1638/A Goth, a French Girl, and the Worst Walk into the Kitchen

A Goth, a French Girl, and the Worst Walk into the Kitchen
Date of Scene:	12 May 2020
Location:	Main Kitchen
Synopsis:	Roulette and Tarot meet Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Roulette learns Tarot plans to leave the US after graduation. She is displeased.
Cast of Characters:	Negasonic, Jennifer Stavros, Marie-Ange Colbert

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Negasonic has posed:
With the rec room being full, Ellie wasn't going to chill there, so she took advantage of the situation and assumed the kitchen would be empty. Score! Some math lessons did make since, 6 in the rec = -6 in the kitchen. Or something to that effect.

With Ellie's smartphone set on the counter, playing some Bauhaus, while Ellie herself has the counter set to make herself an elaborate sandwich. Several spreads, cold cuts, cheese slices and even an occasional vegetable make it in a neat arrangement.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
"Dammit, Marie," Jennifer chides as she enters the kitchen -- whether Marie is right there with her, or on the phone, or possibly only in her head for the moment, clearly the redhead is to blame for whatever calamity Jenny is suffering right now. "You got that stupid song stuck in my head."

Jenny enters the room with a sour expression. And she's humming as she finishes her statement. "Why don't you build me up... buttercup, baby don't let me down... Ugh!" It's practically a scream of frustration. And then she stops. The music isn't her style, but it is certainly better than The Foundations. Better than 'Build Me Up, Buttercup'. The chick making a massive sandwich and doing math homework is familiar to her -- not many girls who look like Ellie on campus -- but Jenny doesn't remember her name. However, she has saved Jenny from the music in her head, at least temporarily, and Marie from further scolding, deserved or not, so Jenny will be kind-ish. For the moment.

"The answer to that one is six," she observes, tapping the paper.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie, indeed, is following along behind Jenny. About two paces, like a lost dog on an invisible leash. "...but... I like that song..." she half-mumbles, before being stopped in her tracks, as well, when the blonde stops.

Of course, she's not going to argue it either way -- it's not the kind of thing that Marie feels TOO strongly about, which is why she doesn't try to start the song up again on her own phone, which is in her hand... and being tucked away.

A look towards the paper, then towards Ellie. "...I would trust her words on this. There are few better with numbers in this school." she chimes in, reaching up with her free hand to wave in a mildly timid fashion.

Negasonic has posed:
"White on white translucent bla..." Ellie was singing along while swaying and working on her epic sandwich, only other voices make her stop and turn around. She wasn't expecting company, thinking everyone was having fun in the Rec Room. But the sight of Jennifer and Marie-Ange walking in, while having a conversation about...'Build Me Up, Buttercup'? One of the worst songs ever written to melt the minds of the youth? What sort of sacriliege mentions that thing in the middle of Bauhaus' Bela Lugosi's Dead. Ellie just looks bewildered for a moment, staring.

Then again, Ellie herself looks unlike the other kids. Easy to label as goth, her head is shaved Sinead O'Connor style, she has multitudes of piercings all over, several in the eyes, nose, eyebrows, lip, you name it. Her outfit is largely black, leather, studs, and the token combat boots. Yup, Goth would be the proper teenaged niche group.

The unexpected tip for the open math notebook gets a chuckle out of Ellie, "thanks," she doesn't bother checking, she just turns and jots it down.

Looking from Jenn to Marie and back, Ellie quips, "so who are you guys? I'm the rescue freak from Genosha, Ellie..."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jenny nods mildly. "Knew it was something like that. I'm Jenny Stavros. This is Marie-Ange Colbert. No relation," she adds. She herself has pestered Marie to introduce her to Stephen Colbert more than once, but all for naught. She remains convinced that Marie is lying. "I'm the worst, but also only a few weeks from graduating and thus in a mostly good mood until SOMEBODY put on the Worst of the Sixties." A baleful eye cast toward Marie. "But I'm also pretty good at math. Marie thinks I'm good at everything, and will probably tell you so, but math... that much is true."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Blink. Blink. "Rescue... freak?" A bewildered look towards Jenny. "...does she mean that she really enjoys rescuing people? I get these 'slangs' so confused sometimes..." the redhead offers, her lips curving into a frown. Language barriers drive her more than a little crazy, but at least she's got her BFF around to translate for her! "Non... I do not know Monsieur Colbert." ...but she'll keep trying to make that introduction happen! Maybe one day, with a little luck.

The comment about 'graduation' also keeps that frown firmly on her face, and she even takes a step back instinctively, before her manners kick in and she curtsies in Ellie's direction. "Enchante, Mademoiselle Ellie. How do you like this country so far? Quite different from your own, non?" She also shrinks a little bit at the glare from Jenny. "Je suis desole, Jenny... I should have remembered your musical tastes." She seems legitimately apologetic!

