Resolve and Determination {Dr. Campbell}

[Briar Mason]

In retrospect, perhaps applying to work at your alma mata wasn't such a great idea. It was incredibly intimidating being back here after four years. In fact, just before walking into this building, Briar had actually paused to look over her shoulder, expecting to see some teacher shaking thier head at her for breaking something (exhorbitantly) expensive in a temper (again). Her highschool years had been full of such instances and constant headaches that spawned from a combination of overuse of her meta-human ability and worrying about controlling said ability. It had also been filled with good grades and a lot of extracurricular activities, the Bugle being one in particular that she had done well in and had immensely enjoyed. Heh, it had even been her first foray into photography, now that she thought about it... She had always been eager to take pictures for the paper. Other than her mishaps with her telekinesis, she had a fairly good record... right?

Then why in the hell was she chewing her bottom lip and screwing up her lipstick?

Disgusted with herself, Briar made a little mewling sound in the back of her throat before commanding her teeth to release thier somewhat painful hold on her bottom lip. Pressing her lips together in a thin line she hoped that the damage wasn't too bad as she clacked her way to door of Dr. Campbell's Office. There was a strange absence of people about and Ms. Mason was left with a descision to make. Knock on the door and make her presence known or wait until someone showed and told her to go in. The blonde blinked then stared at the door for a full two seconds before rapping on it with her knuckles three times.

Sure she was a little early, but that was a good thing when coming in for an interview, yes? Briar was also armed with a copy of her resume and the knowledge that she looked slightly normal today. There were no amazingly bright colours in her wardrobe and her pants could actually breathe on her for a change. Speaking of breathing, Briar damned near forgot that she had to do that until her lungs started to protest. The blonde expelled a breath she hadn't even been aware of holding. God, the interview hadn't started yet and she was already stressing. She could feel that familiarly annoying and dull throb at the back of her head begin and sighed.

It was going to be a long interview...

"But I can do it." she whispered to herself, a smile suddenly appearing as she waited (rather impatiently) for a reply from within the office. Show time.

[Sorry for the length, my starters tend to be short.]

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[Dr. James Campbell]

He never used to keep his door shut like this.

James was hiding in his office, like he spent a lot of time nowadays. After he'd spent the night in the hospital, he'd been back at work the next day, despite everything Chase had said to get him to rest more. He didn't like being alone in the house, and since no one could really argue with him on that front, his husband had eventually backed down. But that came with the caveat that the blond man would come in at lunch and make sure he put down the paperwork for a solid half-hour. (Unnecessary, in James's view. The doctor had said nothing about reading causing him any problems, and he'd seen a biological manipulator about the concussion.)

It was a good thing the recruiter was back at his desk though; things were starting to pile up, and with Mii out on maternity leave, Willow's injuries, and him stuck in Pilot Ridge for the foreseeable future, they really needed more help. Already, his recruiters were overtaxed, way more than they had ever been before, when Aristea had headed the office. Luckily, before they were completely over their heads, he'd received a application from a fairly recent Hammel graduate. He remembered the blond women somewhat, as her name was a little unusual, but didn't know her. (He rarely built significant relationships with students he hadn't recruited himself or weren't friends of his daughter.) Briar's resume looked pretty good, considering she was still pretty young, and so he'd called her in for an interview.

When he heard someone walking out in main part of the recruitment office, he knew it had to be her. Flo and Ella were out on recruitments, and no one else wore heels. James quickly straightened up his desk--not that it was anything close to cluttered in the first place--putting some files to the side and adjusting the framed photo of himself, Chase, Ginny, and Niko. The change was probably imperceptible to anyone who wasn't him, but once the angle of the family photo was perfect, his entire office was perfectly ordered, and ready to have someone come in.

"Yes, you can," James looked up at the door, his enhanced hearing picking up on the whisper. (It had taken a few instances of him picking up on quiet conversations out in the rest of the office before the other recruiters had realized that even closed, his office wasn't soundproofed. "Please come in, Briar, and have a seat."

When the young woman came in, it took him only a moment to realize a headache was eminent. (Both his husband and son had migraines from their powers; he knew what it looked like when one was coming on.) "It's good to see you again, Ms. Mason," he offered out his hand to shake hers, then asked, "Before we begin, would you like some water? Coffee or tea?"

