xp_logs | backdated Thursday Afternoon (Reply)

Tabitha finds Jay writing a resume for his placement. He acts sweet and she inquires about Kevin.

For once, Jay sat in the library instead of his suite, at one of the computers with a string of windows opened up, trying to do research to type up a good resume. Thing was, the main window, the one where he should have been doing the typing remained blank except for a few string of words to describe his personality. Leaning back in the chair, Jay balanced on the back of two legs, teetering while he dropped his head back in a lengthy sigh. Talking about himself should have been easy but he was finding it impossible.

"How do you do that without crashing to an inglorious heap on the floor?" Tabitha asked as she approached. She'd been hoping for an opportunity to catch Jay. She was rather happy to have done it when he was semi-alone.

"Huh?" he perked up, almost losing his balance in the process and caught himself. His wings opened up quickly, thrown forward to maintain the balance on the two legs. As if he thought better of it, he let the chair fall back on all fours and regarded her. "Like that." he said, as she had just gotten a demonstration.

Tabitha winced. "Sorry about that." She reached out to pull a chair next to him. "School project?" She asked inanely, with a nod toward the computer.

Jay shrugged and waved at the computer, taking up the mouse and scrolling as though it helped for an explanation. "Nah, resume. Ah'm suckin' fer it though. Ah ain't got a single thing ta put on it, aside from bartending course."

She laughed as she leaned back. "Resumes are usually a matter of putting things into perspective," she confided. "When I applied to Monterey, I put things like "negotiation," "public speaking," and my personal favourite, "field research." I stuck it all down as a volunteer experience and gave all my references copies so they wouldn't be caught flat-footed when someone called to ask about my researching skills."

"Okay, first, Ah suck at negotiation or Ah wouldn' be 'ere, tryin' ta write a resume fer someone ta hire me. It's parta ma course. Second, no one cares 'bout research when all they want ya ta do is serve drinks. Third, well, al'ight, there ain't no third, except that all my references are weirdly articulate an' tha' makes 'em scary. Not normal."

Tabitha leaned forward in interest. "So this is part of a class? You were part of that last Red X mission with the avalanche, right?"

"Yeah, tha' was 'bout as fun as cleanin' a toilet bowl. 'cept less dirty. This 'ere's part o' ma bartendin' class. Final assignment since Ah passed tha test. It's just fer placement now. They're mutant friendly an' when ya take their course, it's parta tha fee, ta find ya a job. Yer only problem is tha' ya gotta keep it. But they need a resume ta get ya there. Somethin' ta keep on file, Ah reckon'. Ya wanna type it fer me?" He smiled, leaning back in the chair and giving her the sweetest smile he could muster.

She couldn't help but return the smile. "You are impossible, Mr. Guthrie." She elbowed him aside and took his place at the keyboard. "You're young, so they don't expect all that much, but you can use your experience here at the mansion to bullshit your way." Her hands moved over the keys in an easy rhythm. "You can use the experience with Red X to say you're cool in a crisis, are good at taking direction under stress, just things like that."

"No, Ah'm a Guthrie. Tha's all." He scooted over and leaned against the table, watching her fingers type. He wasn't nearly as good of a type as she was. In fact, he was down right slow with the whole process and looked pleased that she was helping. "Oh yea, cool in a crisis," he agreed. "But wha' if they, ya know, put it to tha test? Then Ah'm screwed."

Tabitha suppressed a grin. "Just pretend they're bickering family members," she advised. "I'll even let you list me as one of your references. I promise to talk like a kid raised on the boardwalk," she added in a North Jersey accent.

"Have ya seen ma family? We just bicker an' bicker an' bicker. There ain't ever a solution, 'cept with Sam. He don' seem like much o' a grudge bearer but Ah tell ya somethin'. Ya do 'em wrong, like a really bad wrong an' he ain' gonna let you ferget it." Jay shifted in his chair, dusting off a feather that had fallen on the table in his move. "Ya'll just keep doin' wha' yer doin' an' maybe Ah'll take ya out fer somethin' if Ah get a job. It'll be cause o' you. Well, an' the fact that they find ya a placement regardless."

She smiled as she kept typing. Her smile faltered as she remembered the other reason she wanted to talk to Jay. She cleared her throat. "I need to apologize to your boyfriend," she said. "I think I was a little too..." she searched for a word and failed. "I think I pissed him off when we were working that avalanche. Haven't seen him since."

Jay teetered back and forth on his chair, but at the mention of Kevin, he stopped and set it back down on the floor. "Wha'd'ya say to 'im?"

Tabitha sighed and turned to face Jay. "I think I laid the Dirty Old Lady bit on a little too thick. Probably just talked to much without saying anything. He was stressed out because he had to melt away that tree. I think I asked him for more than he could do."

Jay thought it over for a moment before giving her a proper response. "Ah wouldn' think too much 'bout it. He didn' say nuttin' ta me - not tha' he talks much - he ain' exactly Mr. Social. But, he don' like usin' his power, an' Ah think it'd be safe ta say, he probably was all worried usin' it 'round ya. All Ah can say is maybe talk ta 'im 'bout it?"

She drooped and sighed, her typing paused briefly. "He is pretty hard to track down. Haven't seen hide nor hair of him since." She corrected some formatting then rolled away from the computer. "Voila, Mr. Guthrie. What do you think?"

"Try datin' 'im." Jay scooted closer, turning his eyes onto the screen, scanning the resume she had typed out. "Direct Creative Manager? Forward Program Associate? Internal Communications Engineer? Wha tha.. Tabs, yer gonna get me fired before Ah'm hired!"