Hardcore Famished (Open)

[Dr. Isabela Monroe]

Well, dammit. Isabela knew she'd forgotten something today. And evidential, that something was her lunch. She tried not to get super upset about it, because it was a really stupid thing to get super upset about. But it was just after lunch time, and she was hungry. Not just hungry, but epically hungry. Most people probably wouldn't understand what she was going through, but some might.

"Thanks again," She muttered to herself, folding her arms and looking around the room. She liked to curse her ability sometimes, but she really did love it. It was just times like this that really bugged the hell out of her.

But there were vending machines!

Padding down her pockets, Isabela searched herself for enough change but came up short. Jesus, this was unfair. She should just punch the thing and see what falls out-

No, Izzy. That's a bad idea.

Instead she turned to the nearby couch. There was always change in those things, right? Fallen out of someone's pocket and into the remnants of the beyond - the abyss of the cushions! Diving into the array, she lifted one of the cushions and rested it against her head, her fingers running the lines of the couch. "Come on! Be kind to me!"

[Ferris Macklin]

With lunch service over, Ferris had time to eat his own. Today's school lunch had been vegetarian chili with a variety of beans, whole wheat flatbread, cheese sticks (in both dairy and non-dairy versions), and the usual fresh fruit and vegetable offerings. Ferris smelled of the chili spices, and not just because he had his own tray with the day's lunch on it in his hand. Duckie lunch bag over his shoulder carried his thermos and dessert, and Ferris entered the staff lounge humming under his breath.

Only to find himself presented with an unexpected staff backside... digging in one of the couches? Okay, it wasn't any of his business, but... maybe she'd dropped a contact or something.

"Problems?" he asked, after setting his tray down. Ferris was in his usual t-shirt and jeans, the white coat he wore while cooking back in the kitchen.

[Dr. Isabela Monroe]

Isabela would later feel like an idiot for not thinking she could have gone and checked in the cafeteria. It was past lunch, and she wasn't really that acquainted with the staff over there yet. It almost would have felt selfish to ask, as strange as that would have sounded. And if her face weren't stuffed somewhere into couch cushions, she might have smelt him before she heard him.

When she did hear him, she twisted around instantly and looked at him. Wow, this was embarrassing. Right?

"Sort of." Izzy started tentatively. Sort of was an understatement. Her gaze wavered quickly towards the tray he'd just set down. Look at it! The students' rumours about the cafeteria food wasn't true after all. Holding a hand out slightly, she jangled the change she had so far. "I came up a little short for the ahh, machine over there." She admitted, offering something of a smile through it, "I figured; where else to look for an extra coin or two?"

Standing up finally, she tucked the remnants of her lunch money into her pocket and adjusted her hair quickly. Still perfect, as it should be. "I'm usually much better at introductions, sorry. I'm Izzy; currently struggling through a very intense power-related side effect." With that she pressed her hand to her abdomen - was that really her stomach growling?

[Ferris Macklin]

A snappily dressed young woman digging in couch cushions was hardly the worst thing Ferris had ever walked in on, but had their roles been reversed Ferris would have been embarrassed for a completely different reason (as he would have been digging out of curiosity and not need). So he just smiled at her and ignored what she'd been doing.

"...I figured; where else to look for an extra coin or two?"

"Maybe a fellow staff member?" Though he hadn't missed her look at the tray. Ferris had a slightly larger helping of chili than was ladled out for the kids (he was an adult and he'd been on his feet since 5 a.m., dammit) and had melted his servings of cheese over his flatbread in the oven (because he could). The other parts of the tray held fruit and veg, the only thing missing was the drink, but he had sort of cold tea in his water bottle.

"I'm usually much better at introductions, sorry. I'm Izzy; currently struggling through a very intense power-related side effect."

Before he could ask what that was, a lion roared.

Oh.

He couldn't help laughing. "I'm Ferris. Kitchen staff. I think I can help your side effect."

And he held out his tray. "Please. I can get another one from the kitchen. And a second for you if you want one. Do you have enough for a drink or should I spot you?"

[Dr. Isabela Monroe]

"That," Izzy started with a simple snap of her fingers and a point in his direction, "It an excellent point." One she clearly didn't think of in her current state of mild distress.

