xp_logs | Angelo and Mark, this afternoon

Angelo stops by the Snow Valley offices to visit Amanda and Sarah, but finds them both in meetings, so gets to know Mark while he waits.

Mark was glaring at his monitor. "E-M-C-I-S-U. What the hell . . . Cesium is a word, damn it!" he shouted at no one in particular. A slow day at the office meant game after game of Text Twist. It was a good thing that Mark wasn't hired for his vocabulary. "And it's not a proper noun. Accept it, you little Flash bitches." The counter ran down to zero, signaling the end of the game, and Mark sighed in frustration. He started another game just as he heard the front door open. He didn't even look up from his computer as he said: "Welcome the Snow Valley Memorial Center for Mutant Affairs. How may I help you?"

"Came to visit Amanda or Sarah, if either of 'em's around", Angelo said casually, trying to look deeper into the office. "I'm Angelo?"

Mark noticed the brief Latino accent before he tore his gaze away from another failed game. Oh, so this is Angelo, he thought. He could see why Amanda and Sarah both spoke so highly of him, if first impressions were any good. Mark stood up and offered Angelo his hand. "I'm Mark. Nice to meet you."

Angelo grinned, shaking hands. "Good t'meet you too, if the journals don't count. How're you findin' workin' here?"

"Beats flipping burgers," Mark replied. "Gimme a sec. I'll see if Amanda or Sarah are in." One minute and two brief calls later, he hung up his phone. "They're both in meetings now, but in theory it'll be over in ten minutes. Emphasis on the theory part."

"Yeah, I know how that goes", he said, pulling a quick face. "Well, I've got some free time for once, so I guess I'll wait if that's okay?"

Mark waved his hand at the rather comfy-looking chairs in the waiting area. "By all means, please. I think we have some Time and Newsweek magazines from 1994. And a Highlights For Kids. We're trying to replicate a doctor's office, you see," he said and winked at Angelo.

Angelo chuckled, moving over to sit in the waiting area. "So I see. Whose idea was that?"

"Probably Pete's," Mark said thoughtfully. "Keeps people from coming around, and given that he's such a people person, makes it easy for him to get through the day."

That made him laugh again. "Yeah, that sounds like him. What's his actual job here? Don't think Amanda ever said."

"No one by that name is employed here," Mark said loudly, as if he were speaking into a wire. He glanced around conspiratorialy, and then leaned forward a bit. "He's officially off the records," he whispered loudly. "Something about not being able to get a work visa in the States because he's not a good man."

"Ahhh", Angelo responded, matching the conspiratorial tone. "I guess certain things would make it difficult, yeah."

"You'd know better than me. I'm still piecing together all these weird-ass rumors." And reading back on three years of blogs didn't elucidate anything, either. All he knew was that if he were a religious man, he'd be thanking Jesus/Allah/Buddha that he was spared from going to school at Xavier's.

"...yeah, people do have trouble with that. I think half the kids we've got at the school now think the stories about the demon invasions are one big practical joke."

"So why don't you go summon one and teach them a lesson?" Mark suggested with a straight face.

"Nah, you want Illyana for that", Angelo returned, equally deadpan.

"Kids these days," Mark sighed. "They seem so disturbingly well-adjusted, which according to Angie is a first."

"The kids at the school?" Angelo nodded regretfully. "An' they're all so good, most of the time. Not a proper troublemaker among 'em, though there's a few who could be taught."

"Better get on it, then. Time's a-wastin'." Mark's phone beeped, so he held up a hand to shush Angelo for a minute. "Yes'm?" he answered as he picked up the phone. "Yeah, he's still here . . . Uh huh. Cool, will do." He hung it up and turned back to Angelo. "You can go head over to Amanda's." He waved at the corridor that led down to the offices. "She'll be there in just a sec. Nice meeting you, dude."

Angelo grinned. "You too. See you 'round, yeah?"

"If I'm not here, then I'm at the club." Mark offered Angelo a salute as he left, and then opened another game of Text Twist. "R-L-S-V-I-E? God dammit."