Mornings. (Closed)

[Melody Rivers]

((Open to any Hammel staff member who wants to join! We can have them already know each other, or let this be their first meeting. This takes place a week or so into the new semester.))

Mornings. Melody usually owned them, but today they were owning her. She'd slept past her alarm - she still had no idea how that had happened - and woke to find that her heater was on the fritz. So she'd had to call her apartment's maintenance staff before quickly hopping in the shower. She then realized the dress she wanted to wear was at the cleaner's, so she had to settle for something she wasn't quite 'feeling' that morning. Running late, she had to skip breakfast and dash off to the school to make her 9:30 drama class. She was so frazzled by all of this that three squirrels and a chipmunk followed her halfway across campus before she managed to shoo them away.

Melody was usually very much on top of things, but this was simply not her morning.

Class had gone well enough: as it was the beginning of the new semester, she was still introducing her students to performance exercises, so class wasn't too stressful. Once the bell rung signalling the end of class, she had wished her students farewell before retreating into the staff lounge for a much-needed cup of coffee. Things were definitely looking up for Melody after a bad morning.

Which, of course, meant that the coffee machine had to be broken. It just had to be.

"Come on, come on..." she urged the machine, giving it a few light taps in an attempt to kick it into gear. This was not what she needed to be dealing with.

[Mai Adaire]

"GOOD MORNING~!"

To the single person in the staff lounge this morning! No matter, no sing-song of a greeting was ever a waste as long as there were at least one pair of ears to hear it. The bright-eyed woman bounced in, carrying what looked to be a small stack of manila folders and coffee mug riddled with glittery hearts and rainbows in her free hand. She plopped the folder stack in a random seat for herself.

"A bit of a cool morning, right? Beautiful though! Could be worse too, it could be mountains-of-Nepal cold!" And that sort of cold was the stuff of legendary nightmares. Thankfully she was in docile Vermont and with a working heater at her apartment, thank goodness!

The brunette discontinued her cheery ramblings to sniff the air: there was a disturbance in the force, bad feelings, amiss! But what was it? AH! No delicious scent of the nectar of all adults ever! She spun around to the only other person in the room with her, bright blue eyes dart from coffee machine to the woman.

"Oh, did it break, Melly?" She asked, approaching both colleague and troublesome coffee maker. Maiella recalled the woman's face and name as she had for most of the staff at Hammel, give or take a few mix ups of names and faces. Melody she had been able to remember in particular - she looked the part of someone teaching dance and drama by looks alone, if a little beat from the aches of morning in general.

[Melody Rivers]

As another member of the faculty came bounding in singing a greeting, it occurred to Melody that she was usually on that end of things: the chipper one who was a lot more awake and friendly than most people were in the mornings, and as a result provided a stark contrast to all of the grumpiness and lethargy. The series of unfortunate events through which she'd lived that morning, though, caused her to be the grumpy one, or at least not as friendly as she usually was.

"Yeah, that would be really cold," she replied, humoring this very happy woman as she continued fiddling with the coffee machine. She really, really needed this to work, not just because she wanted her coffee, but because she needed a win on her side that morning, something to just go right without causing her any problems or grief. Evidently that wasn't to be.

Melly... that was a new one. She wasn't even sure she recognized this woman, let alone considered them on nickname terms. Again, Melody usually couldn't care less about what people wanted to call her, but her bad mood was affecting her. She didn't say anything about it, though, because it wasn't that important to her. "Yeah, it won't start up," she replied. "Okay, if somebody broke this and didn't leave a note, I swear..." She shook her head, realizing she was reverting back to her teenage, dramatic self. She turned towards the other staff member now. "Do you have any idea how we could maybe fix this? I'm kinda in over my head here."

[Mai Adaire]

The sunshiney one pursed her lips in thought, this time opening the lid and poking around inside of the machine. No evidence of a note it seems, so even if someone broke it, how careless to not at least try to fix it! Or get a shiny new one with lots of features and buttons! Ah, that woud be nice, to have a latte in the morning...

