a fire thrower on the floor excercises in gymnastics… could do a pyrotechnics show, as well!" she offfers happily bright and cheerful.

Mariscka then looks back to Adrian, "Oh? That sounds delightful, and something that will make my skirts a little tight," says Mariscka. Yes, those loose, pleated flowing gypsy skirts … can get tight? When Adrian's order is done, Mariscka orders her own parfait and a glass of water, before digging around for exact change and handing it over. "Do you think, and would you be okay with it, she could come here and give some cooking classes during the summer? I've always wanted to learn …"

"Yeah, I was doing some pretty serious training. It was one of those get out of school and train till eight kind of programs. And Saturdays." Wilberforce slides his card over for his snack. "It was hard work, but at the same time… I was working to be really good. I bought into that whole Olympic dream thing." He sounds a bit over the whole idea, or at least certainly trying to sound like he is. "It would be interesting to see what people could do here, probably some pretty amazing things." He turns and heads to pick out a table for the gang.

Adrian blinks, "My Mom? Here?" He shakes his head, "I'm sure she'll be here for the parent's open house, and I'm sure she'd love to have someone to teach how to cook, but…" Suffice to say that Adrian doesn't look thrilled over the prospect of his mom being here. It's better that she stay in Cleveland. "I don't know. Maybe."

And suddenly from Adrian's left pocket a generic techno beat ringtone sounds. The boy just stares for a moment, then closes his eyes and sighs. "It's like she knows when she's being talked about." Or knows the most annoying moments to call. He juggles his try of food and drink, balancing it on one hand so that he can pull the phone out with the other. It's a replacement phone since his other one got water-logged. "Hey, Mom. What's…? No, I'm eating at the snackbar with some friends." He follows Wil towards the chosen table, balancing his food deftly while making a face at whatever his Mother is saying. "One hundred and ten… and yes, I'm keeping track. No. Can… yes. No. Mom, can we do this later?" He sets his tray down but doesn't take a seat yet, "I know. I know. You too. Thanks. Bye." The boy's expression says it all. Mothers.

With just a parfait in one hand, Mariscka blinks at Adrian's pocket produces music, and tries to slyly hold her hand beneath his tray while he's walking over to the table, so he doesn't loose all of his food. Then the young woman slides her way into a seat, before looking over at Wil. "Do you miss it? The competition? I never was in any sports or anything like that, but people looked like they were having fun," she admits, stabbing the parfait with her spoon, and pulling out some yogurt with granola to nibble on.

When Adrian is off the phone, Mariscka looks over at him before smiling, "I turn my phone off during school hours, so my mom doesn't even bother calling from work now," she notes with a grin. "And sure. It was just a thought … do they teach cooking here? I suddenly can't recall. And she just loves you … in her … smothering way. I think, to a degree, all mothers are like that."

Wilberforce sits down and starts with the apple, leaving the cookie on the table before him like a final prize to be savored. "I liked the doing well in competition part. The times I botched an event in competition weren't at all fun. It was a lot of pressure even then. And I was still just doing regional stuff, junior nationals wouldn't have started till later." He bites off another large bite of apple and chews on it with a nod towards Mariscka, adding after he swallows, "I turned mine off too, more because my little sister loves to send text messages in between classes to tell me gossip I can't comprehend."

"I think she's trying to overcompensate for my work-a-holic Dad too," Adrian says, settling into his seat. "See, if I turn my phone off? She just calls Linus instead. Or would start calling the school to get a staff member to track me down and make sure I'm just ignoring her and not dead." The boy pauses then and glances at Mariscka's bag where the girl's tarot cards are. It's just a quick look and he's back to the grinning 'nothing is wrong' attitude. Which means he's jumping on the competitive athletics talk. Adrian nods to Wil, "You should look into some of the sports on campus. Baseball has been fun so far… a little different, but fun. I'm kind of looking forward to the first game and seeing how that goes. Ferris was telling me that they've had to mind-wipe the crowd a few times when folks accidentally used powers on the field. I don't know about gymnastics here though. I can't remember if I saw anything about that in the course catalogue or not."

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