xp_logs | Jan and Marie - On Being an RA

Marie and Jan discuss Jan becoming an RA.

Jan knocked on the door to Marie's suite, humming lightly. Earlier, she'd received an e-mail, telling her that Marie had an idea she wanted to talk to her about. She wasn't sure what sort of an idea it was, but here she was to find out.

Opening the door, Marie smiled broadly at Jan and ushered her in. "Thanks for coming by! Ah'm glad you were able to come today, though Ah didn't know if you'd be around campus any."

"I can always swing by when I'm not busy!" Jan replied. "I come even when I'm not scheduled sometimes, just to hang out, so it's no problem at all!"

Marie had almost forgotten how energetic Jan could be. She hoped Jan would want to put that energy into her idea. "So you know Ah'm kinda the RA 'round here, yeah?" she asked, continuing when Jan nodded. "But Ah've decided it's time for me to step down, to focus on some other stuff right now."

"What?" Jan blinked at Marie, surprised. "Really? Wow. Other stuff? And what's this got to do with me?"

"Well...Ah kinda recommended you for the job. Ah know it might seem like Ah'm coming out of the blue, but Ah know the kids get along with ya well and feel able to talk to you. And that's the most important part of this job - being approachable." Instead of continuing with all the thoughts in her mind, Marie stopped to wait for a reaction.

Jan stared at Marie, even more surprised now. "Me? Yeah, I get along with the students here. I mean, I'm just, what? Not even a year older than some of them."

"And what am Ah? Ancient?" Marie said with a laugh. "Ah'm not gonna lie and say there are no responsibilities that come along with the role...but mostly, it's being there to listen and just remind people about things they'd remember if they weren't so upset."

"Nooo!!! I didn't mean you're old!" Jan cried. "I just meant, well, you are older than me, and the students... and do you think they'll take me seriously? I mean, should they? I just listen to them and talk to them, almost the same as I'd do now?"

"Pretty much. Now, there's some paperwork that goes along with it and you have to be aware of stuff, like if you're worried about someone, you'd go talk to Scott or Ororo. Dani'll still be around, so if you take the job, it's not like you'll be on your own. Ah mean, if Ah was going to sum up the job, it'd be caring for and looking out for the kids that live here. Sometimes that means dealing with roommate disputes. Sometimes that means letting someone vent to you. Sometimes it means talking to someone if you're worried they might do something dangerous. It just depends. But it is very rewarding," Marie said.

Jan nodded. "OK. Um... you do realize I don't live here, right? Yeah, we mentioned that earlier, didn't we?"

Marie nodded back. "Yeah, Ah know. And that's one of things you would have to be willing to do. Basically, you'd take my room in this suite here."

"But if I take over your room, where will you go? Oh, I know!" Jan grinned. "You're going to move in with your cute Canadian guy, aren't you?"

Marie stared at Jan, turning bright red. "Uh...no...Ah, uh...right. Anyways. Ok. So Ah take it that means you're interested?"

Jan nodded. "Yep. I think. I don't have to be here all of the time, though, do I? Dani's here, too. It's my first year in college, and I like to go out and do stuff.'

"Y'all just have to work out a schedule, make sure that someone's here every night," Marie said, feeling a sense of relief. "Don't want to impose on the fun of freshman year."

"So I guess I need to see about that paperwork?" Jan made a face. "It's not too much, I hope. I already spend enough time on papers!"