Sarah Vale and Yvette, Friday Afternoon (backdated)

[x-network.livejournal.com]

Sarah is walking around, re-gathering her bearings, and meets up with Yvette.


Sarah Vale exited the library, walking out into the hallway and looking around, taking in her surroundings. It had been about a year and a half since she'd last been at the school, and her first stay hadn't lasted all that long either, so she figured a walk around was in order to reacquaint herself with her surroundings. The bigger task would be reacquainting herself with her new classmates and fellow mutants, most of which she hadn't acquainted herself with at all the last time. And the ones she had known well - Catseye and Forge, namely - were no longer there, which was a little depressing.

She'd be alright though, she was tough - heck, the whole point of coming back was to face things head on, to realize her full potential, and that would have to happen, in the presence of former friends or not. Her grandmother hadn't had any friends at all when she came to America - well, aside from grandpa - and she did just fine, didn't she? So Sarah would be fine as well.

And so she continued to think and ponder quietly to herself as she wandered the halls, not really paying attention or watching where she was going as she did so.

Yvette had just gotten back from her classes at Empire State, and as she was about to head up the stairs, she caught sight of the returnee. "Sarah!" she exclaimed, beaming happily, her eyes glowing brighter in echo. "Welcome back!" She hadn't had a lot of interaction with the girl on her previous visit, as Yvette had been recovering from the landmine in Bosnia and the kidney transplant - belatedly, she wondered if Sarah would recognise her without a powers inhibitor.

Forced out of her daydreaming by the sound of her name, Sarah looked up and saw someone. She didn't immediately recognize the other girl, but it was nice to be remembered at any rate. "Hi there, thanks!" She managed an awkward smile, putting her hands in her jean pockets as she came to a halt to chat with Yvette. "Just got here awhile ago, taking a walk around, been awhile and all that." Biting her lip a bit, she wasn't sure what else to add, and was afraid to use the other girl's name in case she had it wrong, that would pretty much make her die of embarrassment on the spot. "So, uh, how are you?"
Yvette's smile softened as she realised that no, Sarah didn't recognise her with her powers on. "Yvette," she said, with a little nod. "It has been a while, and last you saw me, I had the powers inhibitor on. You taught me the xBox, yes?"

Hopefully one day Sarah would be better at that kind of thing. "Yvette, right!" She blushed a little at her own outburst, having made it even more obvious that she hadn't been sure of her name. "It has been, yeah, and oh, right. Those things." For a selfish second she caught herself wishing that Yvette would use one right now, and then felt horrible at the very thought. "I did, and I brought it back with me, with the Wii too. Have you, uh, been playing since I left?" Which sounded like a stupid question; it had been a year and a half, after all.

"Not so much," Yvette replied, seeing Sarah's nervousness and trying to help put her at her ease. "I am at the university now, so I do not have so much of the free time, especially since I am the RA here also."

Sarah blinked at that. "University? Oh, that's cool." She hadn't realized how much older than her Yvette was, though she didn't really know the other girl all that much just the same. "What classes are you taking?" Hearing that Yvette was the RA there caught her attention and was useful information to remember for the future. "The person I come to if I have any troubles?" She hoped she wouldn't have any troubles to bring to Yvette but it was good to know where to go just in case.

The small Albanian nodded. "Yes, that is right. Even if there is anything you do not know or want to ask, not even a problem, you can talk to me. As for the university, I am studying politics and sociology and other such things. I would like to work for the Red Cross some day."

"'K, I'll remember that. Thanks!" She smiled, still a little awkwardly but it was good to know who to go to now. She listened to Yvette talk about her courses, nodding at the other girl as she spoke. Politics and sociology were not on Sarah's radar at all; she was more of the science type, especially given her abilities. The mention of the Red Cross was interesting though, and certainly a noble cause in her mind. "Oh yeah? That'd be kinda cool." She wondered if she could be of any use to an organization like that, maybe with setting up websites or something.

"I am already the field leader with Red X... did you learn about that when you were here last? It is the Red Cross volunteer group that young mutants can join to help others. We go out when there is the accident or natural disaster and help, yes?" Red X was one of Yvette's favourite topics, and it showed in her enthusiasm.

She frowned in concentration. "I... don't think so? But I could just be forgetting about it, maybe." Sarah had spent most of her time with Forge and hung out in his lab during her first stay, or with Catseye. It was totally possible that she'd heard of Red X and either wasn't paying attention or legitimately had forgotten about it. "Volunteer group, huh?" That sounded pretty awesome, it was too bad that her powers weren't really all that useful at all for that kind of thing, or so she reckoned.

"For the students, as well as the graudates." Yvette smiled, a little mischievously. "You know, they have a lot of communications issues, when there is the disaster. Computers, radios, television... they are very important, so that we all know what is happening."

"Really? That's cool, that students can do it too." Whether she'd be able to or not was another matter. Sarah's interest piqued a little further at the mention of all the electronics and communication aspects of it. "Yeah, those things are important, especially in an emergency." Pause. "I work with some of that stuff, kinda. I mean, just as a hobby, I'm no expert or anything." Only with computers, really; she listened to the radio and watched a lot of tv, but that was about it for the latter two.

"Well, if you would like to see if you could do more, Red X has the meeting every last Friday of the month?" Yvette suggested. "With your powers, I think you would be very helpful."

"Um." Sarah shifted her weight from one foot to the other, rubbing her left elbow with her right hand as she thought about it. "Well, I could go to a meeting, sure." That couldn't hurt, right? She still wasn't too sure just how useful she could be, but this was why she was here, to push herself and learn how to better use her talents. "I can give it a shot, sure."

"It is a good way for meeting friends, too," Yvette encouraged. "Most of the students here have done things with Red X." She tilted her head slightly, considering Sarah's body language. Definitely nervous. "Would you like some tea? I was just going to my room to put my books away and have the down time before my training session."

She nodded, that was yet another reason she should go to the next meeting. "Yeah, that does sound good. I guess I'll tag along for the next meeting then, if they'll have me." Nothing to fear but fear itself and all that. "Tea would be nice, actually. Used to have tea with my Nana all the time back home, when we stayed with her."

"Then come along. And if we're lucky, Amara may have made some cookies recently." Yvette beckoned the younger girl to follow her up the stairs. "She makes the best chocolate chip cookies."