Someday, Right Now (James, Zac, Open)

[Ginny Campbell]

"Three day weekend, three day weekend!! Guess who has a three day weekend!!" Ginny chirped, tumbling into her father's office without bothering to knock. She dropped her book-bag unceremoniously beside his desk and perched herself on the edge of his desk, pushing his name plate out of her way so she wouldn't poke herself.

"Yep, that's right, meeeeeee!!" She answered her own question, as if she hadn't already discussed her arrival with him prior to driving down. She only had one class on Monday and her teacher had canceled, which had meant an (almost) last minute decision to drive to Pilots Ridge with her friend Annie. It was so nice to have met someone else who had family at Hammel; that meant she didn't have to drive by herself. She could have driven alone, but she felt safer having someone else in the car with her. After all, if she blew out a tire or even had to stop for gas it was better not to be a solitary girl; she didn't want to present an easy target if she could help it.

"Sooooooo!!" She peered over the desk in an attempt to see what he was working on, although she knew the chances were slim that she would understand what he was doing without an explanation."What're you doing? Is it secret? Is it important? Can you procrastinate so we can go get pancakes? I'm staaaaarving and Annie wasn't hungry, she went straight to see her sis. Oh, hey, speaking of, guess what! Annie is teaching me sign language! Look, look!!!"

She squinted in concentration as she showed off her new skills. "Hi...my...name....is....Ginny!" She spoke aloud as she signed her greeting. "See??" She bounced eagerly, excited to share her new skill. "Isn't that cool??"

[Dr. James Campbell]

In the past nine years, James had been through three offices, and though this was a huge step up from the slightly-larger-than-a-closet one he'd shared his first two years of recruiting, there wasn't an office in the building that could contain Ginny Campbell when she was in a good mood.

Though the recruiter tried very hard not to be the kind of parent that hovered over her, she was a freshman in college, and he was the kind of person who liked to know schedules. So he knew very well that his daughter should not have a three-day weekend any time soon. With an ever-patient (but still amused) sigh, James siad, "I'm assuming this means your lecture on Monday has been canceled, since I know I raised you better than to skip class." Then he carefully reached over and moved his nameplate, so even though it wasn't in the exact spot it was supposed to be, it sat parallel to the edge of the desk.

He had never been good with surprises, except when it came to his kids. James smiled, put down his pen, and waited for Ginny to finish before he started answering her questions. "I'm scheduling assignments. No, it's not secret. Yes, it is important. Yes, it can wait until after we get lunch--though no, you don't want pancakes, you know the diners around here aren't very good--and yes, that is very cool. How are your classes going?" Just like Ginny, he could smoothly switch from one topic to another with little transition between them. It was a talent, and one that drove his husband crazy.

As he spoke, he picked up his pen again and made a few more quick notes--Midori and Willow had both been sent overseas recently, next time a recruitment mission came up abroad, it was Stephen's turn--then started to put away his files. "I am waiting on a call from Willow--Do you remember her, tall, with short, dark hair?--and then we can go get lunch after." In theory, his recruiters could call his cell phone, but he liked making notes of their reports right away. "There's an apple in my fridge if you can't wait."

[Ginny Campbell]

"Of course I'm not skipping!!" Ginny huffed indignantly, "And yes, my lecture got canceled. And I thought between hanging around campus all weekend or coming here I would rather come here! So here I am!" Her explanation, while short, involved a great deal of gesticulating and moving about that left the items on James' desk in danger of being knocked off.

She grimaced at the reminder of the poor quality of the local diners. "We could always make pancakes?" She suggested. "And classes are going well. Our English teacher decided to teach us how to write resumes, which is more useful than all that poetry stuff they had us doing in high school. And I didn't think I'd like Philosophy, but our professor is this old hippie dude with a pony tail. He's really cool and laid-back. And Calculus is fun. I made a 100 on our first test. I think the guy who sits next to me is high all the time, but it's actually kind of hilarious. Our professor loves to call on him and his answers are unfailingly wrong. I don't know how he's gonna pass." Not her problem, though. As long as she passed -- and with the amount of time she devoted to studying she was sure she would -- other people's grades didn't matter. "And I brought my homework with me so you can see and be amazed that I know how to do it." She added, as if she had ever failed to complete assignments.

