Hope and Angelo (backdated)

[x-trance.livejournal.com]

Angelo encounters one of the new students and they end up talking about one of her passions.



Angelo had left Sooraya sleeping and headed out to fetch himself food. Over the years, he had at some point actually learned his lesson about not neglecting his own needs to sit at other people's bedsides. He was very worried, though, and not entirely watching where he was going as he made his way through the halls.

Hope was paging though some new violin music she had been able to find in thelibrary and she gently attempted to hum the melody as she made her way to the kitchen to get a small snack before she had to practice. From the corner of her eye she spotted a movement though and quickly stopped, narrowly avoiding a collision. "My apologies, sir." She offered. "I didn't really watch where I was going."

"My fault", he said, waving it off. "Neither was I. You're one of the new students, right?"

"My name is Hope Abbott." Hope held out her hand to shake. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Angelo Espinosa." He shook her hand with the same formality he was picking up from her. "Likewise. How are you finding the school?"

"Very different, but very interesting." Hope commented neutrally. She hesitated for a moment, taking in his grey skin, but she didn't blink as much anymore as the first time she'd seen visible mutants around. "May I ask if you work around here, sir?"

"Angelo", he told her firmly. "I'm not a teacher or your boss, you don't need to call me sir. I used to work in the boathouse when it was an office and teach self-defense, and it looks like I'll be working here again, but for now I'm just visiting a friend."

"Alright s... Mr. Espinosa." The habit of referring to an adult with a honorific was far too deep ingrained by her mother, so she quickly shifted to the other acceptable option available to her. "I did not know the boathouse used to house an office."

He let that honorific pass, since she was clearly making an effort, and nodded.  "An NGO called Elpis. They're based in the city now, since they outgrew the space there, but in the early days it was enough.  Our founder lived there as well, at one time."

Hope nodded, tucking the information away for possible later use. "I do not believe I have heard of it before." Suddenly something occurred to her and hid a small smile behind her hand. "Self-defense sounds like an interesting class to teach with the great variety of abilities I have seen, Mr. Espinosa."

He chuckled.  "Oh, it was definitely never boring. I even had to bring in guest teachers once in a while to help people with certain abilities.  Also, it really helps in that job if you're invulnerable. Which I'm not."

"I think I can imagine that." Hope replied, thinking about her suite mate, but also some of the others she had met. "Were you heading to the kitchen by any chance, Mr. Espinosa?" Hope asked, having paused at the door.

"I was going in that general direction", he agreed, "and here we are. Were you meaning to come this way or just exploring?"

"I was intending on getting a small meal before returning to my studies." Hope held up the violin music she had found. "I tend to forget the time.

Angelo laughed.  "Then you'll fit right in here. You're a musician?"

Hope nodded. "I play the violin. I have enjoyed it as a hobby for several years." She quickly pushed away the pang that talking about playing usually brought nowadays... everything that had gone wrong with the contest and what had happened to her manifestation.

"Maybe you could give a recital sometime", he suggested lightly. "Once you've settled in, got to know everyone a bit."

"Oh no, sir." Hope quickly reacted, horror flashing through her eyes. "I may have played for several years, but I am not that accomplished." She would not be playing for an audience for a quite a while... Not if it was up to her.

He tilted his head in mild confusion at the strength of her reaction, then shrugged.  "It's up to you, of course, but I don't think anyone would be expecting professional level. It would just be among friends."

"Perhaps one day." Hope quickly regained her composure. "I still have much to learn though."

Angelo nodded.  "If you'd like, I'm sure the Professor could arrange a teacher for you here.  I don't think we have anyone in-house who plays, but there must be someone good in New York."

"I was hoping to look for a teacher once I had settled in somewhat. Perhaps Professor Xavier would be willing to help me with locating a suitable one." Her skills with the violin had been something she'd always been proud of. "Do you enjoy music, Mr. Espinosa?"

"As much as the next guy", he said cheerfully. "I think pretty much everyone does once in awhile."

"There are many varieties of music though." Hope commented polity. The art of conversation was one of the things her mother had attempted to train her in, though Hope herself had not been particular skilled at it.

"True enough.  I've got to admit classical's never <I>really</i> been my thing, but I don't hate it or anything."

"Classical music has many beautiful pieces. Some more modern work is also very interesting though. I do enjoy some of Vanessa Mae's work. "

"Oh, yeah, she's good", he agreed readily, then started to grin. "You know, I wonder if you'd like Apocalyptica. They play cello."

"Apocalyptica..." Hope murmered the name thoughtfully. "I think my fellow students might have mentioned them once or twice, but I have not listened to them before. Perhaps I will check it out. Would you recommend any numbers in particular?"

"Hard to say, really, it'll depend on your tastes." He considered for a moment.  "I'm pretty sure they have some kind of greatest hits album, that might be a good place to start."

"That might indeed be good place to start." Hope agreed with a nod. "Thank you for suggesting it, Mr. Espinosa. May I ask what you enjoy listening to?"

"I... would think most of it you've never heard of, a well-brought-up young girl like yourself", he said with a crooked grin. "Some local groups in the city, and I like a lot of Mexican bands out of California."

"I think you are right, Mr. Espinosa." Hope gave him a small smile. "I tend to focus on classical music. I do enjoy broadening my tastes though. A friend of mine introduced me to some Celtic music last years. They do some amazing work on the violin and the harp."

"Have you met Terry Cassidy yet?" he asked on that note, smiling back. "Irish redhead, you can't miss her... she's got her own family castle back home.  She could probably point you to some people who do that kind of work live."

Hope quickly reviewed the people whom she had met. "No, I do not think so. I would enjoy seeing that kind of music performed live though. Music tends to loose something when recorded sometimes."

"It does", Angelo agreed.  "You don't get the atmosphere just from listening to a recording."

"That is one part of it." Hope nodded, agreeing. "But I also believe it can loose the human touch sometimes. It depends on how the producers treat the music." She moved over to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. "Would you like some, Mr. Espinosa?"

"Please", he said with a nod.  "And yeah, you have a point. I never did like Autotune."

Hope poured two glasses of water and handed one of them over. "It might correct errors, but it also makes the music flat if done too much..."

He accepted the glass and nodded agreement.  "It's better to let the person's voice work for itself.  If they really can't sing, even Autotune won't fix that."

"Exactly. I believe there are a few artists out there who suffer from that problem. A few bubblegum pop artists come to mind." Hope's dislike clearly shone through as she sipped her water.

Angelo pulled an expressive face.  "I don't know who even buys that stuff."

"I had a few fellow students who enjoyed that particular style of music at my old school. But not many." Hope gave a faint shrug. "I think it might be more the merchandise you can buy related to them?"

"Maybe so", he agreed.  "And the TV shows.  Something seems to make the little girls happy with it, anyway."

"Indeed." Hope suddenly spotted the clock and her eyes widened slightly. "I am sorry, but I need to locate some food and then return to my studies. At least soon."

He nodded cheerfully.  "No need to apologies, I should be doing something similar.  I'm sure we'll run into each other again."

"Certainly. It was a pleasure talking to you, Mr. Espinosa." Once more Hope held out her hand as she'd been taught.

He took it with a smile to shake hands goodbye.  "You too.  See you soon."