404/Lunchtime Conversations

Lunchtime Conversations
Date of Scene:	10 March 2020
Location:	Cafeteria - Happy Harbor High School
Synopsis:	Lunchtime at HHH: conversations, unearthing of not-so-secret information, and a surprise prom-posal
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Christine Lake, Alton Schmidt, Samuel Morgan

---

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    In the depths of Happy Harbor High, middle of the day, the cafeteria is hopping. There are three different lunch periods or the student body, forty-five minutes long each and split with a small seven minute buffer between hem. Alexander, thankfully, enjoys the late lunch. Since it plays into Study Hall and allows him to just sort of sit and reflect for a good part of the time, as well as get any homework done that needs to be done. Which, to be fair, isn't a lot with his course load.
    There's that steady clatter of people working behind the counters, the cafeteria staff cleaning up and dealing with the food. The eternal clack of trays being placed on yet more trays is heard, as well as the steady hum of crowd noise. All seems to sit well with he young Olympian as he sits thee in quiet reflection. Reading.
    Today he's at one end of those long tables, his tray in front of him and untouched for the moment save or the apple that he's munching on with one hand. An open book is there in front of him that he's reading from, likely the one that's been with him for the last week and some. On the floor his backpack rests nearby, and today his t-shirt displays a cute green cthulu-like kitten on a black background.

Christine Lake has posed:
With the weekend over, Christine wasn't particulaly looking forward to getting back to class, but she's feeling more comfortable here. Happy Harbor is starting to feel more like a home to her and less like an exile. She's wearing a blouse and skirt combo today, gathering a few looks from her male classmates, and she's carrying a lunch tray with the chicken and rice option. Spying Alex off on his lonesome, Christine moves over towards his table. "Hey," she says with a smile. "Mind some company?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Looking up, Alexander blinks a little as if his eyes were adjusting, then he exhales a small 'heh' then nods, "Oh hey, ya sure. Knock yourself out." He looks around then as if to see if he needed to move anything to clear up some space, but he doesn't. So he just settles on closing his book, but not before slipping a small piece of paper into the page he was reading to hold his place.
    That done he straightens up and taks a bite of the apple, giving it a good chomp before he nods, "How are all the things? You seem..." He cants his head to the side a little, as if gauging Christine anew. "A bit more at ease."
    Then there's a smirk as he adds, "And I figured you woulda tracked me down before now to give me grief."

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton typically avoids the cafeteria, except when he's getting lazy about going off campus for food. This is one of those lazy days he decided he couldn't be bothered leaving. Alton does happen to notice Alexander and Christine though. "Oh, hey." He does bother to grab what food he considers edible...which isn't all of it. "Mind if I join you?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." It's the only thing Sam says before he claims a seat at the table, putting down his tray with the air of someone who's not going to be told to go away. He seems remarkably at ease in a place like this, where there are, after all, quite a few people gathered. Like he finds the atmosphere either familiar or relaxing. This leaves Bear with a whole lot of nothing to do, which seems to be just fine for the Shepherd, who claims a seat next to his human, sitting at the table as if saying 'Hai humans. I too am a human.' There's probably some rule against that. If there is, nobody has informed either Sam or Bear.

    "Three weeks to the science fair. How go your projects, fellow geniuses?"

Christine Lake has posed:
Christine shakes her head as she sits down at the table. "Nope. You said it's not a thing, so it's not a thing. And it's not a thing until you say it's a thing." She does smile and gives Alex a smirk. "But, I will give you some razzing for the alcohol. Hope everyone was okay after Heidi brought out that flask."

Alton gets a smile and a wave as he arrives. "Hey...are you okay?" She asks with concern, since the last time she saw him, the term 'busting heads' was used. So, Christine looks over Alton, checking for injuries.

Her greatest concern, though, seems to be for Sam as he arrives. She also looks a bit relieved, though. "Sam. How are you? Are you...feeling better? We were all kind of worried about you after that class. But... know you don't like to be crowded. SO...I'm glad you're here."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Ah man, that was a crazy night." Alex confides in Christine, "Remind me to tell you sometime."
    Then when the others start to join Alex sits a little to the side, making sure his backpack is out of the way, he bobs his head and gives a hint of a wave to Alton, "Hey yah, sure man, sit on down." He eases a little to the side and boots his backpack a little so it's between his legs in front of him under the table. Then he'll push that book, 'Guns, Germs, and Steel' off to the side and out of the way between him and Christine.
    When Sam makes his way over, the Olympian tosses him a small wave and a grin spared for Bear, "Hey hey. Still haven't started mine." He looks to the side, and seems to ponder something, "I was hoping it'd be like a group project where I could just mooch off the other people and sign my name at the end."
    At that Alex's head bobs a little with a grin. Maybe he's being serious, maybe not.

