ArchivedLogs:In Which The Identity Of Mr Holland Is Confused And Cookies Are Not The /Best/ Ever (But No One Is Complaining)

In Which The Identity Of Mr Holland Is Confused And Cookies Are Not The /Best/ Ever (But No One Is Complaining)
Dramatis Personae Katheryn Pryde, Nick, Taylor
In Absentia	2017-01-01 "We will have to watch them and learn their weaknesses."
Location <XS> Rec Room - FL2
School this may be, but life for Xavier's students certainly isn't all studying. Outside classes, this is a popular spot to find students in their downtime. An enormous tribute to slacking off, this room is a wealth of fun and relaxation. Comfortable armchairs, couches, and beanbags offer plentiful seating scattered throughout the room, and the cushioned windowseats by the high windows offer a cozy nook to curl up and look out on the grounds. The room is often filled with the noises of gaming -- whether it comes from the big-screen television (tall racks of DVDs beside it, if nothing can be found on the multitude of cable channels), tricked out with consoles from retro to the latest releases, or the less electronic clatter and thump of the pool table, air hockey, or foosball. For those a little more subdued in their gaming, the cabinets hold stacks and stacks of board and card games, ranging as classic as chess and go to as esoteric as Dixit, Catan, and Gloom. More days than not, there's some variety of snacks to be found on a table beside the gaming cabinet -- quite often in the form of fresh-baked desserts. A mild and bright New Year's Day has cooled into a somewhat wintry evening. The mansion is finally beginning to show signs of life again, as some students return early from break. There's a weary sluggishness in Nick's steps as he lopes into the rec room, his fluffy brown coat smelling distinctly of Mane & Tail shampoo. He wears a black t-shirt with the Green Lantern emblem on the chest and newish-looking blue jeans heavily modified to accommodate his tail and fit the shape of his digitigrade legs. He sets a large plastic container of assorted cookies, some in colorful holiday shapes, on the table near the games, propping up an index card with dietary and allergen information beside it. Nick is soon followed into the room by a flutter of wings, a large grey parrot flapping down to light on the table by the cookies. She's just reaching to nab one off the plate when a looong black snakelike limb twines out, poking the star-shaped cookie out of her beak and snapping off just one small tip for her instead. The limb is followed soon by the rest of Taylor, dressed in jeans and a tee reading 'UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK'. He pauses by the table, looking down at the platter of cookies -- then the one in his arm. Then the platter of cookies again, a small frown on his face. A small heavier slump to his shoulders. "You bake these?" Kitty is curled up in the warmest corner of the rec room with a blanket. Her attention is completely absorbed by whatever shes listening to on her old, oversized headphones and modern e-reader. The smell of cookies snaps Kitty out of her trance. She stretches, yawns, and walks over to the table. Shes wearing a black t-shirt with a hand holding a pear and pink PJ pants. "Welcome back, Taylor, Nick," she says then pauses and looks at the parrot, "and ... Cora?" She carefully picks up one of the cookies, trying not to irritate Cora. Nick's tail wags uncertainly at the reception with which his cookies are met. "{Thank you!}" is in Spanish. His amber eyes fix on Kitty appraisingly. "You back early, or were you stuck here the whole break?" One of his ears swivel toward Taylor before his roommate comes fully into view. "Yeah, I made a big batch for the Morlocks but wanted to bring some back here, too. They're--I mean, they're not the /best/ cookies ever." Both ears press back against his furry head. "The snickerdoodles were better when warm. The thumb prints are pretty okay, though." "{Hey thanks.