Making Her Rounds (OPEN)

[Lenore & Moira Sanders]

Arranging for this kind of event wasn't easy. It was the kind of job that required someone to be in two places at once. But not only could Lenore and Moira do that, they had Victoria to help get to word out to the community.

Lenore was at the front door of the school, greeting the professionals as they came in and directing them towards the auditorium. Most of them were graduates of Hammel themselves, so they knew where they were going. But they were going to all be documented properly and signed in. (Thank you for your assistance, Mrs. Taggert.)

Moira, on the other hand, was inside. She guided the visitors to the tables that had been set up, and occasionally spoke to the few students already there. There hadn't been this kind of thing at Hammel when they were still studying. They'd gone to a guidance counselor and had only received the advice to try to blend in. But though they looked "normal" and it wasn't painful for them to pass--unlike Mr. Silverstein, who was sitting on his assigned table to talk to the students--they were uncanny enough that they used to have a hard time keeping a job for more than a few years. Apparently it was so unnerving that Lenore and Moira behaved as one, it always made their bosses uncomfortable.

With Operation Patriot though--Nicholas non-withstanding--they knew they would be accepted, and would finally be doing something worthwhile. After guiding a visitor to her table, Moira continued her patrol around the room, stopping to speak to a few of the students. "Hello. Are you finding everything okay? I'm Moira Patel."

[Rhett Goddard]

As soon as Rhett satisfied his curiosity and noticed this was a career and college fair, he realized he probably didn't have anything to do there. Heck, he probably wasn't even supposed to be there taking into account he was not a senior yet. Two very good reasons to leave, but he was waiting for Odion to finish some school whatnot so they could meet, so it wasn't like he had anything more interesting to do in reality. Since he no longer had a bed in Hammel, it was either waiting here or waiting while lying in the middle of the courtyard. At least it wasn't as cold in the auditorium as it was outside and he had always liked seeing people mind their business. He highly doubted he'd get in trouble and if someone tells him he has to leave, well so be it.

He started walking pass the different tables set up in the room. University of Vermont. Boring... Greenview College. People really go to community college? The US Army. And people complained the Russians recruited metas... The newspaper. Gray... A law firm. Even grayer... A Bakery. Hammel really wants their students to be cookie bakers? A plants shop. Graduate from Hammel, be a gardener! Fine, maybe staying in this fair was probably not the least boring of his two options. It wasn't actually late to go lie down somewhere else.

"Oh..." Rhett said as he was ambushed in his way out. "Yeah, sure, Moira Patel." He nodded unconvincingly. "Tad boring, though. Very, actually, but then again I'm not a senior so I don't have to think much about my career future yet, right?" Rhett didn't like to think much about the distant future. He liked facts, and the future lacked them, the future was uncertain. It, actually, made him feel uncomfortable. "The mind-blowing future being a baker has to offer almost convinced me to approach that bakery's table and ask all about it, though." Sarcasm all the way. "But probably next time."

[Lenore & Moira Sanders]

Moira arched her eyebrow (and somewhere else, Lenore arched hers as well) and looked at the boy. While it certainly made sense that not everyone was going to find their calling at a career fair, the sarcasm wasn't appreciated. She'd put in way too much work for some snarky little boy to really bother her, however.

"Have you actually spoken to her? Because she's also a small business owner, and that might interest you, even if her business doesn't." But he'd mentioned he wasn't a senior. He was still protected by Hammel. "Is there any specific field you're interested in? I might be able to help you find someone who could talk to you about it. My colleague Mr. Rana, perhaps. It's actually his job to help people find jobs, so he might be able to give you some advice." He didn't look like he had a power that would make him stick out, so he'd likely have it easier on the job market than some of his classmates. He was one of the lucky ones. "And there are a few people offering part-time jobs, even if you don't see something you're interested in for a career."

[Rhett Goddard]

Moira had a point. But still, he was not that interested in having a small business of his own. He didn't have any particular skill, hobby, interest or just random thing he did well that was worthy of commercial mining. He was good stealing, something he didn't do that often anymore, and he was good parkouring. Rhett's skills summed up. Well that and reading people. Maybe he could be a psychologist? Oh what for, all psychologists do well is repeating the obvious and Rhett didn't need several years of university to do the same, plus he didn't see people whining about their problems everyday as something particularly entertaining.

"Then what is your job exactly," He curiously asked. "besides making sure everyone's, finding everything okay?" He used the same tone of voice she had used before in her initial question. His question, however, was almost immediately partially answered. He sometimes wished his ESP were less cryptic. "I mean, Operation Patriot does not really strike me as an events organizer company."

Rhett looked around the room for a moment. Not only the "operation" made it sound militarily a la "operation storm dessert", but the "patriot" made it sound even more like it had to do with the military. But it didn't make much sense for the military to be organizing a career and college fair, did it? Their booth didn't even outshine some of the other booths. He looked back at Moira. He knew he was probably not going to get straight answers from her, so maybe sparking up something randomly controversial would give him something to make assumptions from.

"It sounds more like a... government funded project?" He placed his hands in his pockets. "I bet the posters have subliminal messages to convince kids to join the army, support the war, and love uncle Sam, don't they?"

[Lenore & Moira Sanders]

The smile on her lips got tighter as he brought up the name of her project. She hadn't been the one to name the damn thing; it sounded so sinister, like something out of those terribly inaccurate comic books. "My job is to act as a liaison between Hammel and my coworkers. Not everyone I work with are metas, and so they want someone who has experience both in the office and on this campus." That was the short version of what she did, but Moira didn't believe the teenager was actually interested.

"Subliminal? You think we are more devious than we are. Mr. Kells is right over there, near the Army banner. He is a military recruiter." She pointed over to the booth where Nicholas had his information set up. She didn't particularly like the veteran, but he was efficient, and good at his job. That was what was important. "Yes, this is a government project, but it isn't brainwashing. We get maligned by people who do not understand our abilities, and that means that when the economy is bad, metas have an even harder time finding employment. This project is a push to get more young metas into fields where they can do well, and improve our status as a group."

When she had graduated, the options looked like she had to hide her connection to her sister, or end up working at Hammel. And the Patels hadn't wanted to teach. "There are options for employment in the government which metas don't even realize are available to them. Even if you don't love Uncle Sam, you can work for him."

[Event !]

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