ArchivedLogs:Searching for Peter

Searching for Peter
Dramatis Personae Jennifer, Kris, Sophie, Megan, Faelan, Hanna
In Absentia	2013-05-11 A teacher and a bunch of students look for Peter, and decide to take a break in a bakery. Jennifer gets high on optimism.
Location <NYC> Happy Cakes Bakery - TriBeCa
The red-coloured sixth generation Volkswagen Golf is driven down the streets of New York City at a moderate speed. Despite the daring manoeuvres she and Sam often practice, Jennifer is much tamer when driving a car, largely because said manoeuvres are not possible. Even with such a small car, she feels like she's driving a tank tethered to and dragging another tank behind her. The reason she's decided to pick the car today is because she's bringing passengers with her on a wild hunt for a wild spider, namely Peter. Her phone's crowning the dashboard, the chip-tracking app in the foreground. Megan, who needs the most space, has been allowed to occupy the front seat, while others are in the back. Occasionally eyeing the smartphone, Jennifer addresses Megan, again trying to understand her powers; although her puzzled questions may as well be aimed at all the children. "Hold on, I still don't get it-- /You/ create some sort of psychotropic substance? Like-- How?" Kris asks Jennifer,"How are you so strong? How do I create solid objects out of energy? I suspect..." She pauses for a moment, then adds,"... that it may be a highly scientific process now as faerie magic." She nods as if she were totally totally serious, though a smile is playing around the edge of her lips, then turns to stare out of the window,"I never get over how orderly driving in America is. Where I'm from, we'd be moving at a crawl this deep into the city." Sophie, in the meantime, is sitting in the back seat fussing with Angry Birds on her phone. "Friggin' pigs..." She grumbles under her breath upon failing a level, /again/, and gives up for now. Phone goes into her backpack - she's got a plush panda backpack that /may/ be just a little below her age level - and she leans back against her seat with a humph. "Maybe she does it like sweating. I mean.. it's different but it's not really any /weirder/ than what any of the rest of us can do." Being crammed in the back seat with the girls, Faelan collapses in on himself so he isn't imposing too much body on them. He is there for Peter searching after all. As the conversation goes towards questions of powers, he vaguely pays attention. "I think Dr. McCoy was saying something about how the genes do something with how our body and brains interact with the world. I mean, as impossible as some of the things we do seems, its not /That/ far outside the realm of science if you do some hand waving." He shakes his head though as most of what he sees as he tries to look out the windows are the girls on either side. "Like dark matter, or quantum physics and stuff. They just came up with those ideas pretty recently after all." Kris is eyed in the rear-view mirror. Jennifer offers a snarky smirk in response to the explanation, although she withholds any further comment; instead, she elaborates on traffic. "Trust me, you haven't seen rush hours yet. There's a reason I prefer a bike." Signalling to the left, Jennifer positions the Golf on the left-most lane, stopping at a red light. Propping her elbow on the door, Jen keeps one hand on the wheel and taps against the top of the wheel rhythmically. Dividing her attention between all students present, she sighs softly. "Yeah, I suppose you're right, guys. I'm not really questioning your mutation, Megan. Just, y'know. Kind of curious how your dust itself works." The green light comes on. The car slowly accelerates. The reason for this is simple - speeding the car causes students to lean back, which for Megan is anything but comfortable. As she makes the turn, Jennifer glances to the young fairy beside her. "We've been at this for over an hour, kids. Mind if we have a break and have something to eat? I might be going out on a limb here, but you don't look very comfortable, Megan." "It's kinda like clenching my fist all the time, really hard," Megan says with a shrug, "It's okay. I just can't sit back because they're already twisted as far as I can get them. Any further will hurt. Hey, there's a bakery over there," she points. "Can we get some cupcakes?" Kris looks into the mirror and gives a smile to Jennifer right back. Far less snarky, though. "Much of this science-talk goes over my head. Keep in mind, I am still in tutoring and remedial learning... I am well behind on much of the science of things." She points at Megan, though,"And I think maybe she needs to visit a bathroom stall so she can stretch those things, and I kind of have to pee, anyway, so... pulling over sounds like a good idea." She's now doing the 'I need to pee' shifty-dance in