Logs:Lost and Found

Lost and Found
Dramatis Personae Desi, Lucien, Ted	2019-05-27 Desi and Lucien return Ted's wallet
Location NYU LGBTQ Student Center - Greenwich Village
That NYU's Student Resource Center happens to share a building with one of the university's theaters is not so extraordinary, but this /particular/ office being located there tends to draws a few smirks and jokes from first years. The long glass inner wall that separates it from the rest of the student life spaces reads "NYU" in huge black letter and "LGBTQ" in rainbow ones just as big. Inside, there is a staffed resource desk, a bulletin board covered with ads and events, a corner table with safer sex information and supplies, comfortable couches in a semi-partitioned sitting area, and offices for the staff. With the spring semester over and the campus offices are in low gear, but there are still staff members and student volunteers about. Desi is neither of these, but strides confidently in all the same, dressed in a leaf green linen tunic with silver satin edging, a brookstick skirt in multilayered black gauze, and elegant silver sandals whose straps criss-cross up her calves. "At least two people said we'd find him here," she's telling her companion as she holds the door open for him, bright green eyes scanning the room. "We could leave them at the desk if he is not." Lucien also falls into neither of these categories, but seems about as unbothered by being out of place as his sister does. Taller, more muscular, with deep blue-black hair, in a neatly-tailored pale grey trousers and green seersucker button-down, he bears little resemblance to the younger woman save in the vividness of his green eyes as he sweeps a thoughtful gaze about the room. He glances down at the phone and wallet that he holds in one hand, then back to Desi with a pensive hum. "I suppose there would be little enough harm in that. Could you find an email for him? That we might let him know?" When Ted first arrived at NYU, he spent quite a bit of his time at the LGBTQ Student Center, primarily because the people there went out of their way to make everyone feel welcome. After a few months that stopped being quite so big a deal, as he'd made a lot of friends and was welcome in a lot of different places, but by then he'd become something of a fixture in the lounge and had talked more than a few visitors through coming out to themselves or their friends and family. It made him feel like he was accomplishing something. So he tends to spend a lot of time here, when he isn't doing something else. Like now, getting a leg up on his summer reading list. Or, well, trying to. Truthfully, recent events have left him sufficiently traumatized (not that he would use that word) that he's finding it difficult to read more than a sentence at a time, so the arrival of two new faces catch his attention... one of them, admittedly, quite a bit more than the other... and he looks interestedly over his shoulder as Adrienne, a strikingly tall bald woman with a row of small silver rings running the length of her left eyebrow, smiles a greeting at them from behind the resource desk and asks "Can I help you?" "Probably," Desi replies as she leads her brother to the resource desk. "Good afternoon! We're looking for Ted Altman, a student volunteer?" Her smile is dazzling, the lift of her intonation mild and polite. "I don't actually know him, but some mutual acquaintances mentioned he might be here today..." "We found a wallet," Lucien fills in where Desi leaves off, giving Adrienne a smaller smile, a slight tilt of his head in greeting. "We are only seeking to return it, if he might be around?" Ted hasn't told Adrienne any details about what happened yesterday, but he's said enough for her to infer that he's in some sort of trouble, and she has a protective streak to her. So her reaction to strangers asking after him is a worried instinctive glance in his direction, followed by a pleasantly neutral, if strangely loud, "Yes, Teddy helps out here sometimes." By design, the lounge area isn't close enough to the resource desk for Ted to hear conversation, but that last part he hears. His first reaction is to wince, as he always does when anyone calls him that; his second reaction is to panic slightly, wondering why these strangers are looking for him. Both reactions can readily be seen, as Ted has no poker face to speak of, as he puts his book down and approaches the desk, in time to hear Lucien's explanation. "Oh!" he says in sudden relief, his posture relaxing. "That's wonderful! Yes, I'm Ted," he confirms, his former caution gone to the winds, "and yes, I -- I lost my wallet last night. Thank you both so much!" As he approaches, he offers a hand in Desi's direction to shake, perhaps too effusively. Desi does not seem much put off by Adrienne's odd reaction, and even less so when the young man they were searching for shows himself. "Oh! I'm so glad we were able to find you." Her hesitation at the proffered handshake is fleeting, probably noticeable only to Lucien, but her smile is bright when she clasps Ted's hand, her grasp firm. "I'm Desi--I go to Tisch, actually, we've probably brushed shoulders here and here--and this is my brother Lucien." Lucien's smile, initially small and reserved, warms noticeably