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Science project, huh? Alton COULD cheat a little bit and make something magnet related...but it's also a dead giveaway, and he probably shouldn't do that if he can help it. So, on science projects, "Nah, haven't even thought of what I'm gonna do yet, as projects go." Maybe he'll come up with something later, but for right now, his mind's kinda blanked there.

However, he does not appear to be injured. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." As if he didn't even realize why he might not be.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Man, I was going to spy on your projects to see if mine was going to stack up, but it sounds like I'm not even going to have any competition this year." Ooh, shots fired. Sam seems to be doing a whole lot better than last he was in the building, and he had literally not been seen since excusing himself from that group project. Now, it's as if that never happened, although he does give Christine a reassuring nod. "Much better, thank you. Time, perspective, meditation and a bit of medication helped. Possibly not in that order, certainly not in equal proportions."

    "I'd work with you guys on a group project for the fair, but how good are you all with micro circuitry and robotics?"

Christine Lake has posed:
"You guys talk freely about the sceince fair," Christine says with a smile. "That's not my thing, so I'm out. Nothing to fear from me, there." She smiles and starts eating her lunch. "Anyways, Alex...I had a chat with Dr. MacIntyre a couple days ago. After the Meet & Greet event on Friday. She listened and took what I said to heart. So yeah; I'm feeling a lot better about...stuff. And it's also good to get back into the routine of school, you know? A little bit of structure helps out along ways."

She looks over at Sam, nodding. "Okay. Just rmember that if things start getting overwhelming, just let me know. Talking or just being next to you...I know you need friendly faces nerby sometimes."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "That's good to hear, Lake. I'd be curious to hear what Ms. Mac has to say about a ton of things. Though I sorta feel like with me leaving next semester I shouldn't pitch for any policy changes or whatever. Since I'm, you know, basically a tourist."
    Then attention shifting and with him scritching his chin, Alexander leans to the side and takes another bite of his apple, as he considers the science fair talk. "Honestly I was vaguely thinking about putting together some sort of presentation to argue the point that Pluto should be called a planet again or whatever. Just, you know, out of spite." He chews for a time, eyes slipping from one, to another, to the other, and offers a boneless shrug. "But with everything going on I keep getting distracted."
    At that Alexander's gaze drops to the side, thoughts wandering as if in case in point, before he looks back and shrugs again. "Anyways, I should also announce that I have changed my mind about a particular topic we all know and love."
    He looks around, "My opinion on Asgardians has developed."

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton, on hearing Alexander's opinion of Asgardians...'has developed.' Alton starts wondering...

"Oh? Developed how?"

On the offer of the science project...when Sam mentions what he'd be doing, he says, "Nah. I feel like I need to do something pretty low tech for the fair." Cause then it'll still work and he'll get a decent grade.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Ah, no longer in danger of being smoten by Mjolnir, are you?" There's an almost knowing smile on Sam's face as he starts to dig into his food, passing occasional scraps off to Bear. Yes, he's feeding him from the table. No, he doesn't look ashamed about it. "Let me guess, finally found one to hang out with, and realised they were lots cooler than you thought?"

    It's the comment 'the thing' that makes the teenager look back over to Christine. "Have you managed to talk to Doctor MacIntyre about that thing we were discussing a few days back? I could start working on that at any time." When it comes to projects, Sam clearly never does things by half measures. But then again, Tony Stark will be judging the entries... someone may be looking to impress.

Christine Lake has posed:
Now, Christine has a smirk on her face for Alex. "Oh, really?" she asks him sweetly. "And this epiphany about Asgardins wouldn't happen to have come after you took a sip from Heidi's flask fo Asgardian Mead, would it?" She's teasing him, and she's clearly enjoying it.

When Sam mentions 'the thing', Christine shakes her head. Apparently, she has a lot of 'things' in her life. "I talked to her, and I don't think that we're going to need the thing anytime soon. I'll tell you more about it later." She smiles at Sam, then turns back to await Alex' answer.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Ehn," Alexander smirks and glances over at Christine, "I had occasion to meet a few, and we got to talking, then we went to that Brazilian Barbecue place down on 34th in the city." The tow-headed youth grins a bit as he continues to occasionally take a bite of his apple. "They weren't /entirely/ bad." He hedges as he tilts his head one way, then the other. "Still. Fairly renfesty." As if that was a titanic condemnation.
    But he looks over at Christine and smirks, "Hey, I know better than to drink from some weird person's flask. Mel though, she..." He shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck, "She was out of it, didn't recover til the next morning."