her seat. "Yeah, a break sounds good." Sophie nods, squirming a little herself. "I gotta stretch my legs if nothing else, we've been in this car /forever/." Or at least it seems like it. "I haven't sat in a car this long since getting to the school." She stretches her arms up above her head, carefully so as to avoid distracting the driver with /sudden movements/, and then sets about gathering her bag and making sure everything is all zipped up properly. "Um, can I talk to you when we get out, Ms. Walters?" SECRECY. Just realizing how long its actually been, Faelan nods at the suggestion. "A bakery would be good I guess." He glances over to shifty dancing Kris and scootches over slightly more. "Maybe we should take the time and call the other groups in case they found anything. If we are eating cupcakes while they are finding the others, I imagine that they may be cross at us if we do not bring them back a box." He wiggles around a bit to pull the cellphone out of his jeans pocket without elbowing Sophie too much. "Though, I guess the twins don't eat baked goods much do they." Happy Cakes Bakery is a cheery little spot of vintage charm amidst the hustle and bustle of the Manhattan neighborhood, a refurbished pair of row homes that hardly resemble their previous selves - the front walls are almost entirely gleaming glass, with the logo of the bakery painted onto the top, and rainbows of cupcakes dancing along the edges. Eclectically styled, it seems homey and welcoming - if the cross stitched sign by the door wasn't obvious enough - "All are Welcome!" it reads, with the "All" underlined in a sparkling bubble gum pink and yellow dotted line, with the logo of the bakery, a cheery smiling pink and white cupcake, beneath the lettering. Once inside, the walls of the combination bakery and coffee shop are covered in crisp clean white ceramic tile, with the occasional randomly placed tile with an color engraving of a tropical flower, or tile made of reclaimed China. Ambient music reminiscent of the Big Band era plays through the shop, loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to make conversation difficult. Tables and chairs in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles fill one side of the room, none of them quite matching each other, but all of them seeming to work together. The other side of the shop is a long series of gleaming glass and chrome bakery displays, filled with colorful sweets and treats of every description. To one end of the counter is a gleaming chrome espresso machine with far more tubes and bobbles than is really necessary, but producing excellent espresso beverages. At the other end is the old style cash register, a chrome and cherry wood relic from a bygone age that dings cheerily with each sale. The wall behind the counter is covered in photos of a tropical island, as well as a pair of shops that look like a smaller version of this one, several including a pair of dark haired women. The owner and operator of this relatively new establishment is a robust thirty-something woman of Hawaiian extraction with a penchant for swing style dresses and sugary treats. Currently, she is bustling around behind the counter of the bakery, pulling out fresh batches of desserts to fill the empty spaces in the case left by the earlier customers. A slender young woman is currently working on cleaning the espresso machine, her back to the door so that the long braid of moss green hair is visible to incoming customers. Hanna, the older woman in the swing dress, is humming merrily as she goes about arranging the glass cases of baked goods, a practically infectious smile on her face as she works. The little car continues to be driven at humble speeds, and every so often, a car zips by sounding the horn. Not that they are even annoyed by Jennifer's driving, but more to tease the fact the small car's speed. Jen doesn't seem pleased by that at all. "See you when I'm with Sam", she hisses in a hushed tone. Heeding Megan's advice and Faelan's encouragement, Jennifer slows down further and switches lanes again. The bakery is passed, if only because she can't immediately find parking. Miraculously, however, the driver finds an open spot not too far away, and so claims the empty lo for herself. "If I clenched my fist for an hour, my fingers would hurt /pretty/ badly. So, let's go have something /nice/." Crrrrkt goes the handbrake. After the mundane routine of locking her car and checking everyone is fine, Jennifer leads the merry band of students inside the bakery that's been pointed out. Once inside, it becomes quickly apparent that the group will inevitably have something /nice/. In fact, it looks like /nice/ is their only choice. Oddly stepping around the more out-of-place tiles as if they were a hazard, Jennifer seems rather surprised by the choices in interior