xp_logs | Crystal, Amanda - Tuesday morning

Amanda, on her information gathering visit to the school, talks to Crystal. To say it's an interesting conversation is an understatement.

According to the class schedule she'd gotten, Crystal had a free period, and according to her classmates, that meant generally she'd be in the library or the gym. Fortunately Amanda chose right the first time - she had a lot of people to talk to and the campus was too big to go chasing people all over. Moving over to where the younger girl was sitting, books spread in front of her, she cleared her throat slightly to avoid startling her. "Um, hello. Remember me? Amanda, we worked together in San Diego for a bit," she said as politely as Moria had taught her. "You wouldn't have a couple of minutes for a chat, would you?"

Crystal raised an eyebrow at Amanda's throat clearing sound, then looked at her as she spoke. Why did people phrase things in such a puzzling manner? Why didn't Amanda just ask if she had time to talk instead of asking if she didn't have time to talk? And why would she forget someone she had met and worked with before? "Yes, I remember you, Amanda," Crystal said, smiling at her. "I can speak with you now. Would you like to sit down or do we need to speak somewhere else?"

Amanda glanced around - the library was pretty deserted, so no need to worry about privacy. "Here's fine, thanks," she said, taking a seat. "'S been a while, I thought I should introduce myself again, just in case. Then again, you've used the New York Taxi Service, so it was probably not needed. Sorry." She smiled a little wryly, before deciding to plunge in. "My, um, associates and me are looking into Jennie being missing, and I wanted to talk to you about her, see if you could tell me about her frame of mind before she left, that sort of thing. Since you're her roomie and all."

Crystal kept the smile on her face while Amanda spoke, then forced it to remain as she replied to Amanda. "Does Mr. Summers know about this? He promised that he would keep me up to date in matters pertaining to Jennie's disappearance. Forge promised, too, but apparantly that promise is no longer a standing one. Are you now my new official 'Mystery of Jennie' representative or is this really just you trying to find information because you actually want to help find her?"

"The school asked us to get involved," Amanda replied, realising here was a veritable minefield of potential disaster and going for 'vague'. "Us meaning the people I work with. We've some experience in dealing with missing persons and we were approached to help out. Pooling resources and all that." Her tone turned earnest. "And I'm not trying to fob you off - we really do want to find her. So if you could answer some questions, help us work out what sort of state of mind she was in when she left, that'd be a huge help."

Amanda seemed sincere, but so had Forge and Mr. Summers, and neither one of them had come to tell her any new information. Apparently, there wasn't any new information other than the fact that Amanda and her "associates" were actively involved in the search for Jennie. "I believe that she was excited about the prospect of spending time with her father," Crystal said after a moment of thought. "Of course, though, at the same time she had been rather distraught over the fact that Marius left Xavier's, especially since he left without speaking to her, and she did not know of a way to reach him." Crystal wondered if the school had ever checked in with Marius. Two months ago, she would have been sure of this. Now, after all that had happened, she was no longer so sure. If the school staff hadn't checked in to make sure that Jennie was still with her family, why would they bother to check in on someone who no longer attended the school?

"She and Marius were good ma... um, friends, right?" Amanda pulled out a notepad and scratched a couple of notes. "It seems odd that he wouldn't say goodbye to her; from what I've seen on the journals they were as thick as thieves. Did they fight at all?"

"Yes, they were, are, best friends," Crystal said, correcting herself. It didn't seem right to use the past tense when referring to the friendship of Jennie and Marius, even if they had had a big fight and he had simply left her a note when he left. "Yes, they had a fight about a week before he left." Crystal eyed Amanda for a moment. "You have not spoken with Marius." She had intended it as a question, but it turned into a statement. Apparently, people from the school and Amanda and her associates had not been in contact with Marius. "Have you tried to contact Marius?" she queried.

"We're in the process of trying," Amanda replied. Part of the truth sometimes was better than a lie, and she personally didn't want to lie to this girl. It was obvious she was worried and had received the Xavier's Mushroom Treatement. "According to his parents, he's made a point of being difficult to contact. We're hoping when we can talk to him, he can maybe give us some idea why she lied to her father and the school about where she was going to be." She'd gotten the details of what Crystal had been told when she'd picked up the class schedule. It made things a lot easier.

