2013.09.23 - Not feeling the Karaoke

It's been a while since Chamber's been to visit friends at Xavier's (or those that pass for friends, anyway), so the motorcycle making its way up the drive and pulling up outside the garage isn't exactly a familiar sight. The rider pulls off his helmet, revealing the partially covered face of Jono beneath, sporting permanent helmet hair. He rests his helmet on the seat of his bike and ambles up the path towards the main entrance, ignoring any of the stares leveled in his direction as he paces up the steps and into the school's main entrance hall.
The rumble of the motorcycle's enough to get some attention, and that got Cessily to slow as she was moving through the foyer. She's carrying a box, big but with her arms stretched to wrap around it like lashing. Peering over the top, she sees Chamber enter. "Jono!" she says with surprise. "What're you doing here?"
Jono blinks as he's addressed immediately he steps into the atrium. It doesn't take a second to realize who's called, however, as Cessily tends to stand out, even in a crowd. " < Hey there... uh... Cessily, >" he says, racking his memory to remind him of the girl's name. He was in the class above hers and a bad habit of not paying much attention to people beyond his own immediate circle. "< How goes? >" he asks in his hollow, telepathic tone, then nods at the box. "< Uh... I'd offer to lend you a hand, but it looks like you've already got it covered. >"
Cessily shifts the box down. "Yup, that's me!" she replies. "Moving," she says. "I think this is the last of it, and it's not heavy," she says. "Thanks for the thought, though. So what brings you back, Fellow Graduate," she says, putting the capitalization in her voice.
Jono quirks an eyebrow and gives Cessily an appraising look. "< Blimey, that time already? >" he remarks. "< Time for some fresh blood, eh? >" He slides his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels as he considers the question. "< Just visiting to catch up with people, >" he remarks. "< Looks like I came just in time if you're all jumping ship. >"
"Jump ship!" Cessily says with surprise. "Hey, that's not fair. I'm not jumping anywhere, I'm just going to college. Am I not supposed to?" she asks, sounding a bit testy. "I'll still be around, helping out. Actually, I picked up tow new students on Monday. Nice Venezuelan girl and a guy from Los Angeles. Pyro, actually, does a whole flaming head thing. He might be able to use some pointers from you."
Jono gives a vague shrug and holds his hands up pacifyingly. "< No offense meant, >" he says blankly. "< Just meant if it's the time of year when everyone's movin' on. >" He shakes his head. "< Nothing wrong with wanting to move on, I'm sure. College, eh? Nice to know they ain't discriminating. If I fancied bein' educated some more, it's useful to know. >" He doesn't mention that he'd rather saw off his own leg than go back to the classroom.
"Uh....okay," Cessily says, and then nods. "I'm hoping. It'd be nice to do something normal. I don't get to do a lot of that, like, ever," she says with a sour face. "I'm either a freak or some exotic object," she says. "But you know how that is," she says.
Jono nods, brow wrinkling, the closest he can muster to a frown. "< Yep. I know how that is, >" he says gloomily, then waves a hand airily. "< Here's hopin' for normal, >" he states, glancing around. "< Never been much cop at that, even when I /was/ normal, >" he says, self-depreciatingly. "< Not sure I'd be able to give your mate with the flaming head too many pointers, either, >" he adds. "< I don't do fire, no matter how it looks. Bio-nuclear kinetic, psionic energy, supposedly. I don't even know what that /means/, let alone any kind of decent control. >"
Cessily nods a few times, ruefully. "I....was," she says, glancing aside. "Oh, I know!" she says, snapping back to some other issue for distraction. "It just kind of seme like maybe he's trying to overcompensate, I guess, so mayb ehe could use some guidance, you know, man to man."
Jono blinks and his eyes narrow at that. "< Uh... overcompensate? >" He hesitates, then holds up his hand, palm outwards. "< On second thoughts, don't tell me. I'm not sure I want to know, >" he says gloomily, then pauses again. "< But if I see him around, I'll... uh... try to say hi, okay? >" he asks, tilting his head slightly. An offer of assistance. That's rare from the usually reserved Brit.
Cessily laughs. "Not like that!" she says. "Just you know, talking big, trying to be a player," she says. "You know, moreso than regular boys. I think," she says. "Uh...that'd be great. I know I'll appreciate it. I hope he will do," she says. "So, where've you been, anyway?"
Jono blinks again and runs his hand through his ruffled hair. "< Uh, okay, image conscious, I get you. Is it possible to be image conscious when your head's on fire? >" he asks rhetorically, with a stunning lack of self-awareness. "< Well, I'm not like other boys, >" he says dryly. "< I guess we might get on. >" His hands return to his pockets and he considers the question about his own whereabouts. "< Here and there, here and there, >" he responds vaguely. "< Just hanging about in Mutant Town, mostly. Keeping an eye on things, y'know? >"
"I've been down to mutant town a few times. Even played cards there!" she declares, a bit proud. She leans in and smiles slightly. "Are you playing superhero?" she asks. Cessily narrows her eyes. "You haven't seen Laura, have you?"