design. "Well, this looks a bit--" Not that she is disappointed. Taken aback would be a more fitting description. "--chaotic. Anyway, kids-- Check what you'd like." At the counter, Jennifer lifts up her chin, offering Hanna a bright smile and a warm look. "Hi, good /afternoon/. This is an awesomely colorful place you have here." Kris is grateful for the increased room at least, when Faelan scoots over. And then? Then they finally pull over. Kris practically sprints out of the car, and makes a run for the bakery door. She only just barely slows upon entering and heading for the bathroom. "HINICEPLACEYOUHAVETHEREBYE!" With her Visayan accent, it's likely barely understandable at best. Or possibly completely incomprehensible. Whatever, girl's gotta pee! Women's room, hooooo! Megan is in far less a rush than Kris. "... whoa," she observes, as she gets out and closes her door. Then, following Jennifer, the teen makes her way to the bakery. There's only a faint bulge in the back of her sweater-dress; minor enough that one would have to really pay attention to notice it at all. "I think I'll wait until she's done," she notes, peering through the windows of the various treats. "Wow, geeze, she's got everything. I don't even know what all of these are called!" Pulling her panda backpack up to her shoulders, Sophie steps out of the car and lets out a siiigh of relief. She makes a big show out of stretching her legs once she exits the car, before heading into the bakery along with the others. Along with her usual colorful clothing, today she has a fake, teal hibiscus tucked into her loose, wavy hair, which just so happens to blend in perfectly with the decor in the bakery. Fortuitous! Striding up to the counter, she looks around a bit before smiling a little shyly up at Hanna. "Hi! Um. Do you maybe have hot cocoa? Or bagels? I am super into bagels." Following after the others, Faelan comes in behind the rest of the girls. Eyes opening up more fully to take in the...everything, his head tilting around to look it over as the others zip around the room. "I do not know what I should even get," he murmurs to himself as he looks over the options from afar. Looking at the fancy espresso machine, he moves up more, shuffling against the tiles without much noticing what designs were on them. "I think I would like something from that, but with a lot of cream and sugar in it. Well soy, not cream. Or rice, or hemp. Please?" Frowning as if not sure what to get as food, he nods finally. "And a muffin. With blueberries if you have it. Or pumpkin, but I don't think its the right season for either of them." As a tiny silver bell over the door dings, signaling the new arrivals, Hanna flashes a cheery smile to the new customers, heading over to lean against the counter and regard each of them in turn. When Kris zips past to the restroom, Hanna raises an eyebrow and chuckles abit. "Long car ride, I assume?" she says with a genuine grin, towards Jennifer. "Well, welcome to Happy Cakes. I'm Hanna. Let me know what I can get for you. Or, if you have questions, I've got plenty of answers. Even some I've made up," Hanna offers helpfully. To Megan, she points down towards the case, "Most of them have little tags in front of them, but some of it is the old style French names for things, for the sake of that pastry school I went to. If you want to know what is in them, I'm happy to explain." She seems to be happy about just about everything, truth be told. To Sophie, Hanna nods, "We've got hot cocoa of a couple different varieties - you can talk to Jayna down at the coffee station, and she'll set you up with what ever you want. We do in fact have bagels - plain, blueberry, or I think we have a few sesame seed ones still. Do you like cream cheese with it? And would you like it toasted?" The cheery woman is already bustling over to a shelf behind the counter with a wicker basket of bagels wrapped in gingham cloth, she has resumed her humming once again, smiling gently, and selecting whichever one is indicated. Faelan gets a nod, and a smile, "We do have muffins. Blueberry crumble ok?" Somehow she's gotten the blueberry muffin out on the counter already, sitting on a little china plate with a napkin under it. "And again, Jayna can get your drink going for you. We have all of those options, so, well, just let her know which you prefer." When people head towards the coffee counter, Jayna takes the orders quickly, her bark brown skin visible now that she has turned around to speak to people. A few tiny white flowers are braided into her hair, looking as though they have grown right out of the braids. Odd. The adult redhead is visibly amused by Kris zooming towards one of the restrooms. The way Jennifer looks to Hanna is an unspoken message that could easily be translated to 'eh, kids'. "Yeah, pretty long! Showing them around the city." In