ArchivedLogs:School Musicals

School Musicals
Dramatis Personae Lia, Jack, Kaine
In Absentia	16 February 2015 '
Location <XS> Great Hall
The largest room at Xavier's, the Great Hall is designed to hold all of the mansion's residents and then some. Built for the mansion's bigger functions, it serves as the school's dining halls on ordinary days, and ballroom when needed. On school days, long trestle tables stretch across the hall, high-backed chairs with plush cushions offering seating for the students. Though just a little less cold and snowy today, it is still /winter/ outside. Not so in the Great Hall, where all is warmth and bustle and bodies and the mingling aromas of delicious foodstuffs. Lia has come straight to dinner from swim practice, the scent of chlorine clinging to her hair a bit, though mixed in with pomegranate conditioner from her quick shower. She is dressed just /warm/ and simple for having thrown something on in a locker room: a set of Xavier's sweats in violet and a black hoodie to match. She has a tray in front of her with food that has already started to be demolished and dissected: what might be a grilled cheese sandwich broken all into bits, a large mug of tomato soup, what looks like a tablespoon or so each of corn and peas and sauteed mushrooms, a little side salad with all of the components separated out in the bowl. She pauses in her food-mess to wave at the pink-haired girl just quitting the chair next to her with dishes to take to the return. With a tray holding his drink and a pair of grilled cheese sandwiches floating where a normal person might have hands, a set of empty clothes approaches the recently emptied seat. Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and a plain black hoodie, Jack's been avoiding the cold today. When it got into the negatives thanks to the windchill, he wasn't about to go out into it unless he needed to or had something he really wanted to do. "Hey, Lia," Jack greets. "Is this seat free?" Kaine isn't dressed for the cold today, sporting a light pink cardigan over a black dress shirt and a pair of tan slacks. He doesn't seem overly interested in eating today, and appears to be on his way back out with only an apple until he catches sight of Lia and Jack. "Hey Lia, Jack. How're things going?" Lia has resumed plucking up bits of sandwich to dip into her soup with a fork before eating them, quickly one-after-another. “Free...it does not have anything in it. Mostly it does not leave, that I can tell. Very likely it could if it wished just now.” The girl eyes the chair as if assessing its desire for roaming. “I went swimming and now I have dinner,” she answers Kaine. “Hello.” Probably that is for both of them, as the realisation that she has gone without greeting sets in. Jack tilts his head to the side at that answer and then chuckles quietly. "Okay, is anyone sitting here or can I?" he tries again, smiling even if it can't be seen. Kaine's arrival gets a nod from the invisible teen, wearing his hood so the motion can be seen. "Hey, Kaine. Things are alright. How're they going for you?" "Awesome." Kaine replies to both Jack and Lia, taking a seat across from them at the table. "Well enough, I suppose. Been meaning to head into New York, but nobody ever wants to go because of the cold. Though I got the kind of luck I'd head out and run into a group of those anti-mutant terrorists. End up in the paper or something." Jack's second question causes Lia to prod the air in the chair-area with a fingertip. "Oh, no. There is no one else invisible here." Prod. "You will not sit on them." She spears a bit of spinach to dip into one of the four tiny puddles of dressing on her plate. "I do not go out as me much but I have never run into terrorists with my dolls or with me. I think mostly when people leave they just go and come back? Except when they get kidnapped but that is less often than people imply." Jack chuckles to himself and sets his food down before sitting. "Thanks," he says to Lia. Jack starts in on one of his sandwiches as Kaine speaks. About half the sandwich is gone before he speaks again. "Maybe if the weekend is warmer, I could go to the city with you," he offers. He tenses at the mention of terrorists and kidnappings though. "Hopefully we'll avoid both those things if we go..." "Yup. Last thing I want to be called is a terrorist for having to knock around a few idiots." Kaine nods, taking a bite from his apple. Didn't even bother peeling the sticker off it. "Though I doubt I'd really run into any of them. Need to stop by a tattoo parlor, see about picking up a segment ring to replace the one I have now." “You are welcome. It is pretty easy to check for invisible people if you touch at spaces.” Lia's brow furrows slightly in thought. “Probably you already knew that.” Her dark little eyebrows seem fit to meet one another the more Kaine speaks. “You are going to knock on people?” She does not even have an appropriate question for the rest. Jack laughs a little. "Yeah, I did," he says. "It's another way of saying fight," he explains to Lia. An invisible brow is arched at the mention of a tattoo parlor though. "A what ring?" Kaine reaches up to pinch at the ring in his nose. "It's like this, but a piece of the ring is what connects it. Made to look like one whole ring." He nods at Lia next. "Yeah, mean I don't really want to get in a fight. But I would if I had to." Lia's fork makes a series of trips from salad bowl to different dressings to her mouth, chewing thoughtfully over each combination. “You talk about fighting a lot. Have you needed to get in to many fights?” She nods at the ring explanation. Jack looks at the ring and shudders. "Okay...I'll probably wait outside if we go. Needles..." he trails off with another shiver. He falls silent at Lia's question though, shoulders slumping. He finishes off his first sandwich as he thinks. "Yeah," he replies softly. "Back in Jersey. I preferred to