New Arrival (Open!)

[Matthew Craft]

< Roger, Wilco… thanks for the heads up >

Matthew smiles and nods subtley so that Laurie doesn't see him.

"I trust Matthew’s been making you welcome?”

“Oh, and, yes sir, he has been.”

"I'm the resident bell-boy," Matthew holds up one of the bags and grins.

Laurie's moment of alarm still has him a little shaken up, despite the pheromones having already dissipated. It was odd, he notes, that someone so small and weak-looking could have such a profound impact on him. It made him wonder exactly what else she could do to him. He imagined it was not dissimilar to mind control, but Matthew knew that it was much more influential. As he had discovered, the pheromones didn't simple make you afraid, they made you feel afraid, which he was sure was far more potent than the simple suggestion of emotions laid in by telepaths.

"Umm....Maybe this is the best time to make my exit? I don't imagine I'm welcome for the confidential 'Welcome to the Institute' stuff, am I?" Matthew shifts and sets the bag down on adjacent chair as he thumbs back to the door.

Not that he wanted to leave, but surely there would be mention of things (probably girl stuff) he wouldn't be allowed to hear.

[Jake Sheppard]

He recognizes that look, of course. The okay, that’s not what I expected face… It used to bug him (and to be honest that hasn’t totally subsided, but at least he can beat it into submission), the way that people seemed to have such difficulty seeing him as a headmaster, but now… it’s sort of entertaining. And besides, he’s not sure he’d want to appear headmaster-ly, thanks very much. Better to be approachable and welcoming and… stuff. Yes. Though, y’know, the competent and semi-authoritarian edge would be nice. She, on the other hand, is pretty much exactly as he expected (and the fact that he’s thinking so irreverently about all that may well help explain the *not a ‘real’ headmaster* thing, heh), which leaves him sort of torn between trying to nudge her out of her shell and backing down incase he spooks her… The second option’s probably best, all things considered. Last thing the Institute needs is him psyched out by the new girl… not to mention the risk of Matty going Hiroshima. (again, who thought this was a good idea?) So yeah, no freaking the mousy girl.

Could be worse the glass-half-full side of his brain pipes up. At least she’s not an *emo*, or whatever the tragic self-destructive kids are calling themselves these days. Then we’d have a real problem… No. Serious. Right

< Um, no, I’m sorry too I’m just…edgy. I don’t always emit so much, I promise
”No, really. No need to apologise or promise me anything, Laurie.” Jake tries his best to do reassuring while not straying into manic, and for the most part succeeds, though it’s damn hard work doing things by half-measures when he’s naturally so hyper… No. Sober. Mmhmm. Serious. ”First days are evil. And as for the whole…” – another hand-wavy-thing, and a mental note to check what school policy is on that. *Powers* is a bit too comic-book, and *mutation* sounds dangerous and kind of perverse in a tacky B-movie way… like they’re all flesh-eating radioactive zombies or something – ”Really, don’t worry about it.” Oh yeah, easy for me to say, right? he adds the mental kick that she’s probably dying to give him after that… but it’s in the script, isn’t it? Thou shalt not make the students feel awkward about their gifts… regardless of the whacked out shit they can cause with them.

< I’m the resident bell-boy
”Carry on like this and we’ll have to get you a uniform and everything” he grins, gratefully accepting the opportunity to lighten the mood without risking sparking her off, though as things go it’s a pretty poor effort. Meh. ”Thanks, though, Matthew.”

< … is that a doll?
… ah

It takes a moment or two for him to realise what she’s on about, and when he does it’s the cue for another sheepish grin and a half-flush until he laughs that off. ”Um… yeah. Action figure, if you please. Makes it sound less like I’m sat in here playing with Barbies.” Jake tugs on the arm, pulling the figure out of the drawer… which hardly lessens the embarrassment. Because of all the figures it could have been, it had to be the RHPS floorshow one, didn’t it (present from Josh after a particularly memorable lesson in skills borrowing… )? Still, he can’t let it phase him again, and so he does his best to act like it’s all perfectly normal and not at all embarrassing, sitting the little corset-clad man on the edge of the pile of paperwork so his legs hang over the edge, regarding the scene sidelong for a moment before re-arranging it so the figure’s ankles are crossed and nodding as if it now meets with some sort of approval before turning back to Laurie.

< I don't imagine I'm welcome for the confidential 'Welcome to the Institute' stuff, am I?
It almost shames him to admit that he hasn’t a clue how these things are meant to play out… and pushes a little more into the realms of embarrassment at the thought that he’d rather keep Matthew around. Laurie seems half-way comfortable around him, and it makes sense to keep this casual (besides, a more selfish part of him notes, getting it over and done with and foisting her off on someone isn’t a bad plan). ”I guess that’s up to Laurie…” He offers her another grin, this one slightly more sheepish. ”You’ll have to bear with me, I’m afraid. Sort of new at all this myself… You’re my first *victim*”

… okay, maybe that didn’t come off particularly well. Moving swiftly on…

[Laurie Collins]

Laurie nods slightly at Shepard’s reassurance, relaxing a little as she begins to accept that he really isn’t going to go ‘Haha! Fooled you!’ and punish her for her pheromone emission after all, but still remaining silent as he’s probably noticed is her wont when not provoked to nervous ramblings.
”First days are evil. And as for the whole…” he punctuates that with a vague wave of his hands and her wide eyes rather comically follow the gesture as if she’s under hypnosis. ”Really, don’t worry about it.” Which could be a good idea, she thinks wryly, seeing as it would free up at least 70% of my brain.