the meantime, Jenny digs into one of the pocket of her jeans, before realising that's not where her wallet is. Her zipped open brown leather jacket is spread further apart, revealing a white T-shirt that bears the heavily stylised words, "Slip and fall? I'm the one to call!" Her hand digs into the inside pocket of her jacket, finally summoning her black leather wallet. Already, her digits are digging in. "Megan, sweet, my personal advice is to just point at whatever looks like the most delicious thing you lay your eyes on." Her green eyes divert from money to the baked goods on display. "Although that looks like one /tough/ choice." After looking over to the kids trying to take their pick, Jennifer looks to Hanna again, her smile widening instinctively. "This looks like a /very/ friendly place", she notes. "Myself, I could really go for a cappuccino and-- a chocolate donut?" Her attention switches between Jayna and Hanna, but ultimately Jennifer's attention settles on the latter. "Are you the owner?" She isn't long in the bathroom. It's a very short visit, in fact. And when Kris exits again shortly, she's beaming and a little awestruck,"The women's room is so clean! Like... you'd expect a hospital to be, even though they never are!" Right. Well. Like many Xavier students, she's a bit stranger than average, and in that school, it's probably to be expected. Moments later, she's almost plastered on the glass, looking at all the baked goods and salivating over choices,"... that or maybe that! What about that? Oh, wow, that looks amazing! Oh, but I could get one of those, with all the pretty frosting! Oh my god, that one is so pretty!" Cupcake overload! She suddenly stops and points at Megan,"You should take Megan as an apprentice! She makes amazing cupcakes! I should know. I eat a lot of them. She's helping me with my figure." Apparently Megan was drafted for that purpose. Megan opens her mouth to order, but then there's a Kriswind blowing through, and she just watches in amusement for several moments. The observation about her cupcakes earns a bit of a grin, "Well I don't know if they're /that/ good. Oh! Do you have any jam tarts? I'd love some jam tarts and tea. I'll be back in a moment!" Bathroom free, the elfin teen skips off to take her turn. Ahh, decisions. But ultimately Sophie decides on the most boring choices. "A plain bagel, please. Toasted and.. actually butter would be good if you have it, but cream cheese if you don't, please. Thank you!" And then she sidles on down to the drink station, where she comes to a similar decision re: cocoa. "Can I just have a plain hot cocoa?" Even ordinary is probably delicious, here. "Though whipped cream would be great if you have it." And then she turns to kind of stare at Kris a little. Girl is /hyper/. Blinking, she then turns back to Jayna. "Oh, and, um, I forgot to say please. Please. Sorry." Watching Jayna make the beverages with all of the assorted whirrs and puffs of steam, Faelan smiles. "This place is very fancy. It is much better than a Dunkin' or a Starbucks." Accepting the beverage with appropriate non dairy and the muffin, he watches the trading of spaces between Kris and Megan with a shaking of a head. "I think that Kris will move in here." He smiles at his own joke, and looks between the others, not wanting to start eating his things before the others have theirs. Hanna smiles and chuckles, "I try to make this place a little spot of cheer in the city, for anyone who needs a smile. And yup," she says with a smile, "This place is mine. Recently transplanted myself and the bakery from Hawaii. Seemed like New York needed it a bit more than the islands." The words don't seem like a sales pitch, rather, the woman seems to be quite honest about it. When Jennifer starts pulling out her wallet, Hanna waves off, saying, as she hands over the chocolate donut, "Just pay before you head out. No worries." The commentary about the bathroom gets a good natured laugh and a slight curtsey from Hanna, "Happy to be of service." She follows Kris's wanderings, ultimately pulling out the cupcake she had indicated last, with little royal icing flowers and sugar pearls dotting the top of the icing. It is set on a brightly colored China plate and handed over with a smile, "Enjoy. Those are special, just for the month of May." At the mention of Megan being a novice baker, Hanna grins at the girl, "Ah, girl after my own heart. We're still getting all settled in and set up, but if you're looking for something over the summer, you can drop us a line, if you are interested." While saying this, she plates a few little jam tarts, one of each flavor - blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and apricot - onto another little plate, and passes them to the girl. "The jams are all made locally, organic, all that good stuff. Jayna can help you out