"Oooh, yeah." She nodded to show that she knew who he was talking about. Willow was a striking woman with an imposing personality; Ginny doubted it was possible for anyone to forget her once they'd met her. "What is she calling about?" She inquired nosily, hopping off the desk and skipping over to the fridge for the apple.

"An apple! Shouldn't this be sitting on your desk? With a nice shiny label that says to my favorite recruiter or something?" She asked, turning the crisp red fruit over in her hands admiringly. "You sure you don't want this? I can have it? For reals? You don't mind? And how long do you think it will be til she calls, cause an apple isn't a very big lunch, I might faint from hunger if we don't go soon even with this to tide me over."

[Dr. James Campbell]

James tried to hide his wince as Ginny nearly knocked over the family picture on his desk. (He hadn't put it there, and Chase had denied any knowledge of it. Yes, it was a little uncomfortable to see another photo in place of where the old one had stood, but this was new, taken that summer on the Fourth of July, with the four of them, smiling, and his hands bandaged. So it had to have been Chase behind it.) He reached over and held the frame, protecting it from the gesticulations of his daughter.

"I have time for a lunch break, Gin, but not enough to go home, cook, eat, and clean up. However, you pick somewhere, and we'll go. Ask Annie if she and Julie would like to join us for dinner tomorrow night; I'll make lasagna." James liked Ginny's friend. He'd been the one to recruit her sister, and it had been refreshing to meet a family that was so universally accepting. "And you know you wound my Doctor of Literature soul when you talk about 'poetry stuff', right?" He shook his head and chuckled, "But so long as you aren't high in class--or anytime, and don't tell your mother I implied otherwise--and are doing well, I'm happy. Is it too early to ask if you're going to make the Dean's list this semester?"

Of course Ginny wouldn't have forgotten about Willow. It was probably physically impossible for anyone to forget Willow. "She's meeting a new recruit today, a kid with super-reflexes in Kansas." He wasn't allowed to tell her much more about any of the assignments, but she knew that already. She'd grown up hearing severely edited stories about the places he'd been to and the kids he'd met.

"Considering I brought it for myself, that would be a bit egotistical of me, wouldn't it? And yes, Ginny, you can have it." He checked his watch; Willow was supposed to call in about fifteen minutes, so they still had a little while to wait. Luckily, Willow was usually pretty punctual. "Fifteen, twenty minutes. You know, if you had called ahead to let me know you were coming, I could have been better prepared." But his face betrayed his words; James was thrilled to see his daughter.

[Ginny Campbell]

"Aww. Fine, no pancakes for lunch. Can I make pancakes for dinner, then?" That sounded like a reasonable compromise to her. The invitation to Annie and Julie for dinner the following night sounded even better, and she nodded in eager acceptance, "Oh, definitely! Thanks, dad, you're the best!" She could even skip pancakes today for lasagna with family and friends tomorrow.

"Poetry isn't so bad just to read." She relented, feeling a twinge of guilt for her thoughtless dismissal, "But when you have to analyze it for themes and symbols it's just so....so...ugh. Can't it just be nice to read, does it have to be all secret codes and stuff? Resumes are more straightforward and I might even use one to apply for a job. If I ever get a job as an engineer and it requires me to analyze poetry I will cry rivers of blood. That's just not fair at all."

She pursed her lips at the comment about being high. Right. Like she wanted to impair her judgment. That didn't seem like a good idea from where she stood. "At least he makes it to class. It's amazing how many people only show up for tests. Like, can you even expect to pass the test if you aren't there for the lectures and the handouts? And I don't wanna get high, the girls in the dorm next to me are lit up all the time and they're so dumb. Not like obnoxious drunk person dumb just...they're so dull and they sit around and dude at each other and don't do anything. It's weird. They were all talking about Shpongle and I was really surprised because, like, nobody else listens to them, you know? So I jumped in and they asked if I wanted to go see them in concert and I said yeah, sure, that would be pretty keen. So I met them in their dorms and I swear they spent an hour just passing around that stupid bong before anyone bothered to even think of heading out the door, and they smoked the entire car ride and then they stayed in the parking lot to keep smoking cause the people we parked next to were smoking, too, so I guess they had to bond or something, I don't know. I just went ahead and went in without them. I don't even know if they even came in to see any of the concert but I texted Annie to come pick me up because I was not riding home with them."

