1768/Teacher Planning

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Teacher Planning
Date of Scene: 21 May 2020
Location: Pugsley Creek
Synopsis: Jamie and Bobby run into Julio, who's causing tremors out on the grounds. The three discuss their plans for the summer and the upcoming school year.
Cast of Characters: Julio Richter, Jamie Madrox, Bobby Drake




Julio Richter has posed:
Between his summer courseload (the last problem he would have imagined having a couple of months ago) and the recent spike in anti-mutant news activity, Julio could really use some time to focus and blow off steam. Unfortunately, when your mutant power is summoning Earthquakes and you can't go into the reinforced Danger Room without supervision, blowing off steam isn't a casual undertaking. So this afternoon, Julio Richter grabbed one of the bicycles used to tour the paths behind the school and set off into the unfamiliar back grounds.

It took him a while to get enough distance from the school that he felt comfortable messing around with his abilities, and then he ran across some cranky old hermit's cabin and had to get distance from /that/, but eventually he found a small clearing by a creek, leaned the bike against a tree, and started....

Well, frankly, what he started doing is making things up. He doesn't have any kind of structured approach to powers practice, beyond evenings spent meditatively drawing up and then releasing seismic energy. So out here, he's just causing tremors, releasing sudden seismic blasts, cracking boulders open... whatever occurs to him in the moment. To anyone even reasonably nearby, it's going to sound like the Earth is playing some kind of interminable, pretentious drum solo. God help any seismologists who happen to be in the region.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
It's starting to get nice even if it is a little cool in the evening. But cool is tolerable. It also keeps his beer from getting warm before he can finish it. Jamie's just wandering around the rear grounds, large plastic cup of beer in one hand and wearing his usual green and gold t-shirt. He must have dozens of those things. When it starts, the noise that shouldn't be there gets his attention and he briefly debates 1) going to see what's causing it, 2) going back in the mansion and mentioning it to someone so they'll go see what's causing it, and 3) ignoring it completely. Eventually he decides on #1 and heads for the sound.

"If that's an audition, you should have some staff watching." he points out, seeing Rictor and what he's doing. "Or are you already a student? It's hard to keep track and I've been in the city a few weeks." Leaning a shoulder against a tree, he takes a drink from his cup.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake is free. He'd finished the last of his classes, graduated from Empire State, and was now free for the summer before he begins teaching full time at the school in the fall. He'd been spending time in Genosha helping out Lorna, but he'd come back to New York for graduation, and now he is at loose ends. He could go back down to Genosha, but after recent events, he needs a little time to himself, and back at the school. And so it is that he is out gliding along the waterways, up and down creeks and rivers, seemingly surfing on a platform of ice about the size of a surfboard that slides along its surface.

He's out there sliding around when he suddenly feels the vibrations. "Whoah, trippy," he blinks, and then begins to slide closer, making his way up the creek until he spots Jamie and Julio. Coming to a stop on the water's surface, which does its Jurassic Park impression every so often, he can feel the way the water is impacted all around him. "That's some wicked bass you've got going on over there."

Julio Richter has posed:
At the sound of Jamie's voice, Julio whirls to face him, looking for all the world as though he has been caught doing something illegal. Behind him, the top third of a boulder slowly, ever so slowly, teeters free from the rest and slams to the ground. The noise causes the student to jump again -- somebody needs to work on his situational awareness.

