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Post by Jake Sheppard on Jun 6, 2007 7:08:03 GMT
Jakoro-stuff. Content warning for potentially imminent - though likely far off and drawn out - UST-resolving action. And for... *shudder* book-keeping
”Y’know” – Jake stretches carefully, trying to chase away creeping pins-and-needles brought on by sitting cross-legged on the carpet for what feels like an eternity while simultaneously not colliding with the expensive, and breakable, looking coffee table – ”I never understood why they called it book-keeping. Made it sound like the books were pets or something. Like you had to feed and pet them, train them to sit and stay and all…” He yawns. ”Now… I guess I know it’s more work… really wishing I could just order this to play dead.” His bemusement, glancing down to the page of seemingly indecipherable figures (Ororo, of course, doesn’t appear to be having any trouble with them, but to Jake they might as well be in some long-dead and unpronounceable tongue, the amount of sense they’re making), reverts into a casual smile tossed her way, and still further into a slightly more embarrassed and flush one as he redirects his gaze hastily, realising that he’s sounding, as per usual, like a prize idiot.
Not that he ever sounds like anything else, really… or that he’s failed to get used to it… at least, not around anyone else. But this is Ororo and she’s so breezily confident and competent, and that’s not factoring in Christmas when things happened and other things notably didn’t and now he’s really awkward and embarrassed and should be paying more attention to the books (which, when he thinks about it, sounds really ominous, like it should be an official title – The Books – and accompanied by rolls of thunder and dramatic music)… or, failing that, to the television babbling in the background.
”So…” - he tries again, an attempt at getting things as near to back on topic as someone of his frenetically eclectic and inconstant attention span can (and at getting her to give him some clue as to what all this crazy numerical nonsense actually means), pushing his glasses back up into place with his index finger, brow creased in a suitably focused frown as he looks over the pages again - ”We’re still in the black, right? Don’t have to start eating and / or selling the students as slaves just yet?”
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Post by Ororo Munroe on Jun 8, 2007 4:05:56 GMT
Ororo finishes adding a column of figures rapidly, carefully penciling in the sum at the bottom. She carries a number from an earlier box and subtracts the two. This is so horribly boring I might die from it. In the background, she hears Jake talking about something or another, but continues to concentrate on her work. This particular section really needed to be checked and rechecked. One mistake would play some serious havoc on their budget analysis later on.
> ”Now… I guess I know it’s more work… really wishing I could just order this to play dead.”
She finally looks up, massaging her neck. It’s difficult to hunch over these for any length of time. Ororo takes her reading glasses off and sets them on the tabletop. “Mmm? Sorry… didn’t catch that, I was adding.” When she looks up, an almost embarrassed look vanishes from Jake’s face. Hm. Her thoughts stray to the staff Christmas party. All too soon, though, they return to the present, and she looks somewhat despondently at the stack of work in front of them.
They’d really let things go too long, and there was a lot to do. Just because doing the books was torture, though, didn’t mean they had to torture themselves to do it. They’d put together a tray of snacks, and the television was playing in the background. Star Trek or Law & Order, Ororo suspected, not paying it much attention. You could pretty much find one or other on at any one time…
“It’s a pity that Silas doesn’t have a MBA or a CPA certification tucked in among those degrees… I’d love to drop this on him.” Ororo considers for a moment. It was definitely possible that he did… but she rather doubted it. Silas’ areas of expertise appeared to be concentrated in the sciences. He probably had a Ph.D. in mathematics, but that wasn’t necessarily helpful in this case. Morever, she hadn’t quite gotten around to telling him all the ins and outs of the Institute, and itemizations like ‘Cerebro components’ and ‘hydraulic fuel - basketball court’ would probably raise an eyebrow or two.
> ”We’re still in the black, right? Don’t have to start eating and / or selling the students as slaves just yet?”
Ororo laughs out loud at that. I knew you were a good choice to help out on this… “Hopefully not. I suspect they’d be too stringy, anyway.” She nabs a chunk of bread and spreads some hummus on it. After taking a bite, she replies. “To answer your question, though… it looks like we’re just inside the black. The attack on the Institute in December was terribly expensive, but our financial holdings have been doing pretty well. Charles knew what he was doing when he set it all up. We also have fewer staff positions in 2007, which has saved us some money.”