Negasonic has posed:
Ellie smiles a somewhat crooked smile at Jenny's quip towards Marie, "I like you, sharp wit," she remarks. "How come you guys are not with everyone in the rec room? You're not clones like everyone else and got some actual personality?" She snorts, her opinion of most students in the school likely not too high. Then again, just by her looks, one could imagine what most other students' opinion of her are.

"Cool, I don't know too many people who are good at math, it makes my head hurt," Ellie admits to her math deficiencies, snickering at the rubbishing of Worst of The Sixties, "yeah, they had too much sugary stuff back then. Love, Love Me Do? Fuck that. And definitely fuck Build Me Up, Buttercup, that's the lamest words combined in the history of humanity." She looks quickly at Marie, before muttering at Jenny, "so how come you're the worst? Some people I met lead me to believe I'm the worst, like say, Jubilee or that geek, Alex."

Turning her full attention to Marie-Ange, Ellie grins, "hell yeah, rescue freak, the X-Men found me under a collapsed building in Genosha, I was stuck in medical for...I hope it wasn't much longer than all my life, and now I'm stuck in this school. I'm a Freshman or something." She then giggles genuinely as Marie just makes her laugh, "no, stupid, it's because I was rescued from death, and I am a freak, and I don't enjoy saving anyone...all the humans can burn in hell for what they did to Genosha."

"What did you call me?" Ellie furrows her brow at the 'Mademoiselle' part, wondering if Marie was calling her names. "...yeah, very different, for once it's not a wreck of ruins, and people are not as dead as they are in my country. So, there's that I guess."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jenny reaches over to pat Marie on the shoulder. Sometimes she wonders if she's too hard on the girl, and then concludes that if she's not too hard out of love, somebody will make Marie's life hell and mean it. "You can enjoy your music, Marie, but not in my presence. And apparently not in Ellie's. Bauhaus listeners are prone to violence, I hear." This is said with half a hint of a grin. Hopefully Marie has known Jenny long enough to pick up on the idea she's joking -- about Ellie's tendency toward violence, at least, not Marie's taste in music.

"'Mademoiselle,' the blonde says then, "is French for 'miss'. She's being polite. In French. It's what she does." A shrug. "Anyway, I had enough of being a clone when I was a kid. Mom wanted me to win all the beauty pageants in New Jersey, so I got myself kicked off the pageant circuit when I was thirteen." Her half grin becomes a full smirk at this, with a hint of mischief in her eye. Moving toward the cabinets, she starts rummaging through. "And my power is probability, so knowing math was kind of a natural thing. Marie, what's wrong? We're graduating. We are going to spend the summer doing awesome things, and then in the fall: college and freedom."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie's frown doesn't fade as Ellie speaks -- her anger isn't exactly the most soothing thing that Marie's ever heard, despite the grins that come along with it. "I meant no-- oui, as she said." A point towards Jenny, there. Even when the blonde is mean, she's still the best friend Marie could ask for.

...mainly because it's still hard for Marie to concieve of people treating her better than Jenny does. She's pretty sheltered that way.

"...well.. I am glad that the X-Men found you and brought you somewhere safer, what I have heard of Genosha..." she shakes her head slightly. "...no offense, of course. I know one's home is... still one's home, no matter the condition." Then Jenny, there's a lot of nodding along mostly -- yes, the redhead knows when the blonde is joking. She might not know it from most, but Jenny? Definitely.

Then when she's questioned about what's wrong? There's another shake of her head. Yes, she's DISAGREEING with JENNY, of all things. This has never happened before as long as they've known one another.

"You, perhaps. Me..." she sighs. "...I was brought here for my education, Jennifer... I have not applied to any colleges yet, and with our last year of high school about to end... I will have to go back to France." She bows her head, letting that red hair cascade over her features, looking away. "I... have looked into other solutions, but my readings /consistently/ suggest a solitary road in my future." Pause. "...yes, I did double-check."

Negasonic has posed:
Ellie absolutely picks on Jenny's humor, and simply confirms with a firm nod, "it's true, violent fights often break out in shows," it's spoken so deadpan. If Marie didn't know better, and she likely doesn't, it sounds like Ellie was just fighting in a Bauhaus show just the other day. The unexpected lesson in French, catches her off guard, "oh...seriously? I thought she was swearing at me or something." Ellie does seem very impressed at Jenny's escape from disgusting beauty pageants, "eeew, sorry you had to suffer those, they seem like the worst. Good for you for telling your mom off."