When her stomach made its interrupting appearance, she instinctively glanced down at it. Well, that was somewhat embarrassing. If only she had the means to control the damn thing. Instead, she looked up at him when he introduced himself and smiled. Her smile broadened when he offered his tray of food out towards her. "Are you sure?" She asked, blinking her wide eyes a few times.

"Well Ferris; Kitchen Staff, you are a very generous man." She said brightly, taking it out of his hands and moving back towards the table. "I think I can handle my own drink. And I do hope you'll come back and sit with me."

[Ferris Macklin]

Ferris smiled. "I mean... the administration might frown on us shaking down the kids more than once or twice a month, right?"

The smile widened as she took the tray. "Very sure. Won't take me a minute to get another. There's enough leftover that we're freezing some for next week. And I'd love to join you. Right back."

Leaving the tray with Ms. Izzy, Ferris sauntered back down to the kitchens and grabbed himself another tray after explaining that no, he hadn't just hoovered up the last one, and no, he was not still a growing boy. His cheese wasn't melted onto his flatbread this time, but over his chili when he warmed it up in the microwave. A few of his staff ate after service instead of before it like he did, and they took five while cleanup commenced. They were free to use the staff lounge as well, but most of them didn't, preferring the company of their small group. Loading up on veg and fruit, Ferris took his fresh tray back to the lounge and, with a smile, sat down at Izzy's table with his food. Sitting back before he started, he sighed.

"Hope you have room for dessert. I always bring extra. Key lime pie bars today." He held up the duckie. Scooping up some chili, he took out his yellow aluminum water bottle and took a swig of his tea. "You know, if you forget your lunch you can always come down to the cafeteria. I always spot the teachers a meal if they brainfart."

Izzy must've been new, he didn't recognize either her face or her name. "So what do you teach?"

[Dr. Isabela Monroe]

"Exactly my thinking. Students like to talk, y'know." She smiled back at him. Such an engaging person, he was!

Isabela was glad to hear he would return; her gratitude was clear given the smile she offered as he left. How nice for someone to do that for her! It definitely wasn't something she expected to be privy to on that day, and it was something she'd keep in mind in the future. That was, if she ever forgot the importance of lunch again.

When he came back, she had somehow already devoured over half what he'd offered without a blink. Lucky he didn't seem the type to judge. "I might have to take you up on both your offers. Even when I don't forget lunch, I find I'm never quite full." She admitted, her lips briefly twisting into something of a frown. But she shrugged it off quick enough.

"Physical Education. I haven't been around long; I was at Kocher for the last year or so." She explained, idly shifting the food around in front of her, "Nice people. Really nice. Very fluent in an abundance of languages. Thankfully, English is one of them. My Swedish is dreadful." But the move had been productive, and that was all that mattered. "What about you? Are you a graduate of this fine school? Have you been around long?"

[Ferris Macklin]

Besides dressing better than him, Izzy also seemed to have a good handle on the bantering thing, so Ferris left her with a wave and a smile and knew he'd enjoy continuing their conversation.

Upon his return, she was half done and he gave her impressed as he sat down. "You sure you don't want seconds? I can make it happen." Tilting his head toward the machines, he added, "I got change too if you want that."

Ferris took a few mouthfuls as she spoke. Gym teacher? Interesting! He thought they were more prone to like... sweats and not the fancy stuff she had on, but... stereotypes were made to be broken. Like plates. But when she mentioned Kocher, his eyes opened wide and he sat back.

"No shit, you were at Kocher? This last year?" He threw his head back and laughed. "I was too!"

Of all the Kocher alumni (both student and staff), Ferris had yet to meet one who had been there at the same he was. And now he had, in this most unlikely of people. "I was kitchen staff over there for two years."

"What about you? Are you a graduate of this fine school? Have you been around long?"

After another bite of his lunch, Ferris chuckled again. "You're only the second person to ask if I went here in all this time." The first had been Renee, back during the summer break. "Yes. I went here. But for a very short time. As staff, I only arrived in May of this year. You?"

[Dr. Isabela Monroe]

Isabela initially answered his surprise with an insightful nod. Kocher was the first school she'd ended up working at. And work it was. "Ah, see there I was more inclined to remember my own lunch. Otherwise I'm sure this arrangement would have been made much sooner!" And it was almost a shame that wasn't the case - what an experience this could have been!

