The Group Work Conundrum

[Adelaide McLisk]

There weren't any statistics about group work at college, or, at least, at Community College, which Add still couldn't help but see as college for people who weren't good enough to actually go to college. They'd accepted Add with her low GPA and attendance record though; going away wasn't really an option for her right now. So there she was, at Greenview Community College, and she'd been assigned group work. Well, in truth, it was less "group" and more "partner." Add had gotten partnered with Valerie Danner. There were probabilities there, many of which Add didn't like. She'd ignored them, even if doing so took an effort of will on her part.

They'd agreed to meet somewhere neutral to begin discussions and work. In this case, neutral meant a sort of mini-coffee shop that had been attached to the library. The place was fairly standard in the case of colleges and the like; there wasn't even a stat that immediately came to mind; Add just knew that the place fell almost too probably in line with things. She did note that she herself seemed to spend quite a bit of time in places like this. She had a coffee and several schoolbooks sitting there, including the one for the class they actually shared: English Lit.

Add browsed the book, thumbing through it. Literature always confounded her, no matter what she tried. Too many improbabilities, too many oddities. She'd rather be reading a math theory text. She sighed and closed it, tapping it with her fingers. She could feel someone standing close by, and the probability stated quite clearly who it should be.

"You're on time," said Add. Her voice was level, as though neither surprised, disappointed, nor pleased about this. She looked up, mostly by moving her eyes instead of her head, her expression as calculating as it ever is.

[Valerie Danner]

Being partnered up with people for work, to Valerie, always felt very high school. It wasn't that the brunette felt particularly individualistic but for English Lit, it felt a lot better doing the work alone. But, unfortunately, she had no say in the matter and it wasn't like she was paired up with someone horrible in class. She could name three she was so glad she wasn't partnered up with off the top of her head. And Adelaide McLisk was not one of them, thankfully.

The girl had always seemed so reserved in class and Valerie always noted the fact that the girl hardly smiled or chatted with anybody, which usually meant Valerie felt compelled to show her the error of her ways.

Having decided the place they would convene, Valerie took her time to get over there, knowing she wouldn't be late. And by the remark her partner gave, she knew that she was right. "Yep," she responded with a grin, swinging her bag strap over her shoulder and resting her bag on the empty chair between them before sitting down. "I try to be. I mean this is English Lit. Have to get right into it." She teased lightly as she took out her book from her bag.

"Anyways, what exactly do you propose we do with this? To be perfectly honest, I wasn't actually paying attention when Mr. McDonald was giving out instructions." She chuckled sheepishly.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Of course, Add was busy thinking math while Valerie spoke, an unfortunate habit of hers. Strange how much about Valerie just felt... average. Add knew better than to actually mention that though; most people didn't like to hear how boringly normal they actually were in the grand scheme of things. Plus, in Add's experience, there was always something that defied probability about people. Maybe Valerie secretly collected something interesting, or perhaps she was a serial killer and Add was her next victim.

"I suppose we are going to need quite a bit of time to get this right," admitted Add, frowning at her book. "I would not rank literature among my strengths," she sighed and looked over at her partner. Add was used to being the smartest person in the room; her ability helped her tremendously in that regard. However with this, well, she usually felt like the dumbest person on the room. Literature and probability didn't line up well, at all.

Not paying attention... had Add been? She reached into a folder she had set out and pulled out the assignment sheet, looking it over. "It says that we are to present background information about the book and its author," she looked at the book in question, wrinkling her nose. "I think that will require some research, perhaps?" Add stared at the book for a few seconds, as if hoping that it would somehow give her the answers.

[Valerie Danner]

Gaping a little at Adelaide's admission, Valerie shook her head. "I would have thought you had nothing but strength." She raised her eyebrows and chuckled, cracking open the book and hummed as she read the title.

"The Age of Innocence." She said out loud, listening as Adelaide explained what they were supposed to do. Well, it didn't sound too hard. Research was the basis of this project and that they could do on the internet. Or the library.

"A lot of research. I'm cool with that." Valerie shrugged. "I think the best strategy is to divide and conquer." She suggested, looking up at Adelaide with a smile.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add blinked. "There are many things which I cannot do," she said, feeling a bit like a robot as she said that. Add realized that she often sounded like a robot, or, more accurately, like someone had given a voice to a calculator and asked it to interact with humans. She shifted awkwardly, letting Valerie work through the rest; research, divide and conquer, that Add knew. Probabilities locked into place, mixed with her own personal knowledge, and Add nodded.

"Divide and conquer is an excellent plan," Add attempted a smile. It mostly looked like one. "So it will be me doing the research and you doing the part where you talk to the class about things?" This was the probability, and what usually happened in Add's experience. She didn't even sound put out about it. "You do seem quite personable," Add added, figuring that a compliment would also help. People liked hearing good things about themselves; that was a fairly common probability, and one that hadn't really let Add down yet.