Jono quirks an eyebrow at Cessily's boast and then blinks rapidly. "< Cards, huh? And no, I'm not the superhero type, >" he admits, although that might not be entirely true. "< I just... try an' make sure people can walk down the street without getting a brick heaved at their head, right? >" As Cessily leans in, his instinctive reaction is to lean back slightly and he shakes his head. "< The petite, dark haired one? With the claws and the... >" He makes a stabbing motion with one hand. "< Nope, not seen her. Why'd you ask? Has she gone AWOL? >"
Cessily nods a few times. "That's her," she confirms. "She took off a couple days ago. Nobody's heard much but she left this letter for me to give to Logan and...." she makes a face. "Anyway, she's not going to win a personality award but....she's still a friend, still a mutant like us, and I'm worried she's trying to get herself killed. I mean, girl's got /issues/," she says.
Jono stares blankly at Cessily for a few seconds before remarking, "< If you can find someone around here who hasn't, I'll give you a bloody medal. >" But after a moment his eyes soften and he nods. "< I'll keep an eye open for her. But I would have thought there was enough tech and buggers with special powers floating around here to track down one runaway, >" he observes, not unsympathetically.
Cessily's head pulls back slightly. "I know," she says. "Believe me, I know. I just....sh'e svery good at hiding, and like....well....makes me feel like I'm normal, so...." she shrugs again and then shakes her head. "If you hear anything and could let me know, I'd appreciate it. And now I feel terrible because I've asked so much of you and that's a terrible thing to do."
Jono blinks again and he rubs the back of his head. "< Uh... sure. I'm not exactly someone who's got their ear to the ground, but if I hear anything... >" He looks at Cessily askance and remarks, "< Not sure if that's a reflection on you or her that she makes you feel normal, y'know, >" he says almost cheerfully.
"I....I'm not sure I should say," Cessily says. "I don't know, I feel bad for her. Super bad," she says. Cessily shifts her box and huhs, "Is that a pun?" she asks.
Jono squints and leans back slightly. "< Not... that I'm aware of, >" he says blankly, then falls silent as he contemplates the situation for a moment. "< Look, I haven't seen her around and I guess you're not exactly keen to call in anyone official, but there's always people around who won't ask too many questions who specialize in finding people. Guy in Mutant Town for one. X-something Investigations. Like that crappy telly show where everyone does karaoke. Sure it'd be in the book,>" he observes.
Cessily replies, fairly quickly, "X-Factor!" she says, then pauses. "Uh, Pixie likes it, so...." she says, scuffing a foot. Cessily Kincaid, confirmed intellectual! "Huh. Oh, yeha, that Jamie guy?" she asks. "I think I bumped into him once or twice."
Jono takes a moment to reply, wracking the bottom of his memory. "< Uh... possibly? >" he responds. "< X-Factor, though. That's the bugger. Hopefully no singing is involved, >" he says, darkly. Musical snob, that's Jono. "< They're just in the neighborhood, is all. Always worth asking, if you're getting no joy here. Course, if she doesn't /want/ to be found, maybe she shouldn't be... >" he adds, cautiously. "< You sure she'd want you coming after her? >"
"Not feeling the Karaoke?" Cessily asks with a slightly impish smile. "We should go sometime. Get people together, X-Karaeoke!" she says. Cessily glances down, considering that, "I don't know. Probably not. I tried to stop her and I couldn't. Just because she wouldn't /want/ us coming after her doesn't mean we /shouldn't/."
Jono freezes, with the look of a character in a horror movie who just heard a sound behind them. "< No, >" he says darkly. "< I do not do karaoke. For a start, not having /lungs/ can be a bit dehabilitating when it comes to singing. >" Into a microphone, at least. There's a pause as he considers Cessily's other observation, watching the girl and trying to read her body language. "< Huh, >" he says simply. "< You're not wrong. She might not thank you. But you're not wrong. >"
Cessily looks outright relieved at that admission, a breath and a faint smile. "At least I'm not as stabbable as some," she says. "Uh....well right, but...." she thinks and shakes her head. "You're right, it'd be silly," she says. "So, right, X-Factor, thanks, I'll check that out!"
Jono tilts his head to one side and regards Cessily. "< Yeah, I guess being stab proof is an advantage when dealing with, y'know, >" he says, making the stabbing motion again. Apparently "snikt!" isn't part of his vocabulary. "< Probably worth mentioning that to anyone who helps you out, though. If I run into her, I'll keep my business head on. I don't want any more holes in me any time soon. >"
"No, extra holes are usually a bad thing," Cessily agrees. "And she might still slice something off, so...." she shrugs. "Eh, I hope it won't be that bad," she says, and shifts the box. "Okay, I should get this into the van. Only got so much time. Hey, see you around a bit more often, yeah?"
Jono's eyes widen and he nods carefully. "< Uh... yeah, try not to get anything sliced off, >" he remarks. "< I doubt it'd be a good look for you. All limbs intact, that's the way to go. It's the popular choice, anyway, >" he remarks dryly, then raises a hand and steps aside. "< Good luck at college, luv, >" he adds, about as friendly as he gets. "< If I see Laura, I'll let someone know, eh? >" And with that he allows Cessily to depart for her packing, while he paces deeper into the school, keeping an eye open for any other familiar faces.
Category:Log