""Difficult to contact?'" Crystal echoed, raising an eyebrow at Amanda. "He is not at home, then. Jennie did not think he was really going to go home." I know him, he's not going home Jennie had told Crystal. Had none of his friends at the mansion been able to contact him during the summer? Has he really made it so that no one could get a hold of him?

Amanda shook her head. "He didn't go home, no, and he didn't leave any his friends any contact details when he left, so they haven't been able to get in touch. He's apparently been on vacation in Europe - which his parents knew about, so they haven't seen any need to raise the alarm. And since he's no longer a student, the staff haven't kept tabs on him either, out of respect of his privacy." She paused. There was a fine line between giving out too much information and having Crystal see through the attempt to keep things quiet and avoid a panic. "The problem is, now he's dropped out of contact, so we're looking for him as well. Since he and Jennie are friends and were both in the same city the last time they were heard from, there's a good chance they're together. Except... This fight they had. How bad was it? A little misunderstanding? Or the sort where they never want to talk to each other again?" There'd been the fact he'd left without saying goodbye, only leaving a note. And no contact details.

For three full, agonizing seconds, Crystal stared silently at Amanda with piercing green eyes. Amanda was good, really good, she'd give her that. What a way to avoid saying what was really going on here, and adding a question at the end to try to keep Crystal's mind off of what she had just been told? Brilliant! At the beginning of the fourth second, the books slid off the table as if pushed by an unseen hand. A few students looked towards Crystal and Amanda at the sound of the books hitting the ground, murmured a bit, then went back to their studies.

"I do not believe that they usually entered into fights of this magnitude," Crystal replied, forcing herself to remain calm. "Obviously, if Marius had never wanted to speak to Jennie again, he would not have even bothered with a note, he would have left without giving her any sort of notice. Obviously, if Jennie had never wanted to speak to Marius again, she would not have been so bothered by their argument. Do I seem like I first manifested yesterday, Amanda?" The last sentence, and those that followed, had an irritated tone. "No one knows where Jennie is. No one knows where Marius is. They are both missing. Professor Xavier must know. Mr. Summers must know. I believe I can assume that Forge knows, too. Yes, a good conclusion is that they are together." She stood and eyed the books on the floor, gesturing at them; a moment later a few loose papers scattered as a wind pushed the books up to the level of the tabletop.

A very slight smile touched Amanda's lips. Oh, this would be one to watch in the future. Smart, good at putting things together, not afraid of confrontation, and good control of her powers. If it wasn't for the fact she probably had her career mapped out by her family already, she'd make a perfect addition to X-Force when she graduated. "I'm sorry, Crystal. You're not stupid and I certainly didn't mean to imply you were." She stood also, meeting the angry girl's eyes steadily. "I know what it's like, to be kept in the dark and treated like you're too much of a child to deal with things. Especially here - seems to be the way things go. But there's a bigger picture here you aren't seeing, and if you'll hear me out, you'll understand why the runaround. All right?"

Crystal plucked the books out of the air as Amanda spoke and stacked them on the table. She nodded and sat down. "This school," she said coolly, "does not seem to have a problem with teachers telling the students how broken they are. This school does not seem to do much when those in positions of authority verbally attack newly arrived students and guests. However, this school does appear to have issues with keeping promises and informing students of the answers to questions they ask point-blank. Certainly, Amanda, I would love to understand why the school is this way."

This time Amanda had to actively smother the grin. A student who didn't sit back and accept that the teachers knew best: Summers was going to have his hands full with Crystal. Sitting down again, she cleared her throat, trying to keep her tone professional, but not patronising. Fuck knew she hated that herself. "There's a couple of reasons, one to do with this case in particular, and one that's a bit more general. I'll try and explain, but first of all, you have to understand that I need you to keep what I tell you to yourself. Not because it's a bad thing or I'm trying to cover my own arse or anything, but because the last thing this place needs is a panic on its hands because two students have gone missing." She gave Crystal a questioning look. "You were here when Summ... um, that's Mr. Summers went missing, weren't you? So you know what I mean by starting panic?"