She shrugged at his question about the Dean's list. "If I don't make the Dean's list with the amount of studying I've done this semester then I may as well drop out now 'cause there is no hope for me as a scholar."

Her eyes lit up at the thought of super-reflexes. "Oh, man, that's so neat!" She sighed enviously, "I want super-reflexes, that would be so useful. Although they might not have let me onto the track team..." Now that she thought about it she really didn't think she would trade her track days for super-reflexes.

"You have to bring your own apples? I'm appalled! Make your students do it for you! Honestly, what good is working in education if you don't even get free apples from students? Lame!" She pronounced, biting into the apple with gusto. "I could have called," She agreed, "but that would have spoiled the surprise!"

[Dr. James Campbell]

"Fine. It's just too bad blueberries are out of season; Niko really likes them." It might have sounded like a concession, but James honestly didn't mind when Ginny took over the kitchen. She was far more adept at cooking than Chase was, and cleaner about it. Of course, he'd still be the one doing the dishes--he would insist--but she wouldn't leave the room looking like a tornado had swept through. Yes, it was apparently possible for Chase to have lived with him for almost five years, and still not know where everything was in the kitchen. "Thanks Gin, that's good to know."

"But a thorough analysis of a piece gives you a better understanding of it. Sure, poetry is nice to read, but without analysis, someone could say, for example, that when Frost wrote 'Good fences make good neighbors', he meant that we shouldn't infringe on others personal space. And you know that wasn't what he was saying." But James just had to smile. Two minutes into the conversation and they were already in a debate something completely inconsequential. It was loving, though, so he wasn't worried. "But yes, knowing how to write a resume is probably more useful for you." And by probably, he meant absolutely. Most of what he had learned when he'd earned his Ph.D. had never been useful after his thesis had been completed.

Of course, it had been quite a while now since he was a student in college, and even longer since he was a freshman. James had never been one to go to concerts or parties, and it had worked well for him, until that one party his friends had dragged him to, where he'd met Lucy. He'd never experimented with drugs, and he really didn't expect anything different from Ginny. But as she told her story, he just watched her, waiting for her to clarify something. She didn't.

"Wait," he said, "Did you just tell me that you got in a car with people who had been smoking pot? If Annie came to pick you up, I assume you weren't driving, so who was?" James tried so hard not to be overprotective of Ginny. And particularly the past summer, with him paranoid from the attack and her just starting college, it had taken a lot of effort on his part. What in the world was she thinking, letting someone who was high drive he anywhere?

Of course, that was going to color the rest of their conversation. Still, if she was really studying that hard--and he had no reason to doubt that--he was proud of her. "That's great, Gin. You keep at it, and you'll get enough grant money that I won't have to pay."

But even when he wasn't exactly happy with her, he couldn't not laugh at her antics. "Go steal fresh apples from Chase then. He's the one who has students. I have recruits, and half of them hate me for bringing them here." Of course, he'd had a similar mindset when he'd arrived, but a lot of students came around eventually. "And Ginny, you know me. I always prefer time for pancakes to surprises."

[Ginny Campbell]

"Ummmmm." Ginny squirmed uncomfortably under her father's scrutinizing stare; maybe that hadn't been the best story to share. "Yeah...well....ummm....I may have...." She admitted, glancing down at the floor and drumming her feet against the desk nervously. "I mean, I'm definitely not gonna do it again....?" It was half promise, half plea for forgiveness. She hadn't really thought it through; she'd been focused on the idea of seeing the show. The actual drive had been terrifying enough that she hadn't been keen on returning with the girls she'd come with, thus she'd found alternate transportation. Granted, it would have been a better idea to have just not gone with them in the first place but she'd only realized that after the fact.

