Log: Jennie and Tommy

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Around lunchtime, Jennie has a quiet encounter with Tommy in which several important things are learned: Why Tommy hates, Jennie finds history boring, and Tommy is definitely a teenage boy.



Carrying a tray in one hand and a pile of magazines under the other was no easy feat. Especially when it came to opening the door. Somehow Jennie managed to open the door using her knee, but that meant that gravity took over and she pushed the door open with her forehead. Regaining her balance, she slipped into Tommy's room and almost tripped over a stuffed rhinoceros. "Hello? What's this?"

Tommy looked turned his head when he heard the door open. The book the hairy guy had left in the room was open on his chest, which he had been trying to read. He hadn't dared look at what the purple freak had brought him. It was interesting, but damn it took a lot of thinking to read and he'd been half asleep. Tommy raised an eyebrow at this new girl. She wasn't bad looking...and thank god she wasn't purple and sparkly. But sadly, being here meant she was a freak. Damnit. "My lunch I assume." he said dryly, picking up the book with his good hand.

Jennie looked down at the tray in her hand and pretended to frown. "I dunno. You could be using it to fingerpaint for all I know." She walked over to the bed and deposited the food on the table next to his bed and swung it over so he could get at it. She then dumped the magazines she had under one arm at the foot of his bed. "Newest issues of Rolling Stone." She picked it up and gestured like a stewardess. "People, Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated. Oh and," she made a face at the last one. "Better Homes and Gardens? Eh." She shrugged and tossed it back on the bed.

Raising an eyebrow at her odd statement, Tommy rolled his eyes as he looked down at what was on the plate this time. When would they get the picture he wasn't hungry? Wondering if he could get away with ignoring his food with this chick, he gave her an amused look as she showed off what she brought. "Well I will admit, you have better taste then the purple monstrosity. I've never been one for Teen People and Cosmo."

Jennie raised an amused eyebrow at the "purple monstrosity" comment. "Who? Clarice? Oh Clarice." Jennie said fondly. "I love her to pieces, but I can see where a little of her goes a long way. See, like, this friend of hers, um, 'came back' recently," She used her fingers as quotation marks. "So we hit up a party barn and bought bags of glitter so she can decorate his room. I dunno if she's gotten around it, though I suspect we’ll hear about it soon." Seeing Tommy’s slightly glazed eyes, Jennie shrugged. "Sorry, I ramble. Anyway." She picked up the issue of People. "D'you mind if I look through this real quick? I'm supposed to be in History, but I got a free pass to bring you lunch and Mr. Dayspring’s going into American expansion, and it's boring as all get out."

Tommy just blinked at her and her rambling. Then he sighed. If she was using him as a 'get out of class free' card, then she wouldn't leave until he finished. It's what he would have done. Which meant he had to eat. Damnit! Taking another deep sigh, Tommy picked up his fork and shifted around the food a bit as his stomach decided which it would hate least. A few moments went by before, "So, the rambling...is that your freakish quality? Or do you have something even less interesting?" Even he couldn't stand the silence.

"Mmm?" Jennie looked up from her magazine. He was eating, good. Her evil plot to stay until he finished was working. "Oh, I have luck powers. I give things good or bad luck. It's um. Hard to explain, really." And she didn't want to demonstrate, if she didn't use her disks her hand would get that unpleasant tingly sensation for the rest of the afternoon. "What do you do? Or do you know?"

Probability powers, huh. One of them actually has a useful, almost normal power. Tommy had to fight the impressed look that wanted to appear on his face. He delayed answering her question by taking a sip of water. "I turn trees into lead by thinking apparently. I don't remember much after that." Tommy wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Doesn't matter really. Still a mutant freak."

"Meh. Could be worse. You could have eyes in your stomach or purple fur. One of my suitemates does, and she sheds. I've got purple cat hair on all of my clothes" Jennie paused, considering. "Can I ask you something? Not to be rude or having an agenda or anything? But why do you hate mutants so much? I mean, where did it come from? I'm genuinely curious." her expression showed no hint of anger or pity, just genuine innocent curiosity.

