Waterworld [OPEN]

[Esme Bakus]

Esme really didn’t like the taste of glass. As four of her arms clambered along the edge of the large saltwater tank in the research area, her octopus brain processed the taste through her suckers. It was her human esthetics that reminded her that glass tasted like shit. Dirty, salty, boring shit. It was time to get out of the tank.

For an common octopus to escape from a tank without a lid was no problem. For a common octopus to escape from a tank without a lid, slink across the tile floor towards a pile of clothing and a towel, all while transforming back to a human and trying not to suffocate…that was a bit of a feat. Esme took in a deep breath of water and began to emerge from the tank, sloshing water all long the floor.

The change hurt still, but she was used to it enough by now that she could get over it. By the time her bulbous, tentacled body had returned to its normal human form, she was wet, gasping, and blind huddled in a towel. But she was smiling. Another triumphant day in the tank. Esme snatched up her clothes and quickly scuttled behind a privacy screen, hoping to avoid anyone entering the research area before she could finish changing.

Donning her clothes, Esme mumbled calculations to herself, trying to keep them in mind so she could write them down when she was clothed. She’d been experimenting with the pH balance in the tank, trying to find what was uncomfortable and what wasn’t, seeing if shapeshifters could adapt better than natural animals of that species. So far, she was only taking baby steps. But it was interesting all the same.

She came out from behind the screen in her clothes and lab coat, her hair knotted up in the towel. She quickly picked up a pen and began to scribble on a notepad near the tank, oblivious to everything else in the room.

[Mason McQueen]

The moment he entered the research laboratory complex and began his rather casual stroll around the halls, Mason couldn’t help but feel that it might’ve been better should he applied as a researcher rather than a classroom instructor. As he walked along the halls, nodding politely to the researchers as they went past him, he found himself feeling at home a whole lot faster compared to the time he was given a school tour (which focused on the classrooms, of course) by one of the staff just a few months ago. Not that the kids were bad (well, not all of them, at least), but there’s just something about being surrounded with all these different equipments and being able to conduct experiments outside the curriculum that just makes him so excited. And besides, before he moved to Vermont with his brother, he’s a lab geneticist for more than two years, so the white gown and bulky goggles aren’t really that new to him. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as he tried to remember how in the world did Andrei talk him into applying for a teaching job when he could’ve in fact tried this one instead.

Despite the feeling of ‘at home-ness’ however, Mason still found himself getting a bit lost in the rather extensive basement of the building. While the school buildings of Hammel proved itself more ordinary compared to its fictional counterpart, its research laboratories feel as if they were taken straight out of a comic book, probably made even more eerie. Located underground and with many sub-levels, one could really think they were making secret stuff in there really. Thank goodness they had signs and maps every now and then, else Mason would feel so stupid right now. “Department head office, department head office, department head office! There!” said the man as he traced where he was and where he ought to go with a finger. “Just a few more steps, hopefully.”

Unfortunately for him, his sense of direction wasn’t as good as it was before. After a few minutes of walking, he found himself irrevocably lost once more. And it wasn’t helping that there are no signs around him, nor can he see anyone walking towards his direction. If it wasn’t for the slightly opened door at the corner, he would’ve given up right there and then.

“Err, excuse me?” he said cautiously as he knocked lightly and peered through the room. His face turned to a rather relieved smile when he saw a shorter figure near the other end of the wall, towel in her head and all, scribbling on her notepad. “Hi. I’m Mason McQueen. I’m a new biochem teacher,” he said, thinking that introductions are in order, lest he be thought of as an intruder, “Would you happen to know the way to the Head of Research’s office? I think I may be a little lost.” He added a little chuckle at the end, more to alleviate his worry than anything else.



ooc:
Sorry if it's a bit sucky Lynxie. =P
- Jam

[Esme Bakus]

Esme shot up straight backed when she heard a strange voice from the entrance to the door. Smiling widely, she waved. “Come on in. I’m Esme Bakus. New to the research division.” Her greeting wave turned into one of beckoning as she placed her pen down on the counter. “I’m pretty sure the Head of Research has an office up with all the teachers and such and not around here in the research complex, but let me double check. I’m still pretty new too.” She laughed, heading in the general direction of a side room.

“There’s a map over here in the clean-up area.” She said, gesturing through the door. “Watch for puddles on your way. I haven’t mopped up yet. Wouldn’t want you tripping and breaking your tail bone…that’d be liability or something like that.” She chuckled and poked her head into the janitorial closet coming out with a mop and sheet of paper.

She tiptoed around puddles until she was standing in front of Mason. “Map!” she chirped, beaming. “What brings you down here anyway? As far as I knew, teachers kept topside.” She joked.




OoC: No worries. It was great. Sorry mine is shortish ^_^;

[Mason McQueen]

“Seriously? Shucks. I knew I should’ve asked Mrs. Barnes before heading onto something.” Now he felt stupid. Secretly he wished that the woman in front of him was wrong, no matter how vile that may be (or at least both of them are right, with the head having an office on both the research complex and the surface buildings). If it turns out that the Head of Research (Mr. Spade or Dr. Ace, he can’t remember) had an office alongside Mr. Dalton and the others, he wouldn’t know what he’d do. Not only did he waste time and effort in coming down the complex, he’d also unnecessarily gotten himself lost in the labyrinth Hammel calls the research department. He awkwardly tiptoed to where Esme was a while ago, leaning back on the desk and telling himself not to look at her notes, no matter how curious he is right now. He went here to look for the Research Head, not to be some science geek who asks too much questions about practically everything.