with the tea selection." As Sophie asks for the butter, the chrome toaster at the back pops up with her bagel, which is plated and handed over with two little pats of butter and a pretty little butter knife. And sure enough, Jayna is moving at an impressive speed, providing and delivering the teas, coffees, and beverages as requested, each cup and saucer slightly different than the rest. While observing the kids' reactions, Jennifer finally fails to stifle a chuckle. Greatly amused, the chaperone shakes her head in disbelief. "I have no idea how I'm going to herd them back to the car", she admits to Hanna. Looking over to Faelan, she grins widely once again, entertained by his notion. "At least now I'll know where to bring her to cheer 'er up. Or anyone, for that matter." The wallet is pocketed again. "This city /definitely/ needs more places like this one." Jennifer slides her orders a little off to the side, so as to not obstruct anyone else who might want to place their order. "Feel free to claim a free table, kids." Burrowing her hand into another jacket pocket, Jennifer summons forth a folded up picture of a young dark-haired kid - Peter Parker. As she unfolds it, she notes softly, "Say, this is a /long/ shot, but--" Crumplecrumple. Once it is folded out, Jennifer presents it to Hanna. "Any chance you saw this kid on the street? Been missing for a week, now. Name's Peter Parker?" "Thanks so much!" Sophie takes her plate and drink, balancing them just a little awkwardly, and gives a little jerk of the head to Faelan, indicating the direction she intends to go. "Come on, let's sit over here." She finds a seat about halfway between the door and the front counter, sitting by the wall and settling down to butter her bagel, as they're calling it these days. While she doesn't dig into the food until the others are finished, she does idly sip the cocoa, blowing on it gently to make herself feel like she can cool it down a bit just by blowing on it gently. Actually laughing at Kris's question, Faelan smiles at that. "I am pretty sure that she knows what you would do. But I imagine once our need for escorts off campus ends, you will be able to come here often." He nods at this, looking to the Sophie as she became the leader of the situation, and a table is acquired by Jennifer's orders. "Should we make calls before we eat? Or should we eat before things get cold?" He looks at his muffin with hope that he will eat the blueberries soon, then looks to Jennifer as the responsible adult present. The folded picture gets a bit of a concerned look, and Hanna takes it for a moment, for the first time a bit of a frown crossing her face as she thinks. "Unfortunately, no, I can't say I've seen him before. Haven't been open for that long," she responds, offering the photo back to Jennifer. "If you have another copy, I can put it up in the bakery? We've got a decently diverse clientele most days, someone may have seen him around? I'm sorry your friend is missing. I'll keep an eye out for him," Hanna offers, wanting to help. Kris's reaction to the cupcake brings forth a chuckle from Hanna, and the return of her cheery smile, "Hope you find it tastes as good as it looks." Once all of the baked goods are handed out, and people are settled in, she goes back to restocking the shelves, pausing momentarily to write down the orders. The mention of a school, and chaperoning gets a little quirk of the head, and she pauses to look at the kids and Jennifer, putting it together mentally that this must be a field trip of some kind. Jayna blushes slightly green brown at the compliment to her hair, instinctively touching one of the flowers, "Ah, thank you. It is, well, organic. That's just how my hair grows anymore." She speaks with a slight southern twang, handing over the drink as requested. Only now noticing that Faelan is yet to touch the scrumptious-lookin' blueberry muffin, the teacher sighs softly with a reassuring smile. "You're not at a banquette, Faelan. Enjoy your food, okay?" Jennifer watches the teens claim a table. "Bon apetit!" Eager to return to the matter of the missing student, Jennifer turns and looks back to Hanna. Upon being asked if she has another copy, Jennifer nibbles on her lower lip ponderously for a couple of seconds before offering an abrupt, "/No/." And then more politely and with an apologetic smile, "No, I don't have another copy, sorry." The photo is folded up and stuffed into the pocket again. That apologetic smile grows into a more sincere and open one. "Thanks for the help-- /And/ a great service, Hanna. Your bakery's off to a /great/ start!" Claiming the donut-occupied plate and the cup of cappuccino on a saucer, Jennifer wanders over to the table Sophie had picked. With one hand guiding the cup to her lips to take a sip, another digs into the /outer/ pocket of the jacket to draw a