"I've barely even talked to any of them since then. I think they kind of got the hint that I wasn't so into that whole scene." Whether that was because she had continuously refused their offers to share the weed or because she'd left without them was a mystery to her, but either way she was grateful; they had been perfectly nice to her but she didn't want to deal with having the resident potheads try and befriend her. One outing had been enough for her to know she didn't want to spend her time with any of them.

"Thanks, dad, that's all you care about, is it? The money?" She rolled her eyes, grinning. "Cause if that's the case I'll just get a job and put myself through college, how's that? Then you don't have to do anything except pester me about my grades. Which are fine. But I'll give you my account password so you can check every single day if you want." She offered, because she expected to do well and thus didn't mind him having access to her school's online report card.

"I would, but this is more convenient because I'm already here!" She protested, deciding against repossessing the desk and instead meandering between desk and filing cabinet in order to hover over her father while he worked on assignments. "I'll steal from him later. Maybe I'll steal one for you, too, replace this one. He should have so many apples from thankful students that he won't notice a few are missing. Unless he counts them. Every morning. Because he gets new ones and has to know how many he got all week. Your recruits should be grateful and not hate you, though. That's mean of them. You're doing them a favor, they get to come to Hammel and learn to use their abilities!" Then again, she'd never been dragged away from her family with no chance to object.

"Right, but since I'm making pancakes tonight you get both!" She pointed out. "But next time class gets canceled I'll call and then you can stop everything you're doing to make sure we get pancakes for lunch."

She munched in silence for a few moments before heaving a sigh. "Come on, Willow! Call already!!! Hasn't it been fifteen minutes yet?" She craned her neck to look over at the clock, answering her own question. "What? Only one? That's not fair. Time needs to move faster."

[Zachary LaRousse]

To see Zac in the office halls was really a rare sight. He doesn’t mingle much with the administration, much more those who are considered ‘high ups’. He had a not-so-formal brush with Vincent Romanov, the head of security, a while back, and while it did not end as bad as he thought, it still isn’t as decent as he would’ve liked. Being the arrogant jerk that he is, respect for authority came on to him hard. Obeying someone means he had to put his pride aside and see the person as higher than him, a feat though relatively simple to some, but is really a huge step for Zac. Fortunately he isn’t much of a troublemaker as much as he is the disobedient one (most of his rebellious acts in the classroom are smirks anyway).

What is he doing in the office halls you ask? You see, Zac just got a two new people added to his dorm suite. Zac already had a hard time sharing his room with Horus and his lovely troupe (apparently you room with one, you room with the group), now he has two more? The room can barely contain Zac and Verax’s big heads together, he’s fairly sure that it’s impossible to squish more. With his dad washing his hand off the issue, he figures he must take the matters into his own hands.

It’s not personal really. Sure he finds Xander and his pals creepy and disorienting, but he figures he can live with the ghost whisperer. And Jayson is his friend, somewhat, that Zac actually prefers if him over his older roommate (apparently Jayson’s lone wolf nature appealed to the boy; the shadow manipulator belonging to the elite didn’t hurt much either). The real reason he wants them out is because their arrival forced him to cut his extravagant living by more than half. 2/3 to be exact.

You see, Zac uses the once empty rooms as his own personal walk-in closets. Being the Zachary that he is, having only one room for clothes is an impossibility. For the past three months that he’s been in the room, he’s been using the two extra rooms as his own. From cardigans to boxers, anything that his room can’t store, it’s there. Zac virtually had no problem when it comes to space, especially since Horus could care less about what he’s doing. So really, his surprise when he saw the two boys in their doorstep with their bags with them was really astounding. Fortunately his car’s caretaker had a spacious apartment, else he would’ve had to throw away more than a third of his clothes.