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton...finds this amusing. "Went from hating them to probably asking one to prom in two weeks. Quite a change, I'd say..."

And thus does he bring Prom up, which is also a thing that needs to be considered.

"One of these days, I'll have to meet one myself, but it can wait." Sadly, he hasn't run across Heidi yet. Maybe soon.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    No thing? Oh well, one less thing to think about then. That project gets mentally filed away, he might repurpose the source code he'd already written for something else. "Glad to hear it might not be needed."

    There's going to be a Prom? Nope. Nope nope nope nope... He looks at Bear, Bear looks back, both look at Alton. Uncanny how they do that synchronised. "A prom? Remind me to be out of the state."

Christine Lake has posed:
Christine also seems surprised at the mention of prom. "Wait...that's coming up already?" She sighs. "I've been so busy with moving in and getting settled and everything, I guess I didn't notice." She picks at her food with her spork, looking rather despondant. "Guess I won't be ready for it with a dress and a date and everything. Dang it...that's one of two that I'll be missing."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    A snerk comes from Alexander as he leans there, chewing on his apple absently. His nose crinkles a little, "Nah, m'not going to prom." He scritches the bridge of his nose thoughtfully, though he does shoot a glance at Christine, since she might have some insight as to the why of him not going to prom and all. He offers her a shrug in way of explanation before he sets the core of his apple down and then starts working on the fries, though lazily so.
    "Though it could be a fun thing, if people wanted to do like a pre-prom get together thing, without the crowds and the craziness, just an excuse to get dressed up and go out and do a thing." He lifts his shoulders, smiling a little, "Then those cool people who actually have dates can go on to the thing while the rest of us. I dunno. Drink Asgardian mead or something?"

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton...notices windows of opportunity as they present themselves. One dude seems utterly terrified of Proms and anything to do with them. Another seems on skipping it. And the lady....doesn't seem to have anything planned. Well. Alton can fix that. And so...he's going to give it a shot at doing so.

"No...no you won't, Christine. It's a little sudden, but would you like to go the Prom with me?" Alton doesn't have time to set this up in a suitably romantic fashion, because there just isn't time for that kind of thing. So he's going to go for it, right there in the cafetria.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "You've got a lot of faith in our ability to dress up fancy. Maybe you all can, but my wardrobe is purely functional." Although that's not entirely true. There is at least one 'emergency' suit in there, the school uniform, and... well, another uniform that he really, desperately, needs to remove the patches from. And possibly do something about the bullet holes. Sam tries to keep the fancy outfits to a minimum. Besides, where would he get a date?

    "Okay, so I have to ask... Asgardian Mead. How bad ass are their bees do... you... " Record scratch. Alton gets a look. That look shifts to Christine. Back to Alton.

    Suddenly, Sam finds his fries infinitely interesting. They certainly occupy his mouth for the foreseeable...

Christine Lake has posed:
The impromptu prom-posal catches Christine off guard, and she blinks, spork laden with chicken and rice stopped halfway to her open mouth. "Ummm..." She's not quite sure. Alton's cute, but they also don't really know each other that well. Then again, it's not like Christine really knows much about any of the guys. Except for one. But, she smiles and nods at the question. "Yeah, sure." She seems genuinely interested in the idea, smiling and adding, "You might want to have a couple dates with me first. Just to make sure I'm your type." Her lip curls into a playful smirk, then she eats the spork-full of food. She's looking pleased, and maybe blushing a bit?

"A pre-party sounds cool," Christine says to Alex. "But if Mel got knocked out by one drink of that stuff, I think I'll pass. I doubt my tollerance for acohol is anywhere near hers..."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Alexander, compared to Sam, has no shame in this regard. He just sort of smirks crookedly, and looks between Christine and Alton, then back again. When he might catch Alton's eye he'll even give a thumbs up, then he'll look over at Christine and his eyes widen a little as if to say, 'haw haw'. Though while she ponders he keeps quiet.
    And then she agrees and he shakes his head, then murmurs, "You're both such nerds." Though there's hardly anything condemning in his voice as he leans there, one arm on the table and a french fry in hand.
    He uncurls a hand, "But yeah, a get together could be cool. And seriously, the other day's impressions being what they are. I don't drink very often. Nor does Mel to be fair." Though when she does...

