xp_logs | Amanda and Kurt - Monday lunchtime

The elder of the three Szardos siblings in the States meet for lunch and concoct dastardly plans.

"So", Kurt said cheerfully, forking up a mouthful of food, "you may be aware that a dance is coming up for the older students... including Meggan."

"It is?" Amanda looked blank for a minute, mentally calculating the date. "Oh, right, Prom, yeah?" She grinned. "Are you taking her?"

"I have not raised the idea." He tilted his head curiously. "I was going to lead a dance demonstration, nothing more - unless you think she would need me to?"

"Well, seeing how the girls outnumber the boys three to one, the odds are she'll need someone to ask her..." Amanda looked thoughtful. "Only I seem to remember that your brother taking you to Prom is social death, or something. If those shows Jubes watches are to be believed, any way." She took a sip of her drink. "Meg needs to have a good time. She's been too quiet again."

"Then perhaps we should arrange something." He considered the problem, chewing meditatively on his egg. "Julian, I think, will be taking Angel. From within the school, that leaves Johnny and Fred."

"Odds are they've been snapped up already." She poked her salad meditatively. "How about someone out of the school?" A sudden snort escaped her. "Too bad I can't get Jake or Morgan to go as whatever heartthrob's big with the teenie set right now. That'd cause a sensation. Only Meg would probably kill me."

Kurt raised his eyebrows, giving that idea real thought. "Would she, if you warned her in advance? I think she might find it funny."

"Maybe just let her give them the option. Only Morgan needs a piece of hair or something to copy someone. Jake doesn't... and he's a big kid himself any way. If I tell him there will be cake, he'd probably fall all over himself volunteering." The more she thought about this, the more she liked the idea. Meg knew Jake, he'd make sure she had a good time, and he was easy on the eyes even in his own shape. "And you can keep an eye on him," she added with another grin.

"Oh, he will behave himself", Kurt said with a kind of amused seriousness. "Or he will wish he had. He can be bribed with cake, you say?"

"I think Jake would walk through Hell if someone told him there was a really good bakery on the other side." It was said with a kind of wry fondness. "I just hope the bad guys don't find out cake is Jake's Kryptonite."

"It will be my closest-guarded secret", he assured her, laughing now. "But back to the matter of Meggan... do you think we should have her ask Jake? Or I could approach her while you ask him."

"I'll talk to Jake - it might need a combination of bribery and threats to put the idea in his head. Maybe you could see if Meg's up for the whole thing? I'd hate to go to the trouble of bribing Jake and have her say 'no' to him." Finishing her lunch, Amanda leaned back, wineglass in hand and wishing she could smoke. "Hopefully she won't see this as older sibling meddling."

"Meg knows we love her and want her to have fun", Kurt said confidently. "I will talk to her when I get back to the mansion."

"It's meddling with good intentions?" Amanda suggested with a chuckle. "So, how was Egypt? Have fun?"

"We did until the mummy incident", Kurt said wryly. "I would like to know why these things always happen to us."

"Mummies? As in, real mummies?" The witch's face lit up with professional interest. "You lucky bastard. Wish I'd been there." Belatedly, she added. "Oh, and no-one was hurt, were they?"

"Some were hurt, but no one was killed that I know of. The ambulances came quickly." He half-smiled. "And they were more of animated mummy statues, led by Monet believing her name was Sekhmet. An archaeologist with a grudge."

"Mutant powers, then?" Amanda seemed disappointed. Oh for a real honest-to-goodness mummy. Strange would be dumbstruck. "Wait, you had to take down Monet? That must have been a handful."

"It was quite a challenge", Kurt admitted. "At least until Laurie put our angry archaeologist to sleep and took away his channeling device. Which was a remote control, of all things."

Amanda giggled. She couldn't help it. "Remote controlled Monet? Like one of those toy cars?" she managed.

That got a snort. "Not exactly, Sekhmet had more autonomy than that. But it is not entirely a bad analogy."

"She's all right, tho'? No side effects from whatever it was he was doing?" Amanda asked, with actual concern - despite her jokes, she did like the tactless Australian girl.

"She seems fine", Kurt assured her. "It seems there was some bleed between the false personality and her own, but she says there are no lasting effects except perhaps a desire to be warm. But she had that before."

"She's Australian - anything under 15 degrees Celsius is apparently mid-winter. So that's probably not anything new." She considered him. "How about you? Apart from mummies crashing your hols, how're you going?"

"Actually, very well", he said honestly. "Things are... settled, now, that have not been for a long time, and now there is only forward."

"What, Kurt Sefton looking forward and being positive? Do I need to check for implants?" she teased, but looked pleased.

He chuckled at that. "I am really well, little sister. And if the day comes that changes here, I know another home awaits me."