Ellie turns in the meantime to complete her creation, and after a slight hesitation, actually bothers to put stuff back in the fridge. Only fair, she was taken in from hell after all.

"I don't know what you heard, Marie, but it's a shitshow, it's a wreck, and there's nothing to be done about it. The humans won there." Ellie looks calm, her expression is deadpan, but there's a tempest of emotions under the surface which she keeps trapped. It's clear this subject isn't one she's fond of going into depth about. She grabs her sandwich in one hand, her phone in the other as she abruptly turns off the music, and starts out of the kitchen, "you don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to, fuck what books tells you," Ellie offers to Marie, not once considering it is cards that the French girl is reading.

At least before she leaves, she turns to give Jennifer a somewhat warmer look than she gives Marie-Ange, before muttering, "we can hang out sometime," and then she just storms out.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jenny regards Marie with a look that is mixed long-suffering affection and contempt. "Marie-Ange Colbert," she says, using her friend's full name -- something she almost never does. "You are not a stupid girl. If you think that I am going to let you leave this country because a pile of cardboard says it's the right thing to do, you are insane." She pokes the redhead on the breastbone, a bit harder than she might have intended, about to explain to Ellie about Marie's tarot card obsession, but the other girl is leaving, and Jenny stops herself to nod and wave goodbye. "Have a good night. We'll get together."

Then back to Marie. "First, you read for yourself. Selfish! You didn't bother to read and see if I'd need you here, did you?! Second, I don't care what your damned cards say. I will hide your passport and delete your ticket off your phone if you try to leave this country without my permission."

There are days when Jenny thinks about some of the things she says, and considers the way she'd treat somebody else saying these things to somebody they claim to love. And then she shudders.

This is not one of those days.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"...but she just said..." Well, technically Ellie called her stupid! Nonetheless, she is poked, recoils a bit from the force, but she stands and listens to the blonde's words. "Je suis desole, Jennifer." Head remains bowed, tone is sorrowed. "I should have read for you first, but I cannot deny my destiny, non?" she offers, hands going for her deck. "...but I can certainly read for you, and see if you will need me in the future?"

She's never one to hesitate offering to use her gift for others, and especially for Jenny. Though, how much Jenny would actually 'need' her is debatable. She's not so sure that the blonde /has/ needed her, just tolerated her presence! She feels fortunate that their friendship has lasted this long. "I... could not read for you without you being here, though." She points out. A pause, and a slight smile. "...I appreciate you wishing to keep me here. I would like nothing more." She doesn't sound very excited about the prospect of going home, afterall.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jennifer takes Marie by the shoulders now, looks into her eyes, studies her friend -- possibly her only friend -- for a long moment. "Marie," she says firmly, "of course I need you. And you need something too. You need to know that you can defy your cards when they tell you something that you don't want, and that doesn't make sense. You can EASILY get a student visa for college. Professor X and the other teachers will help you. And I'll bully my dad into sponsoring you if you need a sponsor outside the school. But there is absolutely NO reason you have to go back to France besides the idea that your cards tell you to." A little shake. "Even if you can't get into ESU for the fall, you can go to CUNY with no trouble. We'll share an apartment. And you are going to stay. /HERE./"

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
For Marie's part, she's quiet. Maybe too quiet for almost a minute...

...then she moves suddenly, arms being flung wide and moving to embrace Jenny. Still no words, but the distinct sound of sniffling can be heard coming from the redhead, and when or if Jenny pulls away? She would probably see tears streaming down the French girl's face.

"...I..." can't defy fate. She can't, she knows it. But there's a chance that she misread things, that she wasn't seeing all of the angles of the situation. "I... will still be speaking to the Professor about this, oui." Though she doesn't think that it'll go well. "It means a lot that you would make such efforts to keep me here, Jennifer." A pause. "...though I really should read for you. Perhaps it will give us more information on the challenges that we face, given as... intermingled as our lives are?" she asks, already moving towards a table to spread her cards out on. She's feeling a little better about all this; a little more hope that it might not turn out as badly as she's been expecting.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jenny really makes an effort not to roll her eyes. "Fine," she says, not sounding enthusiastic about the reading, but not gritting her teeth or sounding particularly irritated, either. Losing Marie would be, frankly, bad. She knows she couldn't get away with her attitude long term with a lot of people, and she doesn't know how to stop being herself. So she will concede to this comparatively small thing. It's not like she doesn't know a bit about the Tarot after all this time. She can put her own spin on things if Marie's reading gets out of hand.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"We will make this a most simple reading, to collaborate with those that I've been doing for myself..." She reads daily for herself, afterall. "...the Hermit seeks to isolate me, but as the most important person in my life," Honest feeling, there. "...you and I would not be together if I were isolated. Consider what could go on in your future, oui? Then pick two cards; do not turn them, just remove them from the deck and set them in front of you."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jenny hesitates a moment, not because she's worried about the reading, but because she suddenly knows this offers her quite an opportunity that she didn't expect. "I'm supposed to shuffle, right?" she asks. "I mean, I think I remember that... That the person you're reading for is supposed to impart some of their energy into the deck? To... make the reading more personalized?"

