4685/The Importance Of Football

The Importance Of Football
Date of Scene:	11 January 2021
Location:	An Undisclosed Park
Synopsis:	Rachel has returned to New York, but with an important question. What the heck is American Football? To that end, she has attempted to gain the assistance of The Multiple Man to get that answer. Or at least, she's trying to, a lot of confusion is the initial result of asking.
Cast of Characters:	Rachel Summers, Jamie Madrox

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Rachel Summers has posed:
For one Rachel Summers, only a year or so ago, January would normally be a time to be frozen, cold, and hungry. Now. January is a strange paradox where people in the States, at the very least, are getting excited for this thing called 'The Superbowl', and 'American Football'. She's managed to google as much as she can about the sport, and even inquired ever so discretely about it, but the only thing that she's managed to understand is that you're supposed to have a lot to eat a great deal of junk food, sit about the television, and cheer on a team. That's all well and good, but what the hell are they doing with the pigskin and why are grown men hitting each other with such grunts over it!? Why can't they both have the pigskin!? So, in order to fully comprehend the sport, if you can call it that, Rachel was directed towards someone that can show her 'in detail', 'with a lot of people' just what is what, and who is who, and what they do, and well, she's not sure if this is someone who will be happy to direct her in this, or this is a practical joke on them.

Regardless, Rachel would like to participate in this American tradition this year, and not be a complete wet noodle over the entire thing. So.

One Jamie Madrox will soon be receiving a telephone call that goes something like this? "Excuse me, is this Mr. Jamie Madrox? Hello Mr. Madrox, my name is Rachel Summers, and I was told you could help me with a quest to understand, comprehend and grasp the sport known as American Football."

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Indeed, one may just wonder if the referral was, in fact, some type of practical joke of which the intended recipient was not at all clued into. The fact that the phone number has rung into an individual that first answers with 'Hello, X-Factor Investigations. Your mystery will be history when you account for the X-Factor.' might be the first indication. If it's not clear from the somewhat distracted tone of the voice on the phone, that man had been just prior to answering engaging in a delicate process of mounting a large, wall-sized bulletin board along one side of his office. Well, he and a few others of himself at any rate. After all, mounting a five-by-five bulletin board isn't a one person job - unless that one person happens to be Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man! As it stands, however, a pair of Jamies are left holding the board in mid-mount, the other having scrambled to get the phone and potential client. Only to find out that the individual on the other end is anything but.

Which comes to the the second indication. The long - very long - pause that takes place after initial introductions and Jamie has been given a rather non standard request as to an eduction of all things NFL, gridiron matchups, touchdowns, rushing yardages, and, presumably, Superbowl Sunday. Despite the silence that carries through the phone line, one might just able to envision the quizzical look on the man's features. Maybe even a picture of Jamie pulling the handset away from his face to give it a puzzled eye and a quirk of his head. Or the other two duplicates setting down the bulletin board to offer not-so-helpful shrugs.

And just when one might wonder if the connection's dropped, Jamie finally answers with what might the third clue that he was neither given a heads up about this phone call, nor is this the type of phone call that he is at all used to receiving. The tone of his voice easily conveys the confusion of the previous expanse of silence, and is he is quick to target in on the origins of the referral rather than the actual nature of it, at least at first. "...Told by who?"

Rachel Summers has posed:
Currently, Rachel is seated on a park bench idly eating a hot-dog, her cell phone held telekinetically against her cheek while the red-head is happily indulging in the food. A drop of ketchup begins to ooze out from the hot-dog, only to be caught in mid-ooze and pushed back through a careful use of her power. As she waits on the long, long, LONG freaking pause on the other end of the line, Rachel's gaze flickers about the park, itself. There are few people milling around, most have gotten their food from the hot-dog vendor and moved along, others are just briskly walking through the park pathways or others are scurrying towards other destinations.

Rachel can't help but people watch, it's still so strange to see how freely people move, breath, act, react, and live in this world. It's been almost a year now, but it still feels so new. Caught a bit lolly-gagging, Rachel realizes the telephone has not spoken in a great deal of time, and she's just about to state, "I apolo..." When the bewildered sound echoes out from the other end of the line.