She takes a hard look at those figures. ”In fact, we have a budget surplus there - which doesn’t happen very often. I’m thinking…” Ororo stops, reading for a moment. “Hm. I’m thinking of upping Warren’s salary. When he originally agreed to help out with political science, he’d accepted very little compensation. What with all that’s happened with his family life, I suspect he could use it.” She puts her glasses back on and writes in a notation. “And I’m certain he’d never ask for a raise.”
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Post by Jake Sheppard on Jun 12, 2007 20:09:51 GMT
< I’d love to drop this on him
Jake feigns shock – ”You mean… no, can’t be. There’s something our eidi… editeric…” – he stumbles over the word, adding syllables and not getting any closer to it, and gives up, flustered, swatting in an I give up semi-flail before recovering and trying again – ”Something Mr. Memory has not yet mastered? Wow” He helps himself to the bread, resisting the urge to embark on another architectural masterpiece and feeling slightly bad for jibing at the new guy but… well, brains just aren’t meant to hold that much information!
<Hopefully not
Managing to make her laugh naturally sparks up a broad grin, though *broad* is rapidly replaced with *goofy and stupid* in his personal analysis when he catches her eye and he mutes it quickly to something less vibrant and idiotic and more *acceptable*, and forces his expression still further away from amused into *attentive* as she answers the question. Jake wishes he could add something intelligent here, but an uncertain ”Well, that’s… good?” is about as good as it gets.
Uch, why did he have to be such a bloody goof?
< I’m thinking of upping Warren’s salary[/i]
This, then, would be his chance to prove otherwise, given that she’s almost-sort-of asking for an intelligent opinion on the matter. Kinda. Maybe.
”Hmm…” (not a bad start, as if he was concentrating on something – which he was, but fingers crossed it sounds like “something like work” and not “how not to make an ass of himself in front of Ororo for the thirty-millionth time”). Jake helps himself to more bread, chewing thoughtfully. ”Yeah, good plan… probably come in useful now Josh is going away to… wow, I should know where it is. College. Somewhere… But yes, extra money’d come in useful no doubt, with the travelling and… stuff… because they’re linked and all, but it’s not the same, and Warren can fly but… yes… and… yes, shutting up now.” He drops his gaze back to the numbers, trying to stop the blush rising at how he’s babbling like a bloody moonbrain yet again (and not only that but babbling about *relationships* and… yes, all manner of awkward), clears his throat and glances back up with an apologetic smile and thumbs-up. ”But yes. Good plan. More money for Warren.”
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Post by Ororo Munroe on Jun 28, 2007 2:42:53 GMT
> Yeah, good plan… probably come in useful now Josh is going away to… wow, I should know where it is. College. Somewhere… But yes, extra money’d come in useful no doubt, with the travelling and… stuff… because they’re linked and all, but it’s not the same, and Warren can fly but… yes… and… yes, shutting up now.
Ororo’s a little surprised that Jake doesn’t know where Josh is heading off to college. For one thing, had Josh decided on something across the country, Jake would have lost one of his best friends. Perhaps because of Jake’s relative inexperience in matters of the mind, their relationship was somewhere between teacher-student and a pair of colleagues. And Jake would have no one to make fun of Medium with! Secondly, Josh going off to a top-notch college would seem to prove that Jake wasn’t an overall screwoff… which was something she knew he worried about.
It shouldn’t even be an issue. Jake was replacing Xavier as headmaster… not as a person. He didn’t need to be the exact same, or even have the same philosophies. Where Xavier would have used his empathy and expertise to get through to a student, Jake was able to simply relate to them on the same level. It was easier talking to the head if he was a lot like an older brother figure.
“Columbia. Josh is going to Columbia.” Ororo can’t keep a note of pride out of her voice. “He’s planning on some combination of commuting and staying in New York, so we’re going to look at either a dorm room or a small apartment as a place to stay while he’s there.” She nods. “I know Josh was worried where their relationship would go if he got sent across the country. They’ve got a good life together… now if only Warren can hold his sanity together during Josh’s trip through medical school in a couple years.”