at Adrienne's hesitation when they ask about Ted. His offered "thank you," to the young woman is quiet, his attention turning to Ted when the man approaches. "Oh!" Brighter, warmer, a casual ease in the set of his shoulders and the crinkle of his eyes when he smiles. "Yes, I'm glad we were able -- I hope it wasn't causing you too much trouble." His voice is quiet, a soft francophone accent colouring the words in contrast to his sister's East Coast-neutral. Where Desi offers a handshake he offers one of the missing items in question, wallet held out on an upturned palm. "We found this phone nearby as well -- I don't know if you lost that as well --?" He isn't yet /offering/ the phone, still held close in his other hand. "Hi Desi -- I mean, Tisch -- hi Lucien," << Ohmigosh, that _accent_ >> "I can't thank you enough for returning my wallet," he says, returning Lucien's smile and taking the item from the man's open palm with his free hand. << I guess that means the cops don't have it. Well THAT'S a relief >> "I must have dropped it somewhere, um," << near the car, when I destroyed my pants >> "last night, um," <<running away from the police >> "jogging or something." He looks at the wallet for a long moment, << I wonder if they took the cash, but it would be rude to look. Still, I won't have to replace the credit cards and stuff, that's a relief >> before putting it in his pocket and letting go of Desi's hand. "Oh! My phone! Yeah, I lost it, um, at the same time." His thoughts about that, perhaps thankfully, remain private, but his flustered expression makes it clear that there's a lot he's not saying. He makes an abortive gesture to take the phone before realizing it hasn't been offered, and pulls his hand quickly. "Um... where did you find them?" Desi keeps her expression schooled to pleasant neutrality, though she blinks perhaps a few more times than seem altogether usual. "Around Waverly and Christopher, I think?" She glances at Lucien for confirmation. "The credit should go to our dog, honestly. She took a very keen interest." She inclines her head slightly, polite concern softening her voice. "Are you quite alright?" Lucien cants a brief sidelong glance to his sister, the corners of his mouth tugging slightly. "I think it was closer to Sixth. She is eternally rustling up chicken bones near that diner and I very nearly pulled her away without investigating, I thought for sure it was that." He looks back to Ted curiously for the answer to Desi's question -- only at a delay holding the phone out, with the screen tipped toward Ted. "Would you mind unlocking it, if it's yours? There was nothing," he explains with a mildly apologetic note to his voice, "to identify its owner. I know I would be at such a loss if mine vanished, it remembers half my life for me." "Who me? Sure, I'm fine," Ted replies unconvincingly to Desi. "I, um, was just worried. About the wallet. Worried about the wallet. And, um, the phone, of course?" he adds with a hopeful look in Lucien's direction. "Everything's fine. Other than that I mean. So now that I have them back everything's fine. Just fine. No worries." Behind the counter, Adrienne's snort is almost but not quite inaudible. "Oh, sure, that makes sense," he replies to Lucien, taking the phone and tapping in his code, revealing several unheard messages. "Ah. I'll check those later. And, yeah, I'm the same way," he agrees, "I was lucky I remembered my own dorm room without it." "Certainly, that must have been very upsetting," Desi agrees, her eyes wide and sincere. "I do wish you a swift recovery from the experience, and no further...jogging troubles." Her smile returns, here. "Maybe I'll see you around campus in the future?" There's a minute relaxation in Lucien's stance when Ted unlocks the phone; he turns it back over with a nod, his hands dropping to clasp behind his back now that they have been emptied. One dark eyebrow raises briefly at Ted's answer, and his subsequent reply /leans/ with just a touch more earnestness even than his sister: "Not fine once, but thrice? If you are as fine as all /that/ then clearly, nothing to be concerned about. Although," his eyes lower, his voice softening, "I do rather hope the rest of your weekend proves less --" He tips a hand out toward Desi. "Troubling." "Thanks," Ted replies, nodding to both of them. "I... yeah, I hope so too." He seems unconvinced. He also has a vague sense that he's being made fun of, but he lets that go. "Anyway, I hope so! Seeing you around, I mean. I'm in Brittany Hall for now. I haven't gotten my upperclass assignment yet, but I'm staying through the summer... it'll be good to see you again." "Well, may you find your way to the wonders of the Green House in the fall!" Desi taps the tips of her long fingers together. "I would be remiss not to plug my own dorm, of course, but truly our gardens /are/ amazing." Her enthusiasm seems real enough. "Enjoy your summer, Ted." She beams her smile at Adrienne, too. "Thank you." She turns and touches Lucien's arm, drawing him after her. "Have a lovely afternoon, both of you!" "It is a worthwhile plug. I do find gardening to be quite soothing when the city grows too -- stressful." Lucien tips his head toward Ted, going along willingly enough with Desi's bidding. "Do take care, Ted."