"Well, Mr. Madrox, I was told by a worker before I left Muir Island that 'you're the man' who can show me the intricacies of the sport in person. I apologize if this is a practical joke on my on your expense, sir. Good Day." Rachel's about to just click 'end conversation' at this point, and plot on going back to Muir Island and idly doing something really rotten to that individual.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"Ah, wait," Jamie answers before Rachel is able to hang up the phone, his free hand reaching up to rub at the back of his head as he issues the words. His face screws up just a little bit, sort of in that universal expression of 'Am I going to regret this?' before he continues, the previously confused tone giving way to one much more congenial. "I mean, they're not wrong. About being able to show you the sport, that is," he clarifies. "It would have been nice if they would have, you know, given me a head's up about it, but... I'll wager anything that the person you were speaking to was O'Grady and this is payback for that big, er, discussion we got into about football versus soccer when I first started working there...."

Jamie makes a light grunt in the back of his throat, a noise that's difficult to tell whether he's disgusted or amused by the little joke. Regardless he begins speaking again pretty quickly afterwards. "/Anywho/," he states, drawing the word out a little bit, "I'm not an expert-expert, by any means, I haven't actually coached the sport or anything, but, yeah, I can give you the run-down quicker and easier than most." He pauses just a beat then, as if something's finally clicking in. "Hey, you don't have an accent or anything. I mean, you *sound* American. Mind if I ask-" And, then something else *also* just clicks in, and this one seems to hit him a bit harder than the last bit of informatoin. "Wait. Did - did you say... Summers?"

Rachel Summers has posed:
Wrinkling her nose upwards, Rachel finishes up the hot-dog in a big bite, getting relish and condiments across her chin, forcing her to grab a napkin and clean up her face, muttering idly about messy thing. As Madrox speaks, Rachel's attention returns to the cell phone. "Yes, I.." Is followed by. "Well, you.." Is followed by, "I don't really..." Is followed soon by, "No, I'm not.." And finally, the last question Rachel lets out a laugh. "No relation." And a quieter, "Sorta." Which isn't ENTIRELY TRUE, but in this universe it is, so she can get by with simply stating that.

"You see, Mr. Madrox, I'm not exactly from this .. ah. It's really actually kind of complicated. I really wanted to attend a Superbowl party, but I didn't want to just scan everyone's minds the entire time trying to understand what the hell is going on!" And yes, Rachel did just state 'scan everyone's minds'.

As a pause, Rachel lets out a quiet sigh, crossing her legs left over right, knee-high boots angled downward. "I've been traveling around a lot, stayed a few days on Muir Island. They did speak highly of you, and gave me your telephone number, or at least this one. X-Factor Investigations?" She inquires a bit, before finalizing with. "I understand if this is too ridiculous, but I'm willing to - to help. I can work for you for a couple days, in exchange for a lesson in American Football? I am -very- good at hunting down people." And there is only confidence in her tone. Complete. Utter. Confidence.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Despite the rather large amount of informatoin that's just been divulged - from telepathic scanning, to that rather-ambiguous-but-not-at-all-missed "sorta" reference at being related to Scott and Alex Summers, to the fairly bold offer of investigations work - this time around Jamie's response is not nearly as long in coming. In fact, he almost cuts off Rachel before she's finished speaking, his already gregarious tone turning almost downright excited. "A Superbowl party?! Well, why didn't you *say* so?? Learning about football is *one* thing, but... Superbowl parties are a whole different... ah, well, if you'll pardon the expression, ball game!"

There's some rustling about on the other end of the line that will be heard as Jamie's duplicates hastily start to clean up the office, hammers and nails and levels and measuring tapes and all other sorts of tools getting scrambled into a pile while the one on the phone continues to talk. "And no, it's not too ridiculous. Everyone - and I do mean everyone - has the God-given right to be able to attend a party without fear of self-consciousness or alienation, let alone the most American of social gathering rituals, The Superbowl Party." He pauses just long enough to take a breath before continuing. "So. We don't have that many weeks before The Big Day, and you'll want to be up to speed as soon as possible... I'm free this afternoon if you want to get started. Ah... My place doesn't have a lot of room though. You said you've stayed at Muir? Any chance you've been to the Mansion up in Westchester? They've got a field there I'm sure we could use on short notice..." From the sound of it, Jamie doesn't even think that calling ahead would be needed, it sounds like he's planning on just showing up there unannounced and, presumably, uninvited. "Also. And this is serious. You need to decide now if you don't already have an opinion on this. Bean dip, cheese dip, or salsa."