"I -- I'm a student, yes," he stammers, head down and hands thrust into the pockets of his beat-up brown leather jacket. Then he hears Bobby's comment about the bass and winces. "Lo siento -- I'm sorry! Was it too loud?" he calls back. A pebble by his foot, knocked free of the boulder he just split, does a sudden vibratory tapdance and then whizzes off into the underbrush. One hand leaves a pocket to brush his longish hair back. "I can stop. I didn't mean to disturb anyone." Then, to Jamie, he finishes, "I didn't know there was an audition. Maybe they haven't given me mine yet?" His eyes widen as he realizes there might be something else he needs to be studying for.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"Power surges in reaction to emotional instability?" See? He can sound like a teacher when he puts his mind to it. "Man, if I had that problem growing up, the population would have tripled." Earth's population that is. "Don't worry about it." Jamie reassures Julio. "Practice is good. And I was joking about an audition. I'm Jamie Madrox. Who're you? And hi Bobby." The other mutant gets a quick smile before he drinks more beer.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake laughs and shakes his head, "Nah, was cool, man. I can just feel it, you know, the water?" He gestures at his ice board that floats atop the water, even though it should be melting -- it isn't. "I was just out clearing my head, getting some fresh air, thought I'd come see what was up." He nods encouragingly, "You picked a good place for it. Don't stop on my account." Now that he knows what it is, he doesn't seem particularly concerned about it. "Though it feels really trippy out here, like standing on a speaker.. which is kinda cool." He flashes a grin and waves to Jamie. "Heya Jamie, how's it going?" Then to Rictor, "Oh, I'm Bobby. Don't think we've met yet.. but welcome. I'll be teaching full time in the fall."

Julio Richter has posed:
"Julio. Julio Richter," the student answers. "Nice to meet you, Jamie. And Bobby." The latter gets an especially curious look as the student takes in the unusual way he's getting around. At first glance, Julio was too flustered to notice. Turning back to Jamie, he winces again and answers, "Sometimes, yeah, if I'm really upset and there's already tension in the ground, it's a problem. Around here, it's OK so long as I don't pull the power up into me. Right now rocks are flying because I already have."

He looks embarrassed for another moment, then, tentatively, he reaches one foot toward Bobby and bleeds off more seismic energy into the creek bed. He raises his eyebrows as the water turns into a high-frequency wave pool. "Is that still cool?" he asks. "I can just get rid of it that way."

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"Hey, it's a common problem. Most mutants' emotions affect their powers. It's why their first use usually comes at a time of major stress." And ends so badly. Often with a body count. "Might want to avoid the west coast though." Jamie suggests. All those fault lines. Looking to Bobby, he asks "You're going to be teaching?"

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake grins as Julio notices the ice surfboard and grins, "Cool, huh? I could make you some icebergs to shatter. Can you localize it? Like, concentrate and focus it on a point? Or is it a generalized thing?"

Then he nods in agreement with Jamie, "When I first got here I looked like frosty the snowman with legs all the time. Just.. *poof*.. snowball with a bad hair day. It was.. embarassing." He flashes a grin, clearly not embarrassed about it anymore, but then, he also doesn't look like someone should stick a carrot on his face, either.

He nods to Jamie and says, "Yeah, just finished my degree. I've been tutoring and teaching part time between my own classes, but now that I'm done, I'll be teaching full time." He then explains to Julio, "I grew up here, at the school. So.. kinda time to give back, teach some other kids."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio's eyes tighten when Jamie mentions first power uses and the west coast, and the creek under Bobby will get an extra jolt of power, causing a large wave to sweep from one bank to the other. "Yeah. Tell me about it," he responds with a twist of his lip. At least nobody said the body count part out loud. Regardless, Julio quickly changes the subject. "You said you would have made the population go up?" he says with a quizzical look. "Your power is... making babies? You must be popular."

Bobby's questions leave the younger man thinking. "Hm. I can push vibrations into things. I did that in the Danger Room once, to save some lady who turned out to be a scarecrow." He shrugs. "Generalized I can do...a little too easily."

The stories about Bobby's past seem to brighten Julio's mood a little. "You were a student here? So it does get better." He raises his hands, which are ringed with a slight green vibratory aura, as he says this. "That's good to hear. What will you teach?"