Ororo becomes pensive. “They actually remind me a lot of Scott and Jean. They had some kind of mental component to their relationship, as well. Too bad Scott’s not around to give Warren some tips on being the significant other of a med student. It takes a special kind of patience…” She sounds lost in memories, and a bit down.
> “But yes. Good plan. More money for Warren.”
She shakes herself slightly, trying not to laugh at Jake's goofiness. You're adorable. “Yes, I agree. I think the separation from his parents is hitting him harder than he realizes. Needing to worry less about his money will probably help the transition.” Ororo comes to a hastily scribbled note on a scrap of paper. “Aha. I’d been meaning to ask. How’s the revenue coming in from our foray into the world of merchandising?” She’d initially been opposed to the idea, but Jake had been so enthusiastic about the action figure line that she’d relented. Word was there was a PS3 game in the works. Fortunately, Jake had handled all the interaction with the toy designers, including suggestions for new products. He’d had her sit in on the last one, and it had been amusing, to say the least.
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Post by Jake Sheppard on Aug 7, 2007 21:41:49 GMT
< Columbia
Of course. Columbia. Like coffee. Jake makes a mental note (trying to ignore the sense of déjà vu – there’s probably a whole stack of those *notes*, all with ‘REMEMBER, JOSH IS GOING TO COLUMBIA’ in big bold letters with multiple exclamations marks and doodled stars for emphasis, growing somewhere in his brain) and nods, grinning both with his own pride at Josh’s achievements and at the hint of Ororo’s which flavours her tone.
He nods again, more seriously and attentively, as Ororo details the plan, shifting slightly awkwardly as mention is made of Scott and Jean. Naturally the note of sadness in her tone makes him a little uneasy, but it’s more than that, and something that’s been striking him time and again while at the Institute; that there’s this whole shared history in which he has no part, all this loss and madness he missed while arsing around on Muir Island. Which, among all the other complications, makes it hard to offer support without feeling a total prat, but – full credit to him – he does try, giving her shoulder a slight *chin up* squeeze and flashing a warm, genuine smile.
< How’s the revenue coming in from our foray into the world of merchandising?
Jake brightens considerably at the mention of what has rapidly become his pet project – predictably, the action figure range still has him hyped up at the sheer awesomeness of it all. ”Great!” he enthuses ”Better than great. They’re planning a second series in time for Christmas and…” – he rummages in a pocket, retrieving a hastily scribbled note (embellished, as per usual, with all sorts of random doodles ranging from random abstract shapes and stick-men to a fairly detailed schematic for a Blackbird playset) – ”Um… dumdedum, oh, right – civilian editions of the first series characters, new characters for the second run… all very excit… Oh.” He spots the last bullet point (well, scribble-with-a-big-NOTICETHIS-star-next-to-it, because ‘bullet point’ suggests a far higher degree of organisation than Jake is capable of) and… yes, less good. Best get it out quickly (so quickly it almost becomes one word) and cover it up with a broader grin and thumbs-up. ”There-are-some-minor-legal-issues-with-the-manufacturer-but it’s all good.”
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Post by Ororo Munroe on Aug 21, 2007 22:34:27 GMT
> ”Um… dumdedum, oh, right – civilian editions of the first series characters, new characters for the second run… all very excit… Oh.”
Ororo grins, enjoying Jake in his element. “I hope they pick something good for me to wear. Female superheroes always end up looking so hideous…” She frowns for a second. It was true; after finding out she was about to be immortalized in plastic, Ororo had looked around at some current toys on eBay. She hadn’t been impressed. Many of the female figurines looked like Olympic shot-putters, or else like someone had stepped on their face…
> ”There-are-some-minor-legal-issues-with-the-manufacturer-but it’s all good.”
She looks suspicious, and takes a bite of a carrot stick, staring at Jake. “Run it past me anyway.” Where is this going? I hope Malaysian children aren’t losing limbs for our merchandise line…
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