“Oh, thanks,” he nodded, politely taking the map from the researcher’s hand and trying to decipher the notes and figures. Unlike most men, he wasn’t really good with maps. There’s just something about them that makes Mason feel like they’re sucking him in (which might explain him being lost despite looking at so many maps on his way down). Where am I again? he thought, scratching his head. Like most men however, he’s quite reluctant to ask directions, at least from a lady. Hopefully his face doesn’t show it too much.

Lost in the map, it took him quite the while to digest that Esme was actually asking him something. “Pardon? Oh yeah, right,” he chuckled nervously, a bit embarrassed about blacking out in front of the lady, “I’m a vampire; the surface is just too bright for me.” Not so witty, but hey, at least he tried right? “I’m actually here to ask if I, or my class, can borrow some equipment for an experiment. They’re having quite the hard time understanding DNA replication, so I’m thinking maybe seeing replicas of experiments done to discover the mechanism would help them.” Then it hit him. “We do have atom smashers and bacterial incubators in the complex, right? And besides, students are allowed to enter the complex from time to time, right?”

Is it too obvious that he just jumped into his idea without really thinking it through?


ooc:
Heehee. It's ok Lynxie. =P. And sorry for the weird Mason rambling, his muse is being all moody lately. d;.
- Jam

[Esme Bakus]

Esme giggled. Well he was zealous, that much she could tell. Probably young. Didn’t Zeal come with youth? Someone had told her that once, though Esme had a fairly loose interpretation of ‘youth’ (Thirty-seven going on seventeen, this one). She shrugged though and shook her head, pursing her lips in a careless expression. “Don’t worry about it, consider it an adventure or something.” She said passively.

He looked a little lost on the map, but Esme didn’t say anything for now. She’d grown up with three brothers. She was familiar with dude logic. Then again, it had been a while since Esme had read a map as intricate as the one she’d handed over. Usually school’s just handed out floor plans. Although Hammel wasn’t any school, she did occasionally wish the layout was simpler. Maybe she’d talk to Claude about it.

She snorted a bit at his joke and shook her head. “Well obviously. If you’re skittering around down here, you must be a blood-sucker.” He seemed a little on edge, so Esme backed up a bit and leaned against the wall, tucking her hands harmlessly at her sides. Though as he went on she clearly began to see that he might be a little off his rocker.

“Uh..Well…” She began slowly. “We have that stuff…but it’s a little big. And students aren’t allowed down here unless they’re interns.” Esme really hated to shoot down his idea. It sounded so cool! Esme laughed a bit and gestured vaguely about the lab. “Actually we have just about every kind of equipment manageable down here! But its pretty dangerous some it.” She frowned. “But man would that be neat for the kids to see.”

Pouting a bit, Esme chewed her lip. “I wonder if we could dream up a field trip of some kind…” she murmured. “Get the kids down here to see some of the more run of the mill stuff.” Esme shook herself in excitement. “Like Career day!”

[Mason McQueen]

Youthful zeal is one of the few good things Mason apparently didn’t grow out of. (Him being rather dense and a big klutz another two, but I don’t think they’d qualify as something ‘good’). And while he doesn’t feel that old yet (after all, he just turned 31), he does feel like he’s aged a bit, with all the hubbub his life’s been going through the last two or three years. But since this isn’t the place to think about all that, he promptly pushed the thought out of his head and flashed a meek smile towards Esme. “Well it’s a good thing my brother won’t hear about this then,” he chuckled as he worked the map out, “I have a feeling my adventure would be rubbed on my face for the next few days or something.”

Ok. So he wasn’t making any progress with the map. He could very well see that it’s not that complicated, but he just can’t make do with it. Or at least, his mind just can’t accept the fact that he’s been lost for a couple of hours looking around for something that isn’t there. He’s tried turning the map clockwise and anti-clockwise already, hoping the change in perspective will help him see better, but did nothing. Darn. Could it be that she was right after all?

His mind was taken off the map however, when Esme spoke. So it wasn’t just that the research head’s office isn’t in the facility, but the complex is off limits to most students too? He knew he should’ve asked Mrs. Barnes before doing anything rash like this. “Aww shucks,” he said as he scratched the back of his head, “That’s too bad. Guess they’ll have to settle with my poorly drawn images then.”

A small smile did broke through his troubled face with Esme’s next statements. “You accept interns?” he asked, trying to hide the obvious enthusiasm in his voice. Through the things he’s seen in the compound lately, he’s been wondering if he’s done the right choice – applying as a teacher and all. After all, he was more of a lab worker even back then, though more for the industry than just pure science. Andrei’s suggested to him once that maybe he could try volunteering to be a lab assistant to one researcher or something, see how Hammel’s research complex goes. If he likes it, then go; if not, at least he still has his teaching job to fall back on.

A heavy sigh left him as he gave the map back to Esme. “I guess you’re right. Haha. But the career day idea sounds pretty nice,” he nodded, “I mean, it wasn’t until I was almost graduating in university ‘till I discovered that research isn’t like what they show in movies or CSI. No incredibly colorful fluids all the time, and no looking on the electrophoresis gel with a microscope.” Those shows should be banned for fueling such misconceptions really. At least in his mind they should.