avoid it when I could but...sometimes I had to." "I haven't, not really. Probably if there were more people my age about." Kaine shrugs slightly before taking another bite from the apple. "It's just the way I picture New York nowadays, people generally angry that you exist." “Oh, not you,” Lia clarifies to Jack. “I don't remember you talking about fighting much. I am sorry you had to, though. Kaine says it a lot. About fighting. I thought maybe he did fighting a lot, too. I used to have to fight sometimes when people told me to. I do not anymore.” Pop, another cherry tomato, this one in a shiitake ginger dressing, squishes between her molars. “There are lots of people all the same age here. Mostly they do not fight. Sometimes, but mostly not. There /are/ clubs for fighting. But not angry fighting? With swords and ninjas.” "It wasn't as dangerous as I expected. But yeah, there's clearly trouble out there," Jack remarks to Kaine. "It's okay. It's not your fault, Lia," he adds. "I'm glad you don't have to fight anymore," he says. "How old are you, exactly?" he asks Kaine, curious. "Er, seventeen." Kaine says after a slight moment of thought. "As of earlier this year. Bit of a late addition to the school, but I was fine off for a long while." He takes another bite of the apple and chews it for a moment or so before adding on, "Junior this year. Most the people I actively talk to are seniors. Should branch out and meet new faces." "Oh, it should not be my fault. I did not know you before you were here. It would be very difficult for me to do anything to you before I knew you." Lia nods sagely as she imparts this information and spoons some of her remaining soup up. "I am not a senior. But I am also seventeen. I only did one year here so far and I had to start with a lot of tutoring because there was no school for me for a very long time. I think I might be a sophomore? I am not entirely sure how that works." Her head tilts, thinking on that one. "I'm seventeen too," Jack replies. "Birthday was over winter break," he says. He focuses on eating his sandwich for awhile, just listening to Kaine and Lia. "I think Sophomore might be right. It goes Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior." "Might have to stay a little bit longer if the classes I have already taken before coming here don't give me enough credits to graduate. Didn't have the same amount of options, was the basics requirements. Though I could probably test out of a class or two, like mechanics." Kaine says before finishing up half of his apple. "Wonder if they have Pulp Fiction in the rec room. Haven't seen that movie in a while." "Oh, I know the order. I just don't know if it is just a time thing...or a credit thing? I have been enough time, I think, but a lot of my first classes and tutorings were not-for-credit. But then I take classes over the summer. So it could even out, maybe." Lia's head nods as she chews on a radish, perhaps a bit distracted by the sharp crispiness. "You can test out. My advisor told me maybe if I want to start taking French again, I could test out. I can understand a pretty good amount. When Dorian talked it, I would know what he was saying most of the time." She hrms softly under her breath. "I do not know. Many of the students also have their own movies. Some of them also have a..." For some reason she seems to be miming the motion of a reel-to-reel projector. Maybe. "Netflix. With the screen and the buttons and then movies happen." "In other schools it's a time thing. Not sure how it works here. Maybe I'll ask my advisor when I talk to her next," Jack remarks with a little nod. "I'm going to stay here as long as I can. At least that's my plan so far," Jack replies, getting back to eating. When the second sandwich is finished off, Jack lets out a breath. "Between the collection in the rec room and the stuff the others have, I'm sure you'll be able to find it somewhere here." "I'm almost positive that it's on Netflix." Kaine pops the rest of the apple into his mouth. "I'm going to have to send a message home to see if I could get a little decorating money. Got a little bit of vinyl and nothing to listen to it on. And the morning isn't complete without a little Grand Funk Railroad. Or that Rob Zombie el pee I got. The newer one, venomous rat regeneration vendor.” "I do not know what I am going to do. Eventually you graduate. Usually you leave after except maybe if you are Faelan. He graduated and he is here still mostly." Lia's head tips to the side again, lacking food on her tray to play with any longer. "Maybe I can join a circus. They have dancing and tumbling and trapeze and silks and costumes. I like all of those things." One could almost see the music talk going /over/ Lia's head. "I do not like zombies. Rats are cute, though. Usually they are not poisonous." Jack looks about as lost as an empty hood can as Kaine talks music. "I have no idea who they are and do you mean...like...records?" Jack asks, head tilting slowly to the side. "I wonder if I could end up staying like Faelan..." he trails off under his breath. He hums a little before making a mental note to talk to his fellow invisible mutant later. "Never liked rats. They were trouble." "Yeah, records. Grand Funk Railroad is a rock band from the seventies or so. And Rob Zombie does harder rock. That rat thing was the name of his album that came out a few years ago." Kaine explains. "Both pretty awesome for their own reasons, in my opinion." Jack seems to have more of a clue than Lia does. She just moves on to the next topic. "Maybe if there is a job you can do? Faelan works in the library." The girl fidgets in her seat a bit. "I like Sondheim. And Tchaikovsky. And Vivaldi. There are a lot of... I play piano and sing the things." See? Music! "I've never heard of either," Jack admits sheepishly. Nodding, Jack files away the information for later. Potential jobs is another thing he'll ask Faelan about. The