ArchivedLogs:Bad Coffee

Bad Coffee
Dramatis Personae Jack
In Absentia	2015-07-03 No good deed goes unquestioned. (Part of the Buzzkill TP.)
Location <NYC> Tompkins Square Park - East Village
Small but popular, this tree-lined park is a perfect centerpiece to the eclectic neighborhood it resides in. Home to a number of playgrounds and courts from handball to basketball, it also houses a dog park and chess tables, providing excellent space for people watching -- especially during its frequent and often eccentric festivals, from Wigstock to its yearly Allen Ginsberg tribute Howl festival. The sun beams bright behind puffy cumulus clouds. Hot but not scalding, breezy but not blustery, it's a perfect day for an outing, and the park shows it. Tomkins Square is crowded with small children and dogs with their guardians, knots of youths, exhausted tourists, a bumper crop of joggers, and assorted other humans of New York. Among these last is a teenaged girl of east asian descent perched on a bench with a book open in her lap, though her eyes keep straying up to watch a pale, sickly-looking boy of perhaps six or seven playing in a sandbox only steps away. The breeze is a welcome bit of weather as far as Jack is concerned. Even with the much lighter material hoodie Rasa advised him to get, Jack is still a bit too warm as he walks through the park. In worn jeans, sneakers, and his hoodie, he's continuing his investigations of the 'caffeine crisis'. As much as just walking around, asking questions, and hoping he finds out of any areas have been experiencing the effects sooner or harder than others can count as investigation anyway. His little quest has led him to the park today. Avoiding bumping into people, Jack steps off the path to tie his shoe. Or at least look like he's retying it, in reality looking around the area for anything out of the ordinary. The kids in the sandbox get a glance but eventually, Jack's gaze falls on the girl on the bench. He's a little curious what she's reading but he isn't approaching yet. An errant breeze turns several pages in the girl's book, and she looks down hastily to regain her place. As if he had been waiting for the watchful eye to stray, the little boy slips away from the sandbox and begins to scale the centerpiece of the playground, from which slides, swings, and monkey bars originate. Having found her page again, the girl looks up and gasps. Her eyes go wide and her gaze darts around the playground. "DD! Where are you?" The little boy, having just gained the top of the structure with significant apparent difficulty, freezes at the sound of her voice. The impatient children queued behind shove him, as children do, and he begins to teeter. His guardian leaps from the bench, book falling to the ground at her feet ('No Exit' by Jean-Paul Sartre, as it turns out) as she makes a dash for him, though it seems impossible that she should get there in time. From where he is, Jack smiles a little when he sees the kid sneak off. He's reminded of when he'd do similar in his younger days. The child's sickly appearance makes him a little concerned but he figures if the kid is out and about, he can't be too bad in the health department. Of course the girl's panicked reaction has him concerned and he starts standing up. Before he can speak up, disaster strikes. Cursing under his breath, Jack takes off at a sprint. He's fast on his feet and a nimble guy, rushing to make sure he's there to catch the teetering child. The boy doesn't have far to fall, off of the platform and into Jack's arms. He weighs less than one might imagine by looking at him, but even so it probably knocks the invisible teen back a step or two. The girl is at their side seconds later. Other guardians all around the playground have perked up at the commotion, and the other children are staring--some at the one one who fell, and some at the one who pushed. "Thank you so much!" The girl says, reaching out for the smaller child. Her face freezes when she sees Jack...or rather when she sees right through Jack's head. "Oh! Um..." She flushes bright red and casts about as if looking for a place to hide. Jack lets out a little grunt as he catches the boy and gets knocked back but makes sure he doesn't fall over. It wouldn't be good to drop the poor kid after just catching him. He's a little surprised by how little the boy weighs but realizes he doesn't really know how much kids should weigh anway. "You okay, little guy?" he asks, quietly hoping the kid isn't about to freak out. He looks up as the girl approaches and starts to hand over the kid. "You're welcome," he offers quietly, recognizing the 'look for a hiding spot' reaction. "Sorry about the...uh...see-through," he mutters, hoping the girl doesn't start flipping out either. The little boy is also staring at Jack now, craning his skinny neck back, though his expression bespeak more wonder than distress. "Whoa, you're invisible! How'd you do that?" he asks as he gets passed from one teenager to the other. The staring from bystanders that had begun to subside intensifies again. The girl wraps both arms around the kid. "Thank you," she reiterates, blushing even deeper. "You don't have apologize, it's just...not something you see everyday. Or, I guess it's something *you* see everyday. I'm so sorry, you saved my brother and I'm being an aaaa...being a jerk." She looks even more nervous about their surroundings now. "I think we should probably go," she says quietly. "People have been reaching extra bad lately to...to people who are different." Jack tugs his hood back up quickly, giving a little laugh. "I'm not something people see any day," he tries to joke. He glances around as well and starts to agree when something registers with him. "You mean...is he...?" he trails off, nodding at the kid. He pauses a moment and glances around. "We should