"No worries, this kinda stuff happens. But really, I won't tell if you actually broke it." She grins, completely kidding! "No really, I have a coffee maker at home that has a bit of a... personality! We'll go with that. It doesn't like to start until the ritual of the three taps and a swat before it starts working."

Her eyes raise to the ceiling in thought. "Huh...may not be normal. I should get a new one..." And she immediately shoos the thoughts away. It was time to get this one up and working. She removes the basket and peeks around further.

"Did it make a gurgling sound at all or did it just completely not start? If it's the former, we should look for some vinegar."

Which may be easier said then done: there were cabinets around but she had no idea what was in any of them. The woman usually came in here to unwind away from Hatsu's presence and for the obvious coffee break, so random snooping around she had not done yet. Maiella scooped up the carafe, shuffling over to the sink to refill with fresh water.

"Good case scenario Melly, it may just need to be cleaned. Unfortunately we'll have to be delayed from our life elixer for 10 extra minutes."

[Melody Rivers]

Melody smirked. "I wish it was me, 'cause then I'd at least know what I did," she replied, turning back towards the faulty machine as the other woman began poking at it. She loved working here, but there were some staff members who definitely did not pull their own weight when it came to keeping the staff lounge nice and tidy. Thankfully the one person who'd walked in was not one of those people.

"Umm..." she took a moment to try and remember exactly what had happened when she'd tried to get it going. The entire morning was just a blur of grievances, so it was difficult to recall. "Yes? Maybe, I don't know. I just remember being pissed there was no coffee." She didn't usually use a word like this, but desperate times...

"You're a Godsend," she added as she followed the other woman over to the sink, watching as she went about her business and ignoring the second odd nickname. Honestly she'd probably be crying and/or throwing the machine across the room by now if someone else hadn't come in and taken an interest in helping her.

[Mai Adaire]

Mai nods, mentally noting and accepting the woman's explanation. The life elixir to the Hammel Staff was fairly important to carry out the daily tasks and bear the grievances of dealing with teenagers. Had Mai been here alone with a usually-working-but-not-today coffee maker, she would have cheerfully tossed it across the room herself AND left a note. Instead, Mai would do the sanely responsible thing and look through the cabinets. Supply of plastic cups, plastic cutlery - ooh, that was good to note, but not what she was looking for!

"Godsend is not usually a word associated with me~" She bursts into a song, but quickly snaps back to searching. Still, she was quite happy for the compliment. There were many words associated with the odd woman, but godsend was rarity in itself.

"Sounds like you had quite the morning going for you." The brunette noted the sum of her observations into the conversation. Small nuances in the woman's words made it apparant that it wasn't a super great morning for Miss Rivers. Mai kneeled and opened another cabinet which was full of cleaning supplies, to which the brunette frowns at and shakes her fist as if they had openly taunted her. Where was that vinegar!? How did the expect to properly clean a coffee machine! Nope, maintain that cheery smile! Her current companion may need a little of that sunshine.

"Wrong side of the bed type of day today?"

[Melody Rivers]

Ironically, it had been Melody herself who had brought in those plastic forks and knives; when a staffer had a birthday, she usually ensured something was done, even if it was just to bring in a cake or cupcakes - something to make him or her feel special and appreciated on his or her birthday. Different staff members participated to different degrees, with some helping her decorate for the more well-known staffers, and others barely ever going into the lounge at all. That was fine with her, since it usually meant more credit sent her way for what effort was put into it.

"Forget the wrong side of the bed," she replied with a hint of a laugh, "I feel like I woke up on the floor... in somebody else's house." It had been little things, but they'd all added up to make Mel feel like today was just not her day. But she repeated her mantra over and over in her head, determined to make lemonade out of lemons if it was at all possible. Looking good and feeling fine, looking good and feeling fine...