Alton Schmidt has posed:
"Dates are the easy part, Christine. So hey, if we must be 'nerds', then let us be nerds together."

Quick as he was about the Prom, he follows that up with, "So, what're you doing tonight after class?" Because if the lady wants dates, dates there shall be. Just have to work them in between his bashing of badguys schedule. Fear does not appear to be a problem for him. At least not for this.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Although Sam is eating, unashamedly eating to avoid having to say anything, he's still very much listening. But this? This is very much outside of his area of expertise.

Christine Lake has posed:
"Well, I've got cheer practice after school," Christinee tells Alton, blushing a bit more. "But after that I'm free. So....maybe dinner and a movie? I'll buy the popcorn and snacks?"

Christine turns to Alex, giving him a smirk. "Hey, you get to caomplain about me being a nerd, I get to complain about you being a lush. Fair?" She winks playfully, then looks back at Alton and Sam.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Jeez you guys, you're not supposed to be just chatting amiably about it, you're supposed to be giggling into your hands, chatting furtively at your lockers, stealing..." He lifts his hands upwards, fingers flaring a bit, "Desperate glances across the way. Smiling faintly, wondering if your fly is open." Alex points vaguely in the direction of Alton's crotch. "Or if that zit is getting noticeable on your nose." This time pointing at Christine's noodle.
    He eats another fry, clearly enjoying the moment and the silliness in a way.
    "Not being all relaxed and being all reasonable and chit-chatty about it. Jeez. Some people's kids. I tell ya."

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton shrugs, "Eh. How many things that I'm supposed to do have you actually seen me do?" Also, it helps, for Alton at least, that he's looked death in the eye a few times, and even a full power supervillain not a couple days ago, and came out okay.

Alton nods at Christine, though. "Yeah, that'll work. I'll cover the rest of it." He'll also have to find one of the nicer restraunts in town. And then there's the movie. "What do you think? Call of the Wild?" Alton's easy smile sure doesn't seem to fit Alex's mold, at least.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Sam has to shake his head at Alex's exposition, and even goes so far as to toss a fry at him. "Leave off. You're only jealous because you don't have a date." Christine's wink is returned. Not just by Sam either, but Bear does a very good imitation of a conspiratorial wink. Seriously, how smart is that dog? Alton... well...

    Alton gets a smile that seems to imply that if he is anything but a perfect gentleman, his knee caps may be in peril.

Christine Lake has posed:
"Hey, Alex has a girlfriend. And a very nice one, too. So, he has a date if he wants to ask her." Yup, Christine is standing up for Alex, but she's not really coming down hard on Sam. She then thinks about Alton's question for a while. "Hmmmm....maybe 'Onward'? I'm not all that interested in 'Call of the Wild', to be honest. But I'm always up for a good Disney or Pixar movie."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Whapped with a fry, Alex grins and points at Sam as if promising he'll get his. But his smile is warm and affectionate as he leans to the side, "Fiiiine," As he surrenders to the wishes or an easing of the teasing. "You're prolly right I'm super envious..."
    But then Christine spills the beans and he just sort of looks at her as she spills a bit of his life onto the table and he crinkles his nose. Then he looks back at the others, "And yeah, I'm dating someone." His eyes distance a little as he ponders, "I think."
    He tilts his head one way, then the other, "But she's not a student and..." He chews his lower lip thoughtfully, "And probably would get into a fight with someone, to be fair."

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton is adaptable. "Onward? Isn't that the one where the trailers have them resurrecting half their dad?" He thinks that's the one. "It looks like it'll be a super funny one. And they'll have to figure out magic while they're at it." He'll get the 3D showing. Should be...what, 7:00PM? "7:00PM for the 3D showing tonight. Alright, we're set." For that part of it, at least. "What time does practice end again?"

To Alex, "Asgardians don't automatically get in fights. She'll be fine. Her dance moves might be a bit foreign, though." He seems to be under the impression Heidi is said girlfriend.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Probably is good enough." Sam shrugs, clearly not very worried about fights at a prom. "What's the worst that could happen? Isn't the prom supposed to be a big deal? Ask her." What? Now he's playing matchmaker? The only person who absolutely does not have a date and probably won't even bother showing up at a social function? There's something in the water here. Must be. He even nods in agreement to Alton.

    "Bit hard on the tableware, I'd imagine, but good fun at parties."