move before we keep talking," he agrees, looking around. "Let's head over there," he suggests, pointing a sleeve towards an out of the way area of the park. The girl's red cheeks turn pale when Jack suggests that her brother might also be 'different.' She looks like she might bolt right then and there, but masters herself and sets the boy down gently. "Um, all right." There's a wary note in her voice, and she keeps a tight hold of the child's hand, swinging by the bench to pick up her book before heading out toward the partly-shaded patch of grass Jack had indicated. "I'm Autumn, by the way," she says, and then, nodding at her brother, "this short one is DD." Heading over to the shaded area himself, Jack glances around to make sure they're not attracting any unwanted attention. He tugs his hood a little more as he waits, making sure his lack of visible head isn't too easy to see. "I'm Jack," the invisible teen says. "I'd offer a handshake but," he lifts his empty sleeves as he tries the usual joke. He's just trying to improve the mood. "Did you mean that DD is a mutant?" he asks after a moment. "No, of course not!" Autumn's reply comes swift and alarmed, glancing around nervously. Her brother frowns and looks like he might speak, but she gives him a look almost as concerned as severe, and he sinks back against her, picking at the grass. "Not that...I don't mean that I think it's bad. To be a mutant." "If people find out they send you away to a bad place!" DD blurts. "Guess it's a good thing you're invisible, huh?" He squints at Jack critically and adds, as though this should be news to the teen, "Except we can see your clothes..." Jack is a little startled by the swift reply, looking as surprised as an empty hood can. He rubs the back of his neck and glances aside. He starts to say something to Autumn but DD's sudden blurting has him blinking invisibly. He ends up chuckling a bit though. "Yeah, I kind of got unlucky like that," he says, gesturing at himself. "But," he takes a breath. "Has anyone been giving you guys trouble?" he asks a little more seriously. "Like threatening to try to send anyone to any...bad places?" "No," Autumn replies carefully, squeezing her brother's shoulder as if warning against any further volunteering of information. "No one's given us trouble like that." She clarifies, sounding fairly sure of herself. "I've just heard about a lot of bad things happening to...people like you. It's not my business but...do you get hassled by the police, or others?" "That's good to hear at least," Jack lets out a relieved sigh. "Not as much as I used to," he admits with a little shrug. "I mean sure there are still jerks out there but I found some more...mutant friendly places. And I met a cop that's actually pretty cool," he says. Autumn blinks at Jack, dark eyes wide with wonder and not a little skepticism. "Mutant-friendly? Like that clinic? Mendel Clinic." She shakes her head. "Well, I'm glad things have gotten better for you. Like I said, I hear people have been more hostile lately." "Well, I know that place is friendly but I haven't been," Jack admits with a little chuckle. "But there's more places. Like this awesome bakery and the best cafe I've ever been to. All great and people like me don't even have to cover up," he explains. He then sighs a little. "Yeah...there's been...something going on," he says. "Coffee and stuff just...isn't working right from what I've heard." "I guess some mutants have really made a place in the world for themselves." Autumn fidgets as she speaks, but her fidgeting stops abruptly at the mention of coffee. "I don't really know anything about that," she mumbles, holding her book to her chest. "I'm sure it'll go away on its own, though." Her brows wrinkle. "Do you know what's going on with that?" "Well, yeah. But some non-mutants have caught onto the fact that we're all people too," Jack replies. He takes a breath at Autumn's reaction again, shaking his head. He's been getting some ideas and he glances at DD. "You hear anyone grumbling about bad coffee?" he asks in an amused tone, head tilting towards Autumn. Attention returns to the girl and Jack considers the question for a moment. "Not really," he admits. "Just that caffeine isn't working over a huge area and it's not good," he sighs. "Missing your coffee too?" DD nods vigorously. "Coffee's bad, it makes me sick." He pulls a lopsided face and sticks out his tongue by way of illustrating *how* it makes him sick. Autumn squeezes her brother's arm, but winces as if it had been her own. "We don't drink coffee," she says, curtly. "Look, thank you again for helping out, but we really should go." She rises and carries DD against her side. "If you tell me the name of that cafe, though, maybe I'll come hang out and see you around?" "I'm not a big coffee guy either," Jack chuckles at the little act. "Sure, the place is called Evolve. It's on the Lower East Side," he replies. "If you'd like, I can give you my phone number too. I can help out if anyone gives you any trouble," he offers. "Or if you take any more tumbles," he adds with a little teasing tone to DD. Autumn nods, looking a little calmer now. "Thanks for the tip. We'll be okay." But she takes the offered number anyway before hurrying off with her brother on one him and her book tucked against her chest. Jack provides his number and offers a wave. "Bye, Autumn. And don't worry your sister too much, little guy," he offers to them both. He watches them both go, frowning invisibly. After letting them get a decent distance away, Jack sighs to himself and starts to follow. He's going to do his best to stay out of sight and at least get a sense for where they're heading. He's pretty sure there's more to the duo than was said even if he isn't sure what yet. If he's able to get the information, he's going to have to talk to some people...