She asked. Tommy took his time chewing. Maybe if he offended her enough, she'd leave him alone and he could stop eating this crap. "I hate muties because all they are is trouble. They destroy people's lives with their fancy 'powers'. 'Oops, it was an accident.' Tell that to the family whose house is on fire, with their life inside because their next door neighbor's 'powers' went out of control. Tell that to the mother who lost her son because a building 'accidentally' collapsed on him. Not to mention, how much money the government must take away from other programs like welfare and medicaid to fund recovery from mutant related mishaps. Freaks are a menace to society and should be destroyed before they bring the human race down further then they already have." As he spoke, his eyes had drifted from her to the wall in front of him, but his voice showed that he still believe every word that had been drilled into him since birth, even if he was one of those life destroying freaks now.

Jennie noticed that his words seemed practiced, and even rehearsed. Forge had told her about the rhetoric the FOH favored. One of her favorite movies was Swing Kids, and she could understand how someone could learn to hate. She chewed a thumbnail. "Honestly? I can see your point. I've blown up my fair share of things. But, I mean, I didn't ask to be this way. None of us did. If you were to go up to any one of us and give us the choice of being human vs. mutant, we'd choose human. I mean, who wants to be this way? To have these scary powers? To have people fear and hate us? But. It's what we are and we have to deal with it. Shit happens, y'know?" Jennie shrugged and flicked through her magazine. "Thank you for answering, by the way. I always like hearing both sides of an argument."

“You think I asked to have my life turned upside down on me?" That I wanted to give up Terry? "You’re right, you deal with it. But not everyone is going to like what you do about it. We...or well, the FOH, prefer a more permanent approach." He closed his eyes and shook his head, wondering why the hell he was continuing with her. "My opinion has always been if we find a way to stop it now, when the population of mutants is controllable, we can save mankind in the future. And yes, even from myself, now that I'm a freak as well." Tommy swallowed heavily and sat back, pushing the table away, his food not even half gone. He wasn't in the mood to eat anymore.

Jennie reached out and gently pulled the tray away from the bed. Tommy wasn't suddenly going to jump out of bed and declare that he loved mutants, if he did she would be Highly Suspicious. She felt slightly bad for pushing him. Then she eyed his toes, which still had traces of blue nailpolish in the cuticles and she barely smothered a grin. Only slightly bad. "Y'know, they do take requests with food, upstairs. Just tell 'em what you like and they'll make it. They do want you better, you know."

He raised a curious eyebrow at the grin but chose to ignore it. "Why? I'm sure the doctors do, why I don't know, but once whoever does the cooking around here finds out who it's for, I doubt I'll get meals of that crappy quality." Tommy had closed his eyes as he spoke, but nodded in the direction of the try she held.

"Hey now. Not everybody here hates you, you know? And the food's decent, but you're looking at a girl who just ate a whole package of oreos last night," Perhaps Rahne could fix Tommy's meals? She picked up the tray. So it was back to Manifest Destiny, then. She handed him the People. "There's only 83 ceiling tiles in here, and you can only add and subtract them so many ways before your brain tries to claw it's way out of your skull. You need anything, the scary redheads are a callbutton away."

"Hm, you'll be pressed to find someone who feels the contrary I'm sure. I'm afraid I've made things personal between myself and many people here." Tommy opened his eyes briefly at the mention of the ceiling tiles, and to get a glimpse of her butt as she turned after he took the magazine from her. Just as she reached the door, he called, "Watch out! Don't trip over the rhino."

Deftly, Jennie kicked the Rhino up like a hacky sack and caught it. Turning, she tossed it onto Tommy's bed. She could be graceful if she wanted. She caught the tail end of his stare. She gave him a slightly bemused look. "Watch yourself there cassanova, you don't wanna sprain something else." And with that, she was gone.

Tommy couldn't help but smile as he settled himself back down, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from chuckling. In hindsight, he'd wished he'd gotten her name, it was nice to have someone intelligent to talk to around here for a change.