"It seems to be a favoured ice breaker." Izzy replied lightly. She had been asked a few times by people she'd encountered - how interesting it was that people opted to return home in the end. "Me? Oh, I'm very new. Or rather, new to return. New to teaching here. I spent all my meta-schooling years in these fine halls." She admitted, though she wondered what it would have been like to experience the other schools from a student's perspective. "It was imperative to stay longer than most, thanks to the severity of the ability I was granted."

She looked down at her plate, and just how much she'd gone through already. Talking was good for slowing her down and keeping her mind off the insistent drive of hunger pains. "May I ask what it is you can do, Ferris? I've heard asking about other people's abilities is another good ice breaker."

[Ferris Macklin]

He grinned back at her. "I'm sure if this had happened at Kocher they would've spotted you a meal too. And we would've met earlier and been able to speak American to someone."

Something that finally another person would understand and value. The few times he'd broken down and called his grandmother it had been just to hear another voice speaking a language he understood instantly. Ferris's Swiss French wasn't bad, but it was heavily biased toward food, food prep, and kitchen terms.

He ate his chili and flatbread, not really knowing what to say to her comments about side effect severity, so he just nodded while he ate. "How long is long?"

Considering he'd only been at Hammel four months, he was at the other end of the spectrum. Funny, he'd been at Kocher for longer than he'd been at Hammel, something he'd just realized now. Hopefully he'd be here for longer still, but... as an employee.

Her question about what he did gave him pause. So far he hadn't had to explain it to anyone, or even say what he did, and now that the moment was here he was... a little uncomfortable. Not for what his power was, but that... it had such a lengthy explanation for something that was ultimately not really much of a power.

"I have what they decided to call 'personal power negation'. It means that if you have a power that could affect me personally, like... oh, making me taller or shorter or affecting my dreams, it wouldn't work." He shrugged. "It's sort of... a non-entity. I'm fortunate not to have any side effects, but... I don't really have a power, either. For most of the people who are most affected by it, I'm just a blank."

Ferris did not ask Izzy what her power was. If she wanted to tell him she would. But either way, she still looked hungry. "So after this are you gonna join me in raiding the vending machines? 'Cause I can't just eat candy in front of someone." He smiled. "You can pay me back later, if you want. Or you could consider it a sort of, I dunno, Kocher staff alumni reunion present."

[Dr. Isabela Monroe]

How long was long. Isabela mused over the question very briefly as her memory kicked in and she realised she was thinking too extensively for such a simple question. "Almost two years, truthfully." She replied. "Which is a long time for anyone, let alone someone eager enough to want to jump right into college." Thankfully, she could. And she did. At least that part of the program was working in her favour.

She listened intently as he explained what he was given. Personal power negation. Her mind immediately went to the thought of power suppression, and the variations she'd seen in her short time as an institute official at this and other meta-schools. "A blank." She repeated, almost thoughtfully. As if the statement was resonating with her on another level. "I imagine some people would dream of an ability like that." She admitted, "While others... Well, I suppose it's a half-full versus half-empty sort of thing."

Speaking aloud; sometimes she wondered if she should.

Isabela didn't return the story of his power with one of her own. She didn't much care to talk about it - against that, it might have felt like she was gloating over the nature of her own ability. She held the information behind a smile as she let the topic drift in favour of another.

"Kocher staff alumni reunion present it is, then. If you're offering, who am I to say no?" She replied instead. "Let this mark the beginning of a new friendship."

[Ferris Macklin]

Ferris assumed that when she said two years, she meant time past the usual age of graduation, since two years total was as notably short as his own time. Most of the kids stayed for four or more. Ferris had also gone right into college after his tenure at Hammel, but... he'd been there already and had only been fourteen. But he said, truthfully, "I can get that."

"Dream of it?" He'd never heard that before, quirked a grin. "I guess some of the mental set might appreciate it, but I doubt anyone wants what I have when they start listing powers they'd like to have."

She didn't say what hers was, and that was fine. Ferris didn't press her. He stood up and moseyed over to the vending machines. "All the great friendships start with processed chocolate and high fructose corn syrup," he agreed. "What'll it be? Oh hey, they have Almond Snickers."

((wrap?))