"Actually, I was not here," Crystal replied. "I was at home that week. I believe he had been safely recovered by the time I returned to the school. Someone, Ms. Munroe, I believe, posted information on the journals, so I knew that he had been missing. I missed all of the panic, sorry. I am not so sure that there would be a panic now, though. I was surprised to discover that Kyle knew about Jennie's disappearance, and he seemed so calm about it. Kidnappings seem to be a normal occurance to those involved with Xavier's. Perhaps the newest students might be concerned, but I am sure that they have already been repeatedly told stories of kidnappings, demon attacks, and how it is perfectly acceptable to turn evil or do bad things and then be welcomed back. "

It was hard not to squirm a little at the last part. Ouch. Amanda took in what Crystal said with a nod. "Yeah, I know it can seem that way, that everyone handles everything in their stride, but there's a reason for that. This school, to put it bluntly, is a bit of a shit magnet. Stuff happens. A lot of stuff. And some of it's to do with the X-Men operating out of the basement, and some of it's to do with the sorts of people that come here and some of it's just plain bad luck. But the thing is, when you have that much shit going down, there's a limit to how much people can deal with. You go back through the journals far enough, you'll see the panics, kids stressing out, kids threatening to go off and take matters into their own hands, people needing to be tranquilised because they can't or won't sleep. After a while, it got to the point where the staff decided it was better for the students if they kept the information about the bad stuff to a minimum. Except..." And here she smiled wryly. "In the case of some people, who have this habit of spilling their guts whenever they open their mouths. Not good for teachers, no, but not exactly everyone here is exactly standard teaching material." She shrugged. "So maybe I'm being extra cautious, but there is only so much people can deal with, and finding out two of your classmates are missing, especially with Magneto out and about using mutant kids for terrorism... well, we're trying to be careful and not make people worried before they need to. Of course, that means someone like you, who's clever enough to put the pieces together does get worried. Personally, if it had been me dealing with you from the start, I wouldn't have given you the mushroom treatment. But then again, I'm not staff here so that's not my call."

Crystal nodded and let out a sigh. "I am Jennie's roommate, of course I noticed that she did not return when she said she would. Due to the fact that no one seemed to be in a panic, and as you have stated that is what usually happens when people go missing, I assumed that there was nothing to worry about." She had trusted Forge's assessment of the situation, after all, he had been around the school for a while and seemed to know how things worked. "I will not make this mistake again." It did seem a bit silly, though. Beforehand, you could equate something bad happening with a panic. Now, you could always wonder if something bad was happening and the teachers were just keeping it under wraps. You couldn't even trust them to keep you up-to-date on a situation you already knew about! "I understand that the teachers do not want to make a widespread announcement, especially since they do not yet know what caused the disappearance of Jennie and Marius, but if someone asks, and if someone is promised that she will kept abreast of any new information, yes, that person deserves to be kept updated on the situation. I do not intend to mention this to either Professor Xavier or Mr. Summers at this point in time. Right now, they need to concentrate on finding Jennie and Marius; they do not need to contend with an unhappy student to whom they have just lost all trust and credibility."

"Whatever was promised to you and wasn't delivered is between you and them, I'm afraid," Amanda said with a small shrug. "Since we're being honest here, I won't be making any kinds of promises like that, and neither would any of my associates. We've got security concerns to think about, both the school and yourself in particular. If there is something going on, something bigger than anyone's realised, I wouldn't put you in a position where you know more than is safe for you to know, that would make you or the school a target. I can let you know if we find them and if they're all right, but any more than that is out, I'm afraid." She raised her eyebrow at the other girl, almost daring her to protest.