He knocked on Dr. Campbell’s door three times before letting himself in. So much for manners anyway. Why Dr. Campbell? Of all the admin-figures in Hammel, Zac sees Dr. Campbell as the least intimidating on all of them. He could go and try it with Mr. Romanov, seeing as he’s built a more friendly rapport with the man already, but compared to the head of recruitment, he figures the latter would have more power over dorm assignments and such. And he’d choose enhanced perception than mind-reading on any day – he has a much larger chance on covering his true intentions with the former than the latter, he thinks (and Dr. Neville just seems too stern for the boy).

“Dr. Campbell, I need your he-” he stopped midsentence as he saw an unfamiliar figure in the room. He can’t tell what or why, but Dr. Campbell’s smile and her rather relaxed posture made Zac rethink the notion that she’s just a normal student. And besides, she seems a bit too old for a new meta. Or is she? “Woah, I didn’t know Mr. Kilbourne can shapeshift into a beautiful blonde too,” he chuckled, slowly making his way to the girl, “You must be new. I’m Zac, Zachary LaRousse.”

Smooth Zac, real smooth.


ooc:
A wild Zachie appears! Haha. Hope you don't mind Zachie interrupting nao. :3.
-Jam
[/color]

[Dr. James Campbell]

Sorry, Ginny, but that was absolutely not the best story to share. In general, James wasn't stern with her, and had even let up on her drinking coffee over the past year. But when she did something phenomenally stupid like that, he was duty-bound to say something. "That's good. But God, Gin, think." One of his worst nightmares was getting the phone call--they'd agreed on him being her emergency contact, since he lived closer to her college--from the police, or God forbid, the emergency room.

Ginny was always going to be his baby girl, and the thought of losing her because of something so stupid terrified him.

"You don't have to do that, Gin." His voice softened, and he smiled. No matter how mad at her he might be for doing something without thinking, he was proud of his brilliant daughter. "You know I have more access to databases than the patriot act, right?" Okay, not quite, but he still was able to get his hands on a lot of information that technically it was illegal for him to find. "I trust you, and I'd be happy to pay, even if you weren't doing so well."

Now, there are things called flights of fancy, and then there are things called absurd. Sometimes they are hard to differentiate, but sometimes they very clearly cross the line from one to another. Ginny reached that point near the end of her apples monologue. "You had me at stealing apples. It even made sense that Chase would have too many apples to miss. But you lost the plot at him counting them every morning." He hadn't rubbed off on his husband that much. Chase would just leave them all in a...wait, did Ginny really have him thinking about this?

"Okay, maybe calling ahead wouldn't have helped much, but I might have been able to clear more time." In general, his department was pretty flexible with schedules. None of his recruiters were married, and so far as he knew, no one was seeing anyone. They were able to shift their schedules around a lot, just like he had when he'd first started. Though that was going to change a little, with Midori's pregnancy. "Sorry, Gin, but yelling at the clock is only slightly more productive than yelling at Willow."

Fortunately for Ginny's boredom, Zac took that opportunity to walk in. Unfortunately for James's sanity, Zac took that opportunity to walk in, and attempt to hit on his daughter. (Because, of course, comparing a girl to her stepfather is totally a way to get both her and her father happy with you.) With a heavy sigh, he was going to wave the boy into the room, but he'd already taken the initiative. "I know this might come as a shock, but I have more than one beautiful blond in my life. Zachary, this is my daughter, Ginny. Ginny, this is one of the students here." He'd let her handle whatever the hell Zac was getting at, though. She was more than capable.

[Ginny Campbell]

"Hmmm. Then if he isn't counting them he won't notice if I steal any." Ginny responded decisively. "Don't tell him!! We'll see if he notices they're missing." She was definitely going to make a point of searching his classroom for apples now, just to see if he actually had any. If he did it would most likely not be due to fondness from any students, but now that she had the idea of stealing apples from him in her head she was bound and determined to do just that if at all possible. "At least he's only my step-dad," She added, "Step-mothers are known to poison those things."

She shook a fist at the clock, which, as her father pointed out, refused to move any faster despite her admonishments. "The clock also isn't going to eat my face off if I yell at it," She pointed out, although her tone was more admiring than fearful. Willow was intimidating, but she was also smart and capable and could handle anything anyone threw at her -- at least, that was Ginny's impression of the older woman, and she found smart and capable to be much more worth emulating than nonthreatening and sweet.