}" Spanish, as well, though Taylor switches back to English afterwards for: "It was nice being able to rack up some extra time at work." Though this comes with a DEEP grimace. "... well. Nice getting some extra cash anyway." Cora is scattering A Lot of crumbs on the table as she chomps at her cookie-piece. She side-steps toward Kitty when her piece is gone, speculatively /eying/ the cookie that Kitty has taken. "/Best/ cookies ever is a high bar around here. I'm not going to complain about snickerdoodles though. -- How was your break, Kitty?" Kitty takes a small bite out of her snickerdoodle, and takes a deep breath in through her nose imitating a fancy wine-taster. "Soft and delicious. Thank you, Nick" she says with a smile. The smile fades into a sighs and she says, "Ive been here the whole break. Its my first Chanukah away from home. My moms sent a care package, but the cookies got pulverized in the mail." << Aw geez, you looks like youre fishing for sympathy. Get it together Katherine. >> She looks at the two, and says, "Umm... Im just really glad to see everyone coming back. Taylor, I hope youve kept your skillz polished. The hard-core gamers need a serious butt-kicking." "I heard some of the bullshit you had to deal with at work, dude, {sorry.}" Nick relaxes, ears perking back up at the signs that the other teens (and the bird) enjoy the cookies. "Oh man, if they'd known I'm sure the Hollands would have invited you to the Commons for at least /some/ Hannukah...ing." He snags a peppermint candycane twist for himself. "My parents sent clothing, which...does a lot better in the mail. I'm still learning! Well..." He shrugs. "Learning how to bake, anyway. Not sure I can make that claim about /classes/, and I'm /not/ looking forward to Tuesday." He glances at the entertainment center pensively. "What are you thinking of playing?" "S'what being a customer service grunt is about, right? Goddamn /assholes/ shitting all over your day." Taylor sounds more amused than upset, really. "Right, right, right," Coraline chirps -- kind of entreatingly as she makes her way to Nick, this time. A warbling coo in her voice; she's fluttering nearer to him to land on /his/ arm, scoot towards his cookie. "Right?" Taylor makes no move to stop her blatant mooching. "{Sorry} about the holiday. First one away from home is rough. Maybe next holiday we can whisk you out to the city, it's less quiet there." His head ducks sheepishly at the mention of Skillz. "I don't know from /serious/, yo, but I'll do my best. I /got/ my ass kicked like hell over break, everyone I was staying with was like -- /damn/." Kitty makes a bit of a face at the sailor-language, but then says, "I'm so used to schools having a deeper staff-student divide that I didn't even think to ask Mr. Holland about visiting The Commons. I'll remember that the next time I'm feeling some cabin fever set in." She suddenly realizes that Cora is eyeing her nearly pristine cookie, and stuffs it in her face. Kitty tries to say something, but it comes out like 'eye-fware'. She swallows the cookie, and says, "While the others have been away, the gamers that stayed have been absorbed by the YouTube and Twitch monsters. We will have to watch them and learn their weaknesses." Kitty completely changes topics and says, "Do you want a study partner, Nick? I think some of our classes might line up." "Yeah unless you're going for some thing easy and cartoony and cute, I'll just be watching." Nick glances at Cora. "I'll be in good company. But yeah Taylor's been staying with the grown-up /professional/ geeks, probably can beat the whole school with his hands tied behind his back." His grin is /very/ toothy. "The ones that are killing me right now are English literature and U.S. History, but I'm pretty worried about trig in the spring. Won't graduate if I fail that." Then, he cocks his head at Kitty. The gesture looks more literally like a quizzical dog coming from him than most. "Wait, did you just call /Shane/ 'Mr. Holland'?" "Graduating seems really overrated," Taylor admits. "I mean. It's shitty here but -- it's /also/ shitty out there." His frown is brief, but deep. "Mr. Holland? Mr. Holland's in jail, you can't -- he doesn't --" Though his eyes open wider at Nick's comment -- a moment later a bright grin spreads across his face. Wide, /delighted. "/Shane/? Oh /man/ oh boy! Mr. Holland! Yessss. I guess he /dresses/ the part more than --" His next bite of cookie is /fierce/. "Fff. Let's /play/. Something cartoony and cute, aiite?" "I'm sorry about the confusion. I thought only the faculty and staff called him Shane. I guess it is weird considering..." Kitty trails off. She looks at her new friends and says, "Aaaanyway. I agree with Taylor, enough technical stuff and worry. Y'know what'd be good for us? Puzzle Fighter. It's adorable, and a classic, and takes 'skillz'." "I'm not sure I've /ever/ heard anyone call him Mr. Holland, but it is an amusing thought." Nick makes himself a small plate of cookies and drops down onto the couch. "Alright then, but you'll have to tell me which buttons to mash."