"If I didn't have another class shortly, I would just suggest a Starbucks run, or at least a trip to the cafeteria," she offered, knitting her hands behind her back as she watched this other woman continue to look for something to help fix the coffee maker. She was a pretty woman, and she seemed to put effort into how she looked and what she wore, which factored heavily - or at least moderately - into how Melody perceived a person.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?" Normally she might feel a bit weird asking someone's name when they clearly knew hers, but she had a good memory and she really didn't remember her.

[Mai Adaire]

"Ooohh one of THOSE kinda days..." Mai noted, privately thankful that she has been turned away from Mel so that the darting of her eyes was not obvious. Of course Mai never had one of THOSE kinda days!
Maybe.
Kinda.
Well, there was a story layered beneath her words but that's for another day, for another time to share. In the meantime she was starting to gradually become exasperated with the hunting through the cabinets game - botton to top and again: paper plates, a bunch of different coffees, paper towels. But no vinegar yet!

"Tell you what." She absconds the search for a moment, leaning against the countertop. "If this turns out to be doomed from the start, you can hop off to your class and I'll just go get coffee for the both of us." Implying she had time of course, at least before she goes off and meet with her partner for the next round of recruitments. "It really sucks you're haveing a bad day, might as well try to make it a little better for you, right?"

Refusing to lose hope just yet, she open one last cabinet. Knowing how things worked out, she had the second thought to actually request a better coffee machine for here, surely she could manage a Kreurig or-omigoshYES, there was the vinegar! She even held it over her head.

"Dahdahdahdaaaah~ See? Something's bound to go right today!" The cheery woman chanted the found item theme from Legend of Zelda, then recalling the woman had class soon, she moved to add water and a little vinegar to the coffee machine.

"Oh! Right!" Bright blue eyes lit up. Her companion's question had not been forgotten in the success of the mission! Mai turns on the coffee maker to run it through a round of cleaning and steps away to join Melody.The smell wasn't going to be pleasant.

"I really should have introduced myself earlier. I mean I try to match faces and names way ahead of time when I work at a new place, so I forget little things like actually telling people my name and things-" The brunette's hands lifts in the motion to stop, physically stopping herself from spiraling into a ramble probably.

"In any case, I'm Maiella." She extends one hand "Maiella Adaire, recruiter. I got hired here a few months ago."

[Melody Rivers]

Melody smiled widely at the other woman's offer to grab coffee for the both of them if she had to run to class before they got the machine fixed. "That would be superb," she replied with a nod, deciding she already liked this person. Their personalities actually might mesh quite well, she decided, when she wasn't in a foul mood. But moods were ephemeral.

She smiled as Maiella produced the object of her search, happy she'd found it but still unsure as to how this would help fix the coffee maker. If the woman had been so intent on finding it, though, then she trusted it would work.

The blonde felt better when Maiella said she had only just been hired. Melody usually recognized a face, but this one had been unfamiliar, and she had felt a bit bad that Maiella had known her name but Melody hadn't known hers. "Maiella," she repeated, "what a pretty name." She took the woman's extended hand in both of hers, shaking it gently but assertively. "As you know, I'm Melody. Welcome to Hammel, of course." She put both her hands on her hips now, looking briefly at the coffee maker before looking back at the other woman. "And how are you finding the school so far?" She asked to make conversation while they waited for the machine to finish its cleaning cycle. She didn't really know much about the recruiters, so it was interesting meeting one. Really the extent of her interaction with them had been in the staff lounge like this or at all-staff meetings, but she didn't know any of them very well, yet.

[Mai Adaire]

"Aw thank you. And call me Mai if you'd like, whichever rolls of the tongue better." Such a warm welcome! Maiella had jumped on her recruitment job with full enthusiasm that she had not the chance to really meet or bother any of her colleagues. Thankfully, Melody had been far more pleasant company than the one she was forced to deal with more often than not.

"Actually-"

The good news: the coffee maker turns on, though it makes a very odd gurgling, sputtering sound. Mai's attention snaps to it the coffee maker, observing in the case it decided to suddenly self-destruct. The vaporous scent of diluted vinegar was unpleasant, but at least it seemed like it was dislodging whatever was that was blocking the machine from it's usual magic.