She would have continued glaring impotently at the clock for a few moments and then found some means to entertain herself until Willow's call, but these plans were interrupted by the arrival of a young man around her age with a smirking, arrogant disposition. That, at least, was her first impression of Zac, unflattering though it may have been.
She pressed her lips into a thin line at the young man and his advances. Was that supposed to be a come on? Because from where she sat it wasn't exactly the most flattering comparison -- no offense to Chase, who made a perfectly acceptable guy but certainly didn't look anything like her other than being blonde. "I'm not new here if I'm also Mr. Kilbourne, who can not only change genders but ages, as well."


Rather than offer a hand to shake she crossed both arms across her chest, sizing the newcomer up suspiciously. He was nice to look at, if dressed a bit flamboyantly for her tastes; but she didn't take kindly to swaggering Alpha male self-confidence, regardless of how pretty the male in question was. That was one of the upsides to being demisexual: she could objectively admire prettiness, but she wasn't about to swoon just because some hot guy talked to her.

"Hey," She responded coolly after both the boy (who looked around her age) and her father finished with the introductions. LaRousse. What an unusual surname that was. "Are you French?" She took in outfit coupled with the confident pose and raised an eyebrow at the intruder.

"Forgive me, I almost thought you said your name was Zachary. I need to start bringing earplugs when I go to concerts." She gave him a faux-apologetic smile and finally held out her hand, "As my dad said, I'm Ginny. It's really lovely to meet you, Marie Antoinette."

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac was actually glad Dr. Campbell took his advances to his daughter with a good heart. He actually thought he’d be thrown out of the door almost immediately, banished and exiled, told to never show his face in the office ever again. (Well banishment might be an exaggeration already, but that’s Zachary to you; he knew if he did that to Mr. Romanov’s daughter, should he have one, he’d be crippled for the rest of his life). Dr. Campbell’s reaction just proved to Zac that indeed, he’s one of the sweetest people in Hammel staff. Ginny’s reaction, on the other hand, is a surprising one. Could it be that her real father is Mr. Kilbourne and not Dr. Campbell?

“Oh, your daughter with Mr. Kilbourne? She grew up fast then,” he chuckled as he approached the desk and sat on one of the chair’s armrests. Forgive him for forgetting his social graces. “Just kidding,” he quickly added, hoping he didn’t get on either of the two’s bad side for his joke. At Ginny’s reply he simply smiled and said, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t know Mr. Kilbourne was that old. I mean, he just looks like an older brother compared to you. Just like Dr. Campbell over there.” Greasy? Yes. Over the top? Definitely. Then again, he’s trying to hit on her in front of her father. Like they said, desperate times call for desperate measures.

“French? I sure hope not. Being a French national and having no grasp of their native language whatsoever? I’d be extremely ashamed.” The only language Zac knows is English and money. And the occasional Japanese, Korean and Spanish. But not French. Definitely not French. “I’m a mongrel actually,” he laughed, “My mom’s Korean-American while my dad’s a mix of Japanese, Scottish and Canadian. And maybe a tinge of French, though I highly doubt it. I’m an American citizen though.” For all his elitist attitude, him not being a ‘pure’ something really doesn’t fit. He’s not particularly fond of his mongrel heritage, but hey, at least he can say he’s from all over the world.

He was actually a bit surprised when Ginny didn’t return his hand the first time. She has spunk, and spunk Zac likes. When she did hold her hand out and call him a different name, he was surprised. So surprised that he didn’t have enough time to think of a witty come back. “Nice to meet you too Ginny” was all he could say. “You’ve raised quite the daughter Dr. Campbell,” he added quickly.

Finally remembering his social graces, he stood up from his rather lofty seat and said, “Oops, am I interrupting something? You think I should come back later?” He’s got to hate social protocol really. He has no intention of getting out, not this early anyway, and he’ll try to find a way to stay if ever they did tell him they’re in the middle of something. Zac’s just so ‘cool’ like that.