[OOC: No worries. My replies tend to be just as long as they need to be to be. Wordcounts aren't an issue with me.]

[Briar Mason]

Oops, he had heard her, well, judging from the sentence that had preceded the one that permitted her to enter the office. Sheepish colour flooded Brair's normally pale cheeks, but her smile remained. This was why people shouldn't talk to themselves... But whatever, the self-assuring sentence had calmed her down and made her confidence return to its previous levels. And it didn't seem like the man would further comment on it either.

Briar entered the office willing her colour to subside as she walked over to him and shook his hand. "Likewise Dr. Campbell, thank you." the blonde rejoined before taking the seat that had been offered. As for the drink, that she thought to decline, but as that dull ache continued to worsen, accepting seemed the best choice. "Thank you, tea would be lovely." The warm liquid and soothing scent always seemed to calm the ache, especially with the absence of pain killers. "Perhaps I can help with that?" she added after a pause. Despite the fact that it was his office and his offer, Brair did not mind offering a hand, it was a strange combination of habit and nature, her need to be of service to others.

In fact, as much as Briar hated interviews, this one didn't seem that it would be as horrible as the others she'd had in the past. The man in front of her did not seem as intimidating as he once had. Perhaps it was because she was a student no longer. Or maybe it was the fact that he was bothering to extend courtesy and a degree of kindness. Other interviewers tended to be cut and dry. They also liked to use their position over the applicant to scare them shitless intimidate them the best they could. That sort of behaviour would always lead to her finding a moniker for them and end up using it half-way through the interview. Those never ended prettily. Ah well. She glanced at Dr. Campbell and tilted her head slightly to the left... what could she call him? She wasn't sure yet, but whatever it was, it would be a hell of a lot more flattering than the ones she'd used on other interviewers in the past.

Now would be the point where other applicants would begin to gush and try to impress the interviewer with their gratitude at being considered. Briar wouldn't. She never gushed... unless it was over a pair of heels, or a cute ensemble. With people, an honest, straightforward and pointed observation or review was always her course of action. It didn't make one seem toady but what she always failed to realize is that it made her seem a tad rehearsed or cold. "Also, thank you for this interview, its nice being considered for a position here." And that was it. No gushing about her alma mater, fond memories and the like. That was it, complete with a genuine smile, which was going to be her only indicator just how pleased she was to be here.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"No, that's okay, I'll be just a moment." He was still debating whether or not he should offer something for her headache; it wasn't like he'd known her a long time. People he knew were used to him recognizing instantly that one was coming, frequently even before they knew it. (Chase and Niko in particular would just take it as read that if James handed them some medicine, they should just take it.) "And if you decide you do want some water, there's bottled water in the fridge over there." He gestured to the minifridge in the corner; there were some definite perks to having his own office now.

"Thank you for coming in. As you might have been able to tell from the empty office, we're a bit short-staffed right now." He wasn't going to go into detail, but half the recruiters had been in the hospital in the past few months, for various reasons, and Mii was still on maternity leave. (And he wasn't going to assign her many long-distance recruitments if he could help it, even when she was back in the office, and even if she did have a good support system for Tory.) "Please, just wait here for a moment, and I'll be back with the tea."

He got up from behind his desk and headed to the staff lounge. Maybe someday the recruitment office would get a student assistant again and he'd be able to send him or her out to get tea or coffee, but it wasn't like they did interviews all that often. There had only been a handful since his promotion, two years ago. As with everything else, James was efficient with preparing the tea--though he didn't make his own decaf, despite Chase's insistence that he cut down on his caffeine intake--and it only took him a few minutes to return with two mugs of steaming hot water, a handful of sugar packets and creamers, and a couple of tea bags in different varieties.

"There you go," James said, putting one of the mugs down in front of her, then going to sit on his side of the desk. He'd decided he wasn't going to say anything about the headache unless she seemed to get worse; it just seemed politer, as he launched into the interview. "So, Ms. Mason, first thing's first. Should I continue calling you Ms. Mason, or do you prefer something else? You can call me James or Dr. Campbell; I don't have much of a preference."