"Actually," Mai continued, "I was so happy when I got hired here. One of my longtime friends works here, and not to mention it feels to actually do work that isn't so-"

Her eyes rise to the ceiling and she snaps her fingers. What was the best way to word this?

"Chaotic, that'll work. I mean, aside from the whole traveling part, but there's stability here. The kids I meet are all so varied and and full of wonderous potential and to bring them here gives them a strive for stability. This has been the possible closest to my dream job as it gets!"

Mai then darts over to the coffee maker, seeing the cafela was filled with hot vinegared water. Time to dump it out! She opens the lid and pulls out the coffee basket, tipping it in Mel's direction.

"See all that deposit? It has been a while since it was cleaned. No worries though, we go through one more cycle with clean water water and we can finally have out coffee." The sooner the better, her energy needed a little boost.

"You teach drama and dance, right? How long you been at it? I always imagined to teach something so creative to just be consistently fulfilling."

[Melody Rivers]

Melody could feel her own demeanor changing now that she had someone who was helping her. All morning long, she'd felt like it was her against the world, but now that she'd met someone friendly and helpful, it was boosting her own spirits. Mai was like a little ray of sunshine that had broken through the big, dark clouds that had settled on Mel's day.

"Who's your friend?" She asked as soon as the words had left Mai's mouth. Mel knew a lot of the people who had been working here longer than Mai had, so perhaps they had mutual friends. Actually, it only made sense that they would: there were only so many staff members at Hammel, most of them knew each other somehow. Still, Mel wasn't very familiar with the recruiters.

As they spoke, the dance teacher ignored the smell of vinegar wafting over from the coffee machine. If it would fix the coffee machine, she was willing to grin and bear it for a while longer.

"Yes, I feel very much the same way," replied the blonde as Mai described her experience of teaching her students. "There's so much potential here. It's lovely watching students as they grow into themselves and become adults." Some of them took longer to become adults, of course...

"Yes, drama and dance," she answered. "I've been here about... well I'm dating myself, but about five years now," she continued, as though she was old enough for 'dating oneself' to be a bad thing. "I really enjoy it. It's so much fun. I would never want to teach students who had to just sit in a classroom and listen to me drone."

[Mai Adaire]

The woman lit up at the question of her friend – and yes that was humanly possible! Anytime she could gush about the few significant people in her life was the absolute best.

“Valentia de la Torres! She’s a trainer here, so fitting. It was fate that we happened to endure the same institute, so I’ve known Velli since she was fresh faced student. One of the most intense and strongest people I ever had the fortune of knowing! Who would have thought we’d exist in the same place again…”

Her voice became wistful as it trailed off, her eyes flicking up the ceiling in recollection. It was unclear if the memories were kind or cold, the woman would suddenly just shrug it off. No clouds were dampening this kind of day! Besides, she made an acquaintance AND they would both be getting their coffee after all. Even better, Melody was another that knew the joy of seeing potential and nurturing them to their absolute best.

“I totally want to sit in one of your classes one day, see you in all of your instructor-glory!”

Her attention went to the bubbling coffee maker. Back to normal as it had turned on, there were no audible clogged gurgles, and the nose-wrinkling vinegar was dissipating. The brunette turn to the stack of files she had on her desk, new faces needing that first glimmer of a beacon.

“I always had immense respect for the meta-human schools and educators that do their best for these kids. They really do rely on us to guide them to be adults, especially the way so many will look at for simply existing the way they are.”
Despite whatever conflicting feelings she had for her own institute, the respect remained. The last drop of hot, clean water drips into the carafe and catches Mai’s attention.

“Oh good!” And just like that, the brunette bounds cheerfully to the coffee machine to dump out the clean. “You'll be able to get a cup in just before class at least. Consider this a turn in your favor today, no matter what the day gives you."