[Dr. James Campbell]

Yes, this whole conversation was ridiculous, but it just made James want to start leaving apples in Chase's classroom. Things like this, or the occasional game of laser tag in the house weren't unheard-of. "I promise I won't tell." No, the other man would just have to notice the appearing and disappearing apples on his own, or catch one of them at the game.

Oh this would be fun.

"And I think you'll be safe. Stepchild poisonings aren't as ubiquitous as the stories would imply, but yes, as you only have step-dads, you've got the odds on your side." Honestly, it was still a little weird for him whenever he remembered that Chase was Ginny's step-father. Weird, but in a good way, as she was sort-of practice for having Nikki around.

Of course, it was a lot harder for him to feel lighthearted when when an entitled little prince was in his office, making a pass at his daughter. And then doing it again, even when Ginny had made her point of view quite clear. That was just creepy, Zac. "What? No, Zachary." And even though he said he was just kidding, that kind of comment grated on James. "Don't tell me I have to inform Dr. Neville that you'll need to attend his lecture again."

But the kid kept at it. And he managed to hit on another one of the things that made James uncomfortable. He'd only been twenty-two when his daughter was born; his youngest sister was actually closer in age to his daughter than to him. It was unexpected enough that James wasn't sure how to respond. (His daughter might be in college, but in his eyes she was not old enough for boys to be flirting with her. At least not in front of him.) Thankfully, though, Ginny could hold her own against a spoiled teenager.

And there was no way Marie Antoinette was going to be forgotten. No, that was going to be shared with Chase, in case Zac got rowdy during training. Then it might be shared with anyone in the vicinity, and as Hammel is, at heart, a high school, Zac really better not act up.

But, with a sigh, he James leaned back in his office chair. Despite the impending phone call and Ginny coming in to visit, he still was working, and if Zachary actually needed something, it was his job to be there. "No, it's fine, Zac. What do you need? I only have another ten minutes or so before I'll be receiving an important phone call, and both of you will have to be quiet then."

[Ginny Campbell]

Not French, but French-Canadian. That explained the surname, then, although she found it odd that he claimed not to know any French; she wasn't terrifically up on her Canadian politics, but she thought the French-Canadians generally spoke French. But then he admitted to being an American citizen; ah, so maybe he hadn't been raised in Canada. He had listed a rather impressive variety of countries in his background.

She wished she could tell Zac to leave, that he was definitely not welcome, but it wasn't her place to say that. No, it was up to her father whether or not he could stay and her father had to be professional no matter how obnoxious his charges were. She sighed audibly when James extended the invitation for Zac to stay despite the fact that she knew he had no choice. Maybe the boy would be quick about this, but she somehow doubted that he was capable of being quick about anything. A snapshot judgment from their thus far brief interaction lead her to the conclusion that he liked being the center of attention, regardless of whether that attention was good or bad, and that he would be in no hurry to leave unless they ignored him. Unfortunately, her father wasn't allowed to ignore him and she felt sure that as much as he already annoyed her she wouldn't be able to.

She pouted slightly at her father's instructions they be quiet during his impending phone call; was he implying that she was incapable of staying silent? Well, that might have been true, depending on how long the phone call lasted, but she felt confident she could find something quiet to entertain herself. Possibly homework; just because she had off Monday didn't mean procrastinating was a good idea. After all, finishing quickly meant mental freedom, no burden hanging over her while she was playing.

"Would I talk over your conversation?" The fact that she had in the past didn't mean she would now; the fact that the person on the other end of the phone would be the most intimidating Willow made behaving a more appealing prospect than it sometimes was. The fact that she was annoyed with Zac and wanted to use any excuse to prove her superiority -- which meant not talking during her father's call -- made it even more imperative that she obey. "I can certainly be quiet." She shot the other teen a challenging look: Could he behave himself? She almost hoped not, just so she could be lofty and derisive about it.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac’s not sure if his dad’s French and Canadian heritage is a French-Canadian one but he’s sure as hell that he’s never been to Quebec, or any other French-only speaking Canadian provinces for that matter. He knows they have a mansion somewhere in Toronto and a smaller one in British Columbia (somewhere in Vancouver, he thinks), but he highly doubts they have a ‘heritage site’ in that place too. Then again if he discovers that indeed his family’s roots come from that place, he still won’t visit the city. Aside from his lack of French skills, he’s already cold enough in Toronto as is; he doubts the beauty and satisfaction of knowing his origins outweigh the fact that he’ll freeze to death in the process.