Crystal smiled at Amanda, a small, amused laugh escaping her. "Thank you for being honest, Amanda. I believe that you are the first person to be honest with me regarding this situation. I would never ask you to make a promise that you cannot keep. I only wish that those in charge here were as honest as you." She couldn't really blame Amanda for hedging and being vague at first. Amanda was just trying to find out information and couldn't have any way of knowing how Crystal would react. Probably, like Lorna, she expected Crystal to behave as "normal" teenagers did. Relaxing somewhat, she continued, "I know the behavior of the staff here is not your fault, and I'm sorry I turned your search for answers into a 'what Crystal really thinks of the school' conversation. I wish I could help, but I don't think I know anything that will help you. Jennie and Marius, best friends. His powers brought on unwanted physical changes. Jennie didn't think he'd want to see her but I talked her into visiting him. He had an unpleasant conversation with his mother, apparently his parents wanted to visit him but he did not want them to. Jennie and Marius had a screaming match and Marius tore off part of his skin. Jennie was very upset and I had to threaten to call a doctor before she agreed to get out of bed, shower, and eat something. I went to San Diego and came back to discover that Marius had left. I knew Jennie wasn't happy, but she tried to act distant about it. She left to visit her father and I went home for a week, which is when Mr. Summers was kidnapped. I came back, wondered when she was coming back, and then heard about the message she left. I went to see Forge when the third week of August came around, he said she never returned his calls. When the fifth week of August came around and Jennie had not returned, I emailed Forge and was told he was looking into something. That's really all I can tell you, I am sure you know much more about this situation that I do."

Rapidly scribbling notes, Amanda nodded. When she was finished, she looked up. "Well, it might not seem you know much, but this sort of thing is like a puzzle - you put lots of different pieces together and get a picture. What you've told me..." She indicated the notebook. "...will at least let us cross out some possibilities." The mention of Forge reminded her. "Oh, there's something else I need - I need to borrow something of Jennie's, something she used a lot or had a personal connection to. Just for a little while - I'll give it back before I leave here today."

"I gave her a new CD player after I ruined the one she had," Crystal told Amanda. "She had only had it for a few weeks before she went to Italy, but she did use it. Oh, perhaps she left at least one CD inside, and that is something she would have handled for a longer period of time."

Amanda nodded. "The CD might work. I just hope I don't blow it up like I did the old CD player," she added with a self-deprecating grin. "When Forge asked me to try a location spell, things got a bit... flamey. But I wanted to try again, see if I can't get a better result than last time."

Crystal had to hide her surprise. "The...you were Forge's possible lead? He still has, had, the CD player?" She had been certain Jennie's machine had been taken apart long ago and turned into parts of Forge-made-whatever-he-made. "Please, check the title of the CD before you use it. That way, if you do set it on fire, I will be able to purchase a replacement for her."

"That was me. I think I melted what was left of the CD player, so Forge might have chucked it by now." Amanda shrugged a little. "The magic and I are still learning how to talk to each other, so I wasn't able to come up with much more than she's in a city in Europe, but like I said, I want to give it another shot." She chuckled a little. "And don't worry about paying for a replacement. If I kill it, I'll replace it. After all, what point is there to having an expense account? Besides," and a distinctly mischievous __expression crossed her face, reminiscent of the punk girl she'd been. "It's fun coming up with the weirdest expense reasons. 'CD melted in location spell' should make the accountant's head spin a bit."

The ideas of magic and spells were new ones for Crystal, but she had heard and seen enough power-based events to not find it unusual for something to be melted while it was being used. Of course, that usually indicated a lack of proper power control or an emotionally charged situation, but as Amanda had just said, she was still learning how to use her magic. "I am sure that the knowledge of the fact that she is in a city in Europe, or that she was at the time you performed your spell, has been of more benefit to finding her than the bit of puzzle information I have just given you will prove to be. Do you want to come to my room to retrieve the CD or should I go get it and bring it to you?"

"Sometimes the why helps with the where, and you've given me some directions, at least," Amanda said with a slight shrug. "And I'll come with you - I want to talk to a couple more people, and I can get the CD on the way." She gave the girl an honest smile. "Thanks for your help, Crystal. You might not think it's been much, but I appreciate the time and honesty."

Crystal nodded. "I thank you for being honest as well. If I was able to provide any help, I am glad. I need to return these books to their proper places, and then we will go see if Jennie left a CD in the room."