She nods again, fidgeting with her bag again uncertainly, obviously wishing to be out from the center of attention. She exhales quickly, grateful for a breather (somewhat literally, she’s nervous enough to practically hold her breath when the headmaster’s rather intense gaze is focused on her) and the image of her new acquaintance in what would have to be the world’s largest bellhop uniform gives her an internal tremor of amusement. It’s a product of her habitual isolation really that she doesn’t consider that her silence and carefully analytical stare might be slightly unnerving, unused to the natural rhythm of social interactions beyond five minutes with anyone other than her mother.

To her slight amazement Mr. Shepard actually half-way blushes and looks rather sheepish at her ill-advised commentary on his interior décor. ”Um… yeah. Action figure, if you please. Makes it sound less like I’m sat in here playing with Barbies.” She bites back a smile, not wanting to be rude again and watches with her usual careful interest as he proceeds to arrange the figure on his desk. Is it wearing a…corset? This is the oddest principal’s office I’ve ever been to. Then again I suppose it would be even without the action figure. Then he crosses the doll action figure’s legs and gives a self-satisfied nod and Laurie can’t hold back a giggle, though she stifles it quickly behind her hand and widens her eyes still further, her expression when she lowers her hand coming as close to conveying as a human face can: Hey, you’re not incredibly terrifying after all. Huh.

“I don't imagine I'm welcome for the confidential 'Welcome to the Institute' stuff, am I?”
I guess that’s up to Laurie…”

She gives a slightly alarmed blink at the refocusing of attention to her. “Um, no I don’t mind if you stay.” she twists around to smile shyly at Matthew for a moment, “But if you have somewhere else to be I wouldn’t want to keep you.” she adds politely before swiveling back around to consider Shepard for a moment. Having carefully constructed a neurosis of being a freak she quickly picks up on Shepard’s unease around her. A freak even here, and a dangerous one on top of that, she thinks, though not without any particular surprise or sadness, she’d rather expected something like this after all.

”You’ll have to bear with me, I’m afraid. Sort of new at all this myself… You’re my first *victim*”

“…oh?” she says in a small voice at the use of the word ‘victim’ a sense of humor definitely not having been included in the development of her mutation.

[Matthew Craft]

”Carry on like this and we’ll have to get you a uniform and everything.”

Now that was certainly quite the thought. Matthew tries to picture himself in a bellboy costume and frowns when he actually succeeds.

"I think I'll pass on the uniform invitation, Mr. Sheppard. Toni makes fun of me enough as it is." He gives the headmaster a humoured roll of the eyes.

”I guess that’s up to Laurie…” The look he receives makes Matthew shift and smirk. He knew the teacher was taking advantage of his brief, yet established relationship with Laurie, and he can't blame him. If he had been in his shoes, Matthew certainly would have tossed her to someone more familiar with her.

“Um, no I don’t mind if you stay. But if you have somewhere else to be I wouldn’t want to keep you.”

"Don't worry about it," Matthew smiles and takes a seat in front of the teacher's desk. "Besides, Mr. Sheppard needs someone here to make sure he doesn't crash and burn." That probably wouldn't lift her spirits any, but Matthew couldn't pass up the chance to verbally poke the peculiar headmaster.

[Jake Sheppard]

Jake somehow resists the urge to smile a patronising atta girl… just a little more grin, or worse to punch the air and cheer at his own mentor-ish brilliance, when Laurie finally starts to show signs of what he assumes is relaxing - as in ‘no longer looking like she expects him to sprout claws and sink fangs into her neck’ - which is progress. Yay me… totally got this ‘reassuring and stabilising’ thing downbat, heh… Still, he’s glad Matthew’s going to stay because the kid’s right, he’s nowhere near ready to be left riding this weird headmaster bike without stabilisers. Needs must when the devil drives and all, but he’d far rather drag someone else along for the ride, and Matthew of course went through all this with someone who actually knew what the hell they were doing and probably understands the procedure far better than Jake himself. Not that he’s going to let Matthew know that, per se – kid doesn’t need any reason to be more cocky around him. Ha ha, Mr. Craft. Very funny. Remember that other Head Mastery I’m less useless at?[/color]

< … oh?
Yeah, that didn’t go down to well, did it? He’s going to have to stop assuming everyone else has a functioning sense of humour, and add new students totally unaccustomed to the asylum and it’s inmates (that is, how this place runs and how mutation’s a part of every day life rather than a bizarre freak occurrence) to the list of people it’s unwise to be anything other than serious around.

”Ye-ah” he says, a little more uncertainly, wary of startling her, before realising it’d be kinda counterproductive, admitting to any sort of anxiety. So, back to breezy… sarcasm’s still on the okay list, right? ”Contrary to what you might have assumed, given how incredibly professional and mature I am, I’m… pretty new at the whole headmaster thing. More an extended internship than an actual job, as it were… or something. Still, can’t be that difficult, right?”

A brief rummage in the pile of paperwork, and he’s got her file, and opens it up, hastily covering the extensive doodle covering one corner of the cardboard (it had started as a noughts and crosses game, and (fittingly?) mutated into a sprawling beast of a thing, all crosshatching and shading and random interlocking shapes no one had come up with decent names for yet).