He squirmed inwardly at the mention of going through one of Dr. Neville’s lectures again. No way was he allowing that to happen. He’s had The Talk from Stephen five years ago – he found it rather redundant and uncomfortable going through it the second time (especially since he had to suffer through it with a large crowd) and he believes Dr. Neville’s talks aren’t like alcohol with which you develop some sort of tolerance level after a while. There are and forever will be horrible in the teenager’s eyes. “No need Dr. Campbell, I’m perfectly fine with my knowledge of how babies are made, thank you.” He made himself even more comfortable by moving from the arm of the chair to seating on the cushion of it without even being prompted. “Though the possibility of a meta having the power to fuse sperm cells together and making the fertilized sperm go through blastulation, gastrulation, etc. would be amazing, wouldn’t it be Dr. Campbell?” So much for not creeping the good doctor out Zac.

Ginny’s apparent silence didn’t disturb Zac one bit. He figured she’s just trying to keep calm about him due to the fact that they’re in front of her father (as he believes every girl he meets falls for him instantly). Not a problem, he’ll be willing to be the one to push things further. “So Ginny, you a meta too? I don’t believe I saw you in school before.” And nope, he won’t go away even if you ask him to. Not in the next few seconds minutes he won’t.

He was pretty happy eyeing out Ginny and trying to figure out a decent way on asking her out in front of her father when Dr. Campbell suddenly asked the dreaded question. He was taken aback for a moment, desperately trying to think of a decent excuse, then it hit him. “I’m actually here to ask your daughter out. Is she free tomorrow night?” he smirked, trying to keep himself from laughing at the chaos he has just unleashed, “I actually came here to ask if you could do something with my dorm arrangements, but that one sounds a lot better.”

[Dr. James Campbell]

In all honesty, James wanted to tell Zac to go away too. Only knowing that she was in Pilot Ridge for the past five minutes hadn't stopped him from getting excited about going to get lunch with her. But until his lunch break started--please, Willow, call soon--he was on the clock.

He didn't respond to Ginny's question, other than to shoot her a look that very plainly said Yes. She could be quiet, but his experience didn't support that she would. (And honestly, he didn't expect Zac to either.)

The look on Zac's face when he threatened to make him go though the lecture again was honestly, pretty amusing. that was the point of the threat, of course. The recruiter knew that, while Sean's sex ed lectures were informative, popular opinion was that The Talk was an embarrassing ordeal. But apparently the threat didn't do any good, as Zac kept talking, to the point where James wanted to say, "Please, will you stop saying sperm, at least while my daughter is in the room?"

But then again, that would involve saying "sperm" while Ginny was in the room. (Yes, he knew she was eighteen and aware of where babies came from. But he was still her little girl, and Zac was wearing down his nerves more and more.)

James looked over his glasses at Zac, wondering exactly what he was getting at. Even before he amended his purpose to dealing with dorm arrangements, the recruiter knew that hadn't been his intention. He was certainly no expert, but asking permission from a girl's father if she was able to go out seemed a bit outdated. "...Zac, Ginny is both in the room and capable of hearing, so why don't you ask her yourself?" He smirked slightly, then added, "As good as an idea as it may seem to ask me for permission, that hasn't been the proper way to do it for decades."

And, of course, Ginny was quite capable of telling him to fuck off on her own. She didn't need assistance from her father for that.

"There's only so much I can do about dorm arrangements after they've already been set. Have you tried talking to your roommates?" He had influence, certainly, but after his recommendations were made, it was up to the housing office. He didn't make any decisions for the other departments.