ArchivedLogs:Power of Two

Power of Two
Dramatis Personae Gaétan, Spencer
In Absentia	2017-09-12 "{How about the power of /music/?}"
Location <XS> Roof
The view from up here is phenomenal, a panorama of the expansive Xavier's grounds, forest and lake and rocky cliffs alike. Even without the view outwards, the rooftop itself holds its own delights, in the form of the tiny jewel of a flower garden tucked away up here, tended by one of the school's teachers. From the edge of the roof, with a veeery careful jump, it looks like it just might be possible to reach the treehouse in the old oak tree. All across the grounds things are bustling -- sports teams at practice, more informal games of catch and frisbee on the lawn, occasional (hopefully harmless) booms and cracks and flashes interspersing pick-up games and study groups alike. Up here on the roof the noises carry, but distantly. Muted, remote. To one side of the roof, on a ledge under the eaves, Gaétan is perched -- one sneakered foot dangling, one knee pulled up to his chest -- head tipped back against the building. He has a slim black cigarette -- unlit -- between two fingers. A notebook is propped against his thigh; occasionally he's writing in it. Mostly, though, he's looking out over the grounds, rolling his cigarette slowly back and forth. The empty air in front of and slightly to one side of Gaétan abruptly becomes less empty as Spencer appears, dressed in a (new!) red t-shirt that reads '2 Fast 2 Curious' in a zoomy futuristic looking font, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers with holo-rainbow stars on the sides. He almost immediately disappears again -- -- and back, to settle on the ledge. "{Hey! What's up? Sorry it took me so long I made a detour to pick up snacks from my house do you want some cookies or soda?} All this in rapid-fire French as he scoots forward on the ledge to unsling his backpack and open it. "{Oh and I also got chocolate covered cashews but they're mostly chocolate actually.}" Gaétan's fingers tighten just a little bit around his pen. A small smirk tugs his mouth up. "Yeah, I was about to file a report." His eyes skip from one point to another, tracking Spencer's erratic path. "Soda." Definitively. "{Please tell me it's something really caffeinated.}" He closes his notebook, tucks his pen into its spiral spine. "{There should honestly be a law against assigning papers in the first week of class. Are your teachers that evil?}" "{I have Coke and uh...} Mountain Dew -- Code Red, I think that's got more caffeine." Spencer digs two 20 ounce bottle of red Mountain Dew from the backpack and hands one to his friend. It's still ice cold. "{Ugh that's gross! I have a paper to write but it's short and also my school started earlier. What class is this for? And how long do you get to finish it?}" He opens a Ziploc bag of lumpy chocolate chunks. "{I mean if it's like they're just assigning it now but it's due at the end of the term that's not so bad right.}" "Ethics. {And like, the end of the week. What's yours on?}" Gaétan snags a neon red Mountain Dew, uncapping it to gulp deep. "{Are you sure there's cashews in there?}" He sounds Highly Skeptical. "{I don't know how much more sugar I can take,}" Mountain Dew notwithstanding, "{The rec room's been overflowing with dessert the past two days. I loaded up.}" "{Seriously? /One week/ to write a paper that's /intense/. What's your topic, though?}" Spencer frowns deeply as he twists open his own soda and taking a swig. "{If you want to talk about it! Mine's for American History, we're supposed to talk to an adult in our life about their perspective on a 'historical event'.}" He only air-quotes the last two words with one hand, the other being occupied with caffeination. "{We melted /way/ too much chocolate,}" he admits, sounding rather /pleased/ about it, really, as he picks a lump of chocolate out of the bag and bites into it. The resulting cross-section does, in fact, expose a small circle of buff-colored nut meat. "{First week of class is always tough, I think Pa just wanted to like, make that go a little easier. With sugar coma.}" "{Ugh, is yours some not so secret 9/11 nonsense? Did you even see the President's Memorial thing, I thought I was going to hurl.}" A little mistrustfully, Gaétan snaps a bit of chocolate lump from the mix. "{I've gotta interview someone too! About a time they felt morally obligated to use some kinda power they've got...}" He chomps into his chocolate, frowns a bit. Sighs at the nut-free lump. "{They didn't specify that it had to be a mutant thing. Do teachers think that adults like us digging into all the most significant moments of their lives?}" "{I think it is, the teacher was tripping over himself to /not/ use that as an example.}" Spencer shrugs, pops another chocolate into his mouth, washes it down with soda. "{The teachers /are/ adults you'd think they would know. I guess their students never try interviewing /them/.}" He considers this briefly. "{Whoa maybe they /do/ want us to interview them! You should interview Steve,}" he suggests, very seriously, "{on using his /Privilege/. To punch Nazis and not go to jail.}" "{/You/ should interview Steve,}" Gaétan suggests with a grin. "{But definitely not about Nazis. Interview him about the great Depression. Or the New Deal. Interview him about labor struggles, I bet he'd actually like talking about that.}" He sips slow at his soda, fingers tapping against the bottle. "{I'm not sure how much they'd be down with using white privilege as an example of power, but --}" A shrug, a crooked smile. "{This isn't /your/ school.}" "{Whoa labor stuff he /does/ like talking about that,}" Spence agrees, nodding eagerly. "{What /do/ you think they mean by power, then, if not mutant powers? The power of /money/? I mean that's /kinda/ related. Or like the power of /knowledge/...}" His mouth pulls to one side and he looks up. "{How about the power of /music/?}" "{I bet Ryan would totally be down to be interviewed,}" Gaétan muses thoughtfully. "{But my brother has this reporter friend? I was thinking maybe an interview about the power of the press. See how much FAKE NEWS is influencing life.}" With another slow sip of soda, he glances sideways over at Spence. "{You planning on being around tomorrow at all?}" "{Oh yeah that's a good one!}" Spence kind of bounces in place where he sits on the ledge. It might look alarming to someone who didn't know him. "{An interview with Ryan would be way /funnier/, but I guess your teacher might not agree.}" He chugs his soda. Glances sideways /right back/ at Gaétan. "{I /could/ be,}" he hedges, grinning. "{I'm gonna have a few people over for cake after school -- you've met Asher, Daniel, and Essie -- and you're totally welcome! But whether you come or not, we can hang out here later...or earlier.}" He looks up for a moment, counting on his fingers. "{Could be /way/ early even, I'm /probably/ not gonna sleep much tonight.}" "{Wait, which Asher?}" Gaétan's brow furrows, thoughtful, but it soon slips into a quick smile. "{Is your dad making the cake? I'm /so/ there.}" Spence laughs, quick and bright. "{Asher Hayes, the one with the round glasses. Looks kind of like Harry Potter?}" Chug, chug, chug. /Enthusiastic/ nod while he tries to swallow /way/ too much soda. Gulp. "{Yeah! It's gonna be /so/ great.}" His shoulders go tight for a moment, his expression pained -- so briefly that it just looks like a flinch. He reaches one hand haltingly toward his friend, but pulls it back again, wraps it tight around his soda. His smile is warm and happy, nevertheless. "{Thanks.}" Gaétan leans to the side, one shoulder bumping up against Spence's. "{Yeah,}" he agrees easily. "It's going to be great.}"