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Jamie looks from Julio to the creek then back. Oh. Way to go Jamie. Yeah, next subject. With his free hand, he slaps the tree and suddenly there's another Jamie standing next to him, dressed exactly the same and also carrying a red plastic cup. "Not babies. I make mes." He finishes the last of his beer and hands the cup to Jamie 2. "Get us some refills?" he suggests and the dupe nods and heads back to the mansion. "Sure thing." Unsurprisingly, it also sounds exactly like Jamie. "You'll probably be in one of my classes. I haven't decided if I want to do summer school."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake wobbles a little bit on the board when the creek suddenly has a wave, only because he wasn't expecting it. His arms come out in a little stabilizing motion and the ice board rises with the wave then settles again, which causes him to chuckle. Then Julio's comment about Jamie's power makes him almost choke as he laughs, coughing into his hand. "Yeah, from the time I was pretty young. My family.. didn't get it." He then grins lopsidedly and says, "Yeah, it gets better, man. Trust me. I'll be teaching Math." Then he asks Jamie, "What are you going to be teaching?"

Julio Richter has posed:
After nearly doing a double take -- ha, get it? -- when Jamie creates the dupe, Julio snorts out a laugh at the comment about summer school. "I didn't get a choice. Have to catch up on what I missed," he says, tone more wry than bitter. Still: "If you ask me, take the summer off. Make another you, and be twice as lazy for both of us."

When Bobby describes his own unsupportive family, Julio gives him a sympathetic nod. "Yeah, my mom kicked me out," he offers. After a second, he continues, tone wistful, "The worst part is, I can't even really blame her."

The vibes into the water settle a bit, and then Julio gives a searching look to the boulder he split earlier. "Okay, I'm going to try something," he says. Green energy sheathes his arms, he throws one arm in an arc overhead, and connects both hands in a clap that releases his remaining seismic energy in a directional pulse of airborne vibration. Rather than a spherical, destructive explosion, the energy becomes a focused beam that hits the rock and cracks it down the middle. "Me gusta," he mutters, with an unaccustomed cockiness.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Jamie shrugs at Bobby's question. "Whatever needs someone to fill in. Gymnastics, kung fu, different languages, math, science, history." Pause. "Probably not lock picking. Least not to the younger kids. It's a useful skill though. I can always have a dupe teach so I probably will. I gotta stay in Mutant Town and make sure no one starts anything there." He watches Julio's experiment curiously then grins. "Gran niño. No se ponen arrogantes."

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Save the lockpicking lessons for your fellow instructors," Bobby jokes with a grin, not entirely serious, but not entirely joking either. "Oh, yeah, that's true. How many of you /are/ there, anyway? I can't even imagine what that would be like.." He pauses, looking as though he is imagining just that. "I'd have had one of me taking my classes at Empire State and one here tutoring in Math so I didn't have to keep going back and forth to the city all the time."

Then he watches as Rictor directs his energy in a beam into the rock and he nods his head a couple of times, "Not bad." He chuckles, though. He doesn't know what Jamie said, but he does know what arrogante means easily enough. "Ah come on, being a little proud of what you can do doesn't hurt every so often. Just, you know, don't be a dick about it."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio looks at Jamie, head rocking back and brows coming down. "Did you just come into my language and Han Solo me?" he asks, half smiling. "Guau." He shakes his head and runs a hand along his scruffy jawline. "I already know lockpicking, but then, I think I'm going to be the oldest student in the school." If he was getting cocky for a second there, the latter fact brings his humility back in force. "I'll take whatever wins I can," he mutters. "It's not like there are a lot to choose from."

Bobby's speculation leads Julio down the same line of thought. "So, when one of you learns something, you all know it? Man, I could use that power." He raises an eyebrow. "Trade you?"

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"No, I reabsorb him into me and then I know it." Jamie explains. "Like, I spent a year in Mexico learning Spanish. I can also cook some great enchiladas. Authentic. Yeah, it's useful but it has its drawbacks too. Nothing's truly free in this world."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake shrugs his shoulders, "There's students of all ages at the school. Everyone's there for a reason, and those reasons are different for everybody. You'll learn what you need to that'll help you in particular." He grins at Rictor encouragingly. Then he looks over at Jamie and says "Oh man, enchiladas. We should do an enchilada night at the school. Fish taco night ended up getting wrecked by sudden dinosaurs."