Christine Lake has posed:
At Alex' rebuke, Christine's eye go wide and her hands come to her face, cheeks flushing in embarassment. "Oh my god," she squeaks out. "Alex, I am *so* sorry. I didn't mean...I didn't know you wer keeping it a secret." And to be fair, he never said that he and Mel were a secret. But still...No wonder the guy has trust issues. "I really am...oh, God...." And chrstine just sort of deflates in embarassment, not quite planting her face in her lunch tray.

"5:00," she says to Alton, head buried in her arms. "So...maybe pick me up at around 6?" Yes, she's embarassed and wants to hide and feels like Alex would be justified in never talking to her again, but Christine still has to make plans for a date. Priorities!

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Nah, sorry Christine, it's ok. It's not like a sekrit sekrit. I just don't, ya know, talk about stuff sometimes."
    That having been said he takes a deep breath and then clarifies, "She's not Asgardian." Alex says with a grin to his tone, but then he tilts his head. "Well, I mean as far as I know. But..." Then he shakes is head as if deciding, "No, she's way too short." Though when he says this he lowers his eyes and pokes around more at his food, his smile growing wider as if having said that he's imagining what she might say to him making that pronouncement.
    But then he lifts a hand, "And she's... outta high school. So the chaperones or whatever might give her the stink eye. Which /then/ that would for sure start a fight."
    Alexander nods a few times in reflection. "But anyways, if we do a pre-prom thing, then I'll see if she wants to tag along for sure."

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton shrugs. He must've guessed wrong about who Alex's date was. Well, no matter. "Look man, you bring whoever you want. Chaperones can't do anything about it unless she's old enough to be straight up illegal."

Christine seems embarassed by the perceived faux pas, so he works to get back focused on the good things happening. "6:00? Yeah that works fine." And since he's sitting on the same side of the table, he reaches over a little and does that little move where he lifts a bit of her blonde hair out of her face. "It's okay. He said it's fine."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Your head is not a food item." It's not a scolding voice, but one that's comically officious, proving once and for all that Sam actually does have a sense of humor pre-installed. "Kindly do not put it on your plate. It's unhygienic."

    Bear reaches over the table to put a paw on Christine's shoulder. Human need pets? Human looks like human needs pets. Bear give pets.

Christine Lake has posed:
It's when Bear puts his paw on her that Christine finally looks back up, smiling and giggling. "Okay, okay..." She bends over to touch her forehead to Bear's snoot. "Thanks," she tells him before strightening back up. "Okay. Thanks for the uplift, guys." And she smiles in gratitude to all of them.

Checking the time, Christine gobbles down a few mor bites of her meal. "Okay, I need to get to clss early. Got some questions for the teacher before it begins. I'll see you all around, okay?" She gives Alton a special smile, before scribbling something down on a napkin and giving it to him. "And I'll see you at 6," she tells him. On the napkin is her address and cell phone number.Christine waves, then busses her tray, and heads out of the Cafeteria

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Another fry meets its fate at the Hands of the God of Fear! But the next one is lifted in Alexander's hand, used to wave with after Christine starts to gather her things and head on out. "Seeya around, Lake." He offers in a wry tone, waiting for her to get a good bit underway and then likely out of earshot. It's then that he glances toward Alton, "Benefit of the doubt time, but buddy you do right by that lil goofball of a kid." Alex says, emphasizing his point with the french fry.
    "I don't particularly like her or dislike her, but can tell she ain't entirely at her ease. Dating might be good. Then again might not."
    A glance is given to Sam as if he might be on the same page with Alexander, then back to Alton. "Cool?"

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton kicks back..."Don't worry. Being relaxed doesn't mean I'm terrible." He's got his quirks and foibles, though. "...But don't expect it to suddenly be love everlasting, either. Relationships take time to develop, and we haven't had that. Time constraints made this a little faster than it normally goes." Also, Christine had an excellent point about them not really having been on dates yet.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "See you around." There's a friendly smile on Sam's face, as he puts an arm around Bear and leans slightly into the Shepherd while watching Christine walk away. A slightly turn of his head to catch Alexander's glance, and an almost imperceptible nod is given in return, before both Sam and Bear look at Alton. The former with a smile, the latter with a tongue-lolling doggie grin.

    "I happen to like her quite a bit. Count her as a friend, in fact. I'm a bit protective of my friends. But I'm sure you'll be a gentleman. A perfect gentleman."

    So sayeth the smiling assassin.