And while she's pretty sure she HAS read this somewhere, or maybe Marie mentioned something about it in passing, getting her hands on the deck is about the best thing she can do for Marie right here. Because Jenny is from Atlantic City. And she knows how to stack a deck.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
A bob of Marie's head, "Oui, if you feel they should be shuffled. The person being read for should shuffle the cards as much or as little as she feels is necessary. It ensures that the cards tell you the truth about what is to come, a step which is just as important as not turning the cards over until your reader is ready to interpret them for you." she explains, gathering up the cards back into a deck, and offering it to Jenny with a smile.

Marie's mistake? She legitimately trusts Jenny, and her cards told her to do so. So she'll obey and work from what she's given. Which might be good for Marie's confidence in the short run... but could very well come to bite a good-intentioned Jenny in the rear in response!

But that's half the fun, isn't it?

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
As though Jenny would EVER say she stacked the deck. The trick is, she needs to be able to figure out which card is where so she can put them where she needs them. Two cards. That's what Marie always does for her own reading. And she dredges her memory for the meanings Marie has announced over the years as she shuffles. She's practically a professional when it comes to shuffling -- she's been trained by the best.

She spots a glimpse of the three of cups, slips it to the bottom of the deck until she needs it, cards flying. The two of wands gets placed there, too, and the Tower in turn -- in case Marie decides to do a more in depth reading. And when she decides the rest of the cards are sufficiently shuffled the Tower is put into the bottom half of the deck, and the two of wands and three of cups are slid into place somewhere in the middle, one corner just barely visible from the side away from Marie. She cuts the deck a final time -- right to the cards she wants -- and sets the deck on the table before removing the top two cards and setting them down in front of her friend.

She's doing this for herself, but she's doing it for Marie, too.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie trusts her friend. She trusts her friend completely, it's just the way their relationship works. So she reads the cards as she's given them. Turning over the first card reveals... "The two of wands," she offers up, a little relief evident in her voice. "Just as the man gazes into the crystal ball to see what lies ahead, you... must spend time planning for your future." There's a smile that comes to Marie's lips there. Good. Regardless of what happens, Jenny will be in good hands. She has a future to plan for.

Reaching for the other card, she almost hesitantly turns it over -- this one, of course, is more likely to relate to her own place in Jenny's life...

"Mon Dieu... the Three of Cups!" Green eyes go wide. Like a prisoner on Death Row being told that the Governor was calling for her. The smile on Marie's face is hard to deny. "The women celebrate lasting bonds, here, raising a toast to relationships that cannot be broken." She's looking straight at Jenny, now, her eyes not on the cards anymore. "You... you have presented fate with an alternative, and it seems she has accepted your petition."

...even Marie knows that Jenny doesn't really have anyone /else/ she's close to like she is to Marie. Even if she'll never come out and say it.

"I will talk to the professor, and to the colleges. We will get that apartment. It will be most wonderful!" she exclaims, quite suddenly happy as a clam. She lives and dies by those cards, and frankly? This is the outcome she /wanted./ She has a relative she loves in France, but only one... and frankly, the rest of the country she could do without. She'd never return given the choice, and it seems the choice might be made for her in the /right/ way, this time. Another hug is coming, if Jenny allows it. "You... fortune blesses you and saves me as a byproduct, Jennifer. I... I cannot express how grateful I am to you, how much in your debt I am!" ...because the cards said so, and she's quite sure that she'll get to stay, now. Sure, Jenny's reading doesn't explain how Marie will be isolated... but /not/ going home is something that she wants enough that she's willing to overlook it.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
And Jenny smiles, genuinely smiles, for once free of guile (despite the last few moments of shuffling) and free of any ulterior motive. She is glad to have convinced Marie that she can stay. And if Marie gets upset later because the readings didn't warn her of problems in Jenny's future, well, Jenny will just point out that while Marie may have been thinking of the short term, she was thinking of the summer and beyond, and how miserable they'd be without Marie.

"I told you," she says, rising from her seat and moving to Marie's side, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her tightly. "I love you, Marie, even if I am a total bitch and utterly vile to you sometimes. And I can't imagine not having my best friend with me. You're staying, and that's what matters."