Julio Richter has posed:
"Enchilada night, huh? Count me in," Julio says with a smile. "I know drinks better than I know food, at least on the making them side of things, but I can eat more than my fair share." His smile gets rueful around the edges as he tells Bobby, "I don't know... I don't feel bad about being behind on my powers, but I mean, math? Yeah, that makes me feel kind of stupid. Not that I'm planning to be an accountant or anything." He considers it for a second, but decides he'd rather not ask what exactly 'reabsorbing' entails.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"Don't worry about it. Different kids know different things." Jamie's lumping Julio in with 'kids' there. "Depending on your life, lock picking is more valuable than math. Algebra never kept someone alive on the street and that's what counts. Here? You can learn more than surviving." Whether that's a good thing or not, he doesn't say.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake laughs at that and says, "I was going to be an accountant. I was studying for my CPA, but then decided to switch to Math and teach instead. Don't worry about being behind in Math. That, I can help with." He slides over to the edge of the shore and hops off of the little ice surfboard which bobs along in the water, and will gradually melt now that he's not keeping it frozen anymore. "I'm good at chilling drinks," he offers. Then he nods in Jamie's direction, apparently being of a similar opinion.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio's eyes go wide. "Ah... not that there's anything wrong with accounting!" he clarifies in a rush. "I'm sure it's very interesting. All of the... numbers. And money." He wracks his brain for anything more he knows about accounting, and comes up with: "Banks." Just that one word. Perfect.

So he shifts to something that hopefully won't make him sound like a moron: "I worked as a bartender a few times on my way up here. It's what my mom did, actually. Guess I picked up a few things." He forces a little chuckle, then adds, "Actually, if you can just make drinks cold, you'd be surprised how much of bartending becomes obsolete." Glancing at Jamie, he says, "I think I would still like to learn the math. I mean...I don't plan on going back to the street. And colleges don't offer bartending scholarships, last I checked."

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"Bartending is useful." Jamie agrees. "I've used it all over the world." Or his dupes have. Same difference. "Don't get me wrong, learning is good. I'm a big fan." His dupes do it constantly. "And math does have its uses. Calculating odds at a track, poker, craps, that kind of thing."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake laughs at Julio's reaction, finding it funny. "Dude, it's fine. Most people think accounting is boring as shit. I'm not offended." He slides his hands into his pockets and rocks a little back on his heels, "Hey, bartending's not a bad skill to have. Makes for fun at parties." But then his phone buzzes and he pulls it out of his pocket, glancing down at it with a slight furrow to his brow. "Welp.. I guess I should head back. Was good to meet you, Julio. I'm sure I'll see you round the school." He grins over at Jamie and up-nods, "Stay cool, man. I'll catch you around. Look forward to teaching with you." Then he's sliding away on a ramp of ice that seems to form beneath him, growing out just ahead of him so that he can zip along on it like a waterslide at a water park.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio leans back and peers at Jamie for a second, evaluating him. "I get it now. You're the school's career counselor," he says, deadpan, punctuating the statement with a slow nod.

Relieved that Bobby took his stammering as well as he did, he raises one hand in a wave as the soon-to-be teacher makes his departure. It's only after the slide has taken Bobby out of earshot that something occurs to Julio and he turns to Jamie with a sigh. "Oh, right. I still have to bike back." He lurches over to the tree where he left the bicycle, sets it on the path, and rolls his eyes. "Por favor -- Remind me next time that hitchhiking is a thing."

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"You know it." Jamie agrees. He's had more careers than anyone. "It's all about what you like. Do something you hate and you'll hate your life. And then you die." He shrugs and looks back in the direction of the school. "Where's my beer? He probably got distracted." he grumbles. "Enjoy the ride while you can. The day'll come you don't have time to enjoy a ride through the woods." Not an upbeat career counselor it seems. "Good luck." He seems content enough to be walking as he starts back.