musical names go over his head too. "They sound classical...but I don't know anything else about them," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "If you've seen Into the Woods or Sweeney Todd, they're movie adaptations of Sondheim musicals. He had a hand in making the Into the Woods movie version too. The songs he composes are pretty fabulous." Kaine explains before looking back towards Lia. "I love the piano. I'll have to listen to you play sometime, if you don't mind." "Sondheim does musicals and Tchaikovsky does ballets and Vivaldi is just...pretty." Lia smiles at the explanation. "We are doing 'Into the Woods' for the theatre production this term. I am Little Red Riding Hood. I made my hood for the costume; they taught me in the club. And also one for Horus because he took my coat but it would not fit him right and a hood is better." Bouncing in her seat a little, she nods to Kaine. "Okay-okay. I need to take lessons so I can get better. But I think I used to play a long time ago because I was able to play some when I got here and there was a piano. I practice sometimes when the music room is empty. I am not good like Shane on the violin, though." "Yeah, I haven't seen a lot of movies in the past couple years. I mean I snuck into some but it wasn't like I could just head down to the multiplex whenever I wanted," Jack mutters, sipping his drink after. "When are you guys putting the show on?" Jack asks Lia. "I'd like to come see it if I could," he adds, perking up. All the music talk has Jack rubbing the back of his neck again. "Man...you play any instruments, Kaine?" "Nope. Don't play instruments, and I'm pretty sure I can't sing. But if I could I'd be down on doing Into the Woods or the Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kaine replies with a slight shrug. "I know all the words to all the Rocky Horror songs, but I only know 'Hello Little Girl' and 'Your Fault' from Into the Woods. Gonna have to find a copy of both of those and sit you down in the rec room sometime. Not seeing those is kinda like missing out on Kill Bill or The Artist." "I did not see many for a long time. Sometimes-sometimes they would have some in the rooms? Especially when they let you go to the recreation area. If they did. Sometimes there might be a movie. But here? People /always/ have movies they want you to watch. And then /sometimes/ groups will go to the movies on the biiiig screen. They are /so/ big!" Lia looks pensive, then sheepish, at the question of when the show is on. "The shows happen at the end of the term. That is soon! I...am not good with dates. Soon? I should ask at the next meeting for the date again and write it down. Probably they will post flyer-poster-paper things soon, too. Someone has to make those. But definitely you can come. Other students go, and family-people of students, and teachers..." Again, that head tilt comes at Kaine's musical listings. "It is a horror movie musical? Like 'Little Shop of Horrors'? That one was kind of silly." Then she's off bouncing in her chair again. "Little girl! That is me. I do that part. Well, not /most/ of the singing of that song. That is the wolf but I am the girl." The lack of recognition for the last two movies is probably fairly telling, as well. "Rocky Horror I actually know. Got 'Time Warp' stuck in my head for about a week," Jack chuckles. "I've watched some of the DVDs in the rec room with some of the others. Just not a lot of new stuff," he says. "It was good...just hanging out like that," he says. He listens to Lia's answer and nods. "Cool. I'll keep an eye out for those fliers," the invisible one replies. "Okay, Kill Bill I've heard of but which one's The Artist?" "Black and white film from a few years ago. It's about the introduction of sound to movies and how it affects an up and coming actress and an already established silent film star. Pretty excellent, didn't advertise for it a lot though." Kaine shifts a bit in his seat to get comfortable once more before turning his attention to Lia, "Pretty much. It's about an alien from Transsexual Transylvania. A lot of weird twists in it, but it's fabulous. The song I was humming the other day when I ran into you and Lyric was from it." “Hm, I have not heard of those,” Lia does admit finally regarding the other movies. “It is a horror movie musical with time travel and aliens? There is a place called Transsexual in Transylvania? That seems like an odd place-name. Aliens /and/ vampires. It must be an interesting area. To live in.” Her fingertips drum on the edge of the table. “I like musicals. I should watch that one some time.” "It's not a real place, Lia. It's just for the movie," Jack explains. "But it was a fun one to see. Pretty sure its the only musical I've ever seen," he adds, leaning back. He drains the rest of his drink and then looks around. "I should probably get going and get a shower in. Got some homework I need to do tonight." "Alright, see you later Jack. I should probably get back in before Tristan does. Always feel like I may get thrown from a window if I wake him up." Kaine says, pushing to his feet. "I'll be sure to make the musical though. Be interesting to watch, especially if it's the full musical and none of the scenes are cut." “Oh. Transylvania is a place. It is part of Romania.” Lia's nose crinkles a bit. “I am fairly certain that defenestration is against school rules.” The mention of homework has her gathering up her dishes and sliding away from the table, as well. “Right. Homework. I should finish my algebra work, too. Good night!” Jack laughs again, gathering his dishes. "Tristan doesn't seem that bad," he says, standing. "I'll see you guys later. Good luck with the algebra and avoiding window flights," he offers, heading off. "Stay off his bed, and don't mess with his stuff and he's awesome. A bit territorial though." Kaine reaches up to rub at the back of his neck. "Alright, I'll catch you guys later."