note. Ssssip. "Okay, we're almost done with this district. Another two streets and we /should/ be done with it. I'll be taking you back to, ah--" The name /almost/ slips out. "I'll be taking you back afterwards." Kris meanwhile has begun to nibble her cupcake while talking to Jayna. A sip of her drink, and then she's grinning toothily,"I thought maybe it did. I just did not know if it is polite to comment on that. Do you find haircare more difficult as a result? Is it harder to comb, or easier? I bet a vitamin oil would make them shine just amazingly." Flower hair. It's fascinating. So is the cupcake, which earns Hanna a thumbs up even as it is quickly swilled down with iced coffee. "This is very good! The icing isn't overpoweringly sugary." She wiggles her fingers at them and wanders over back to her group. Sophie commences with the munchings on her bagel once Jennifer arrives at the table and, in typical teenager not-actually-subtle-at-all form, she leans forward to whisper at the teacher, all secretively. "Ms. Walters.." For once, her tone is a /little/ more sober in keeping with the day's events. It isn't like this is a picnic, after all. "Um.. this is probably gonna sound like a stupid question but have any of the teachers gone to the /police/ about all this?" She scratches the back of her head nervously, and sips a bit at her cocoa. "I mean I know a lot of people don't like-- us, but... but we're still /citizens/, right?" "Alright. I hope the others are having better luck." Faelan says as he finally removes the top of the muffin and sets it aside on a napkin, starting to eat the bottom of the baked good first. "Maybe we should have one of those maps that they show the investigators on television using. We can put in the thumbtacks and strings and all. Triangulation and stuff," he says in between bites of muffin. Nodding at what Sophie says, he sips from his whatever its called mix of coffee cream and sugar. "It has been long enough to do a missings person report. Though, I guess that his aunt and uncle would normally be the ones to report it." The abrupt response from Jennifer startles Hanna, and she blinks for a moment, her golden brown eyes momentarily flashing to a startled yellow green, before fading quickly back to a muddy brown. as Jennifer explains. "It's ok. I'll keep an eye out for him, all the same. Is there a number I can contact you at, if I see him, or someone says something?" she bobs her head slightly, trying to tread carefully as she asks, a little bit hesitant to ask after that initial response. Kris gets a smile and a nod in response to the thumbs up. Jayna is trying to formulate a response to her question, thinking for a moment, "Actually, oil sort of just sits there, and then makes it overly slippery," the barista touches the end of her braid, "Grows ridiculously fast, though," she chuckles and grins, "I flower in the spring, and it fades to auburn and brown in the fall and winter. Don't really have to do to anything to it." As you begin to consume the food, it is indeed quite delicious - perfectly baked, with just the right amount of flavor. It seems to brighten your day, just a bit, adding a touch of cheer to your mood. Sophie may get a feeling of being more awake, as though she'd just had that first smell of coffee in the morning, but not overly energetic. Just enough to add a little pep to her step, as it were. Over all, it is an incredibly subtle effect, entirely possible that the baked goods and coffee are just that good. Right? "Hmm?" Jennifer happily indulges Sophie, leaning towards the student as well. The hush hush nature of the incoming question actually brings a quirky smile to her lips; she also lifts both brows as a form of feigned surprise, as if the two were scandalous conspirators of some nefarious scheme. Jen also takes this time to take a bit of the chocolate-coated donut, which turns out to be absolutely delicious, if her reaction is anything to go by. And then it lands back on the plate, just so the teacher can answer the student. By the time she is done chewing, Faelan's already provided the answer, but Jennifer confirms it: "Peter's guardians have alerted the police, yes. On the very first day, in fact." That donut rises again. "Yeah, I have that set up in my room, Faelan. It's actually pretty useful." Another bite is had. Jennifer is completely oblivious to the subtle effect on her mood that the food has. Granted, she is much more easily affected by it, given her susceptibility to mood changes. She is positively beaming by now. "This is /heavenly/", she comments on the donut, pocketing the note from before. "Anyway, once Megan comes back and once we all have our food, we'll carry on our little Sherlock Holmes adventure. I'm sure we'll find 'em - if not today, tomorrow. I'm going to take another group with me after I take you guys back."