xp_logs | Brat Camp

Who: Emma Frost, Manuel de la Rocha
Where: Emma's Office
When: Tuesday afternoon

Emma and Manuel have another little chat - about misbehaving, and worse, getting caught. Emma does her best to remain patient. Manuel does his best to remain impudent.

Manuel makes one last phone call, and puts the phone back onto its receiver before taking up the first-quarter results file and bringing it to Emma's office.

"The file you had requested, Your Majesty," he says with only the slightest hint of mockery in his voice. "Is there anything else you'll be needing?"

Emma looks up from her papers with only a slight hint of disdain. "Yes, Manuel, there is one other thing." She sets the papers down and turns her chair to face him. "Perhaps you'd like to take a seat?"

Manuel takes the offered seat, unclipping his Blackberry in preparation to take notes.

"You won't need that," Emma says. "I think this conversation will prove memorable enough without it."

Manuel shrugs, and puts his Blackberry away. "I am listening." he says. "What's on your mind?"

Emma folds her hands on her lap and looks at Manuel squarely. She's disappointed in him, and it probably shows. "Marie-Ange is on my mind, darling. Marie-Ange, and your latest misadventure." She reaches for a bottle of Ty Nant and pours herself a glass. "At least, I assume it's your latest, but you are a busy boy, aren't you?"

Manuel visibly flinches at the reminder, but he holds his ground. "I do not wish to discuss it." he says flatly. "It is... a private matter."

"Well, I'm not a genie, Manuel, so I don't suppose I give a damn what you wish," Emma replies bluntly. "You're screwing up, Manuel. You're here under my guardianship, and you're screwing up time and time again, so it is a private matter, yes, but it's one that concerns me most strongly."

Manuel shrugs. "I am sorry that you feel that way, truly." he says. "I will attempt to be more - discreet - in the future. Although, with this filter, you have nothing to fear. I'm fairly harmless now."

"Oh, darling, with a mind like yours, I don't think you'll ever qualify for 'fairly harmless'. But yes, you will be more discreet. From what I hear, you damn near bludgeoned poor Marie-Ange with your unsubtle hocus pocus. Is that a fair assessment?"

Manuel winces again. "That was ... unfortunate. I did not have a lot of time, and she would not tell me what she saw. So I ... forced the issue. I don't think I'll ever do that again; precognition is a hell I wouldn't wish on anyone."

Emma takes a sip of her water, leaving Manuel to suffer a brief pause while she studies his expression.

"A hell that Marie-Ange faces whether she wants it or not," she says measuredly. "So perhaps you should be a little more gentle with her, now that you've developed a certain.... 'empathy' for her condition?"

"I have left her strictly alone ever since she has returned from Europe." he says. "I do not wish to talk to her, lest she ask me questions I do not wish to answer."

Emma shrugs. "Fine. But this isn't just about her, Manuel. You clearly have a lot to learn about understanding others.

"You used to use your powers to push people. Now you need to learn to use them to appreciate people." She narrows her eyes and leans back in her chair. "Understanding brings its own rewards, darling."

Manuel can't help but snort at the idea. "What, understand them? Whatever for? My situation here is only temporary - a few years to get established, learn all that I can, and I will walk away and never look back. I can tough things out until then, I believe."

"What were we just saying about being discreet, Manuel?" Emma almost scowls, but doesn't want to risk the lines on her face. "In a fencing match, my dear, you use finesse and grace to defeat your opponent. You do not pick up a baseball bat and go charging in. You need to understand these people, Manuel, because you cannot afford to make another mistake while you're living at this school."

Manuel smirks. "I won't. I've learned that lesson painfully well. I have no intention of looking like an ass in front of the others any more times. So I be quiet, I play their game, I get them to unlock me, then I take sweet revenge. Starting with Espinoza, that little Mexican prick."

Emma's expression doesn't change. Her eyes don't even flicker. "I have my own games to play, Manuel. Don't do anything that's going to upset me, now, will you dear?"

Manuel smiles sweetly at Emma. "Then set boundaries, and I'll see if I can play within them. Ideally, I want him skinned alive, but I don't think that's going to play, so I will settle for humiliations galore."

"Don't give him a reason to hurt you, Manuel, because he will," Emma cautions. "But otherwise, I think a little turmoil can be character-building for any young man."

"What is he going to do, 'bust a cap in my ass, yo!'? I have no fear of him physically - the rules that tie my hands tie his just as effectively. I think you'll make sure of that, now, won't you Emma darling?" he says with a grin.

"Oh, Manuel, as if I would ever turn a blind eye to the activities of the young rapscallions at this school? Perish the thought." Emma allows herself the dimmest flicker of a smile. "But don't think you have a free pass with me, darling. On the contrary; I have to watch you closest of all. My very position at this school depends upon it."

"I'm blocked, Emma. There's not very much I can do even if I wanted to stir up some trouble." he says flatly. "Unless you care to take this thing off my wrist?"

Emma doesn't even look at his wrist. "A little turmoil can be character building for any young man," she repeats pointedly. "You'll wear your jewelry for now, Manuel. Perhaps it will finally teach you to start using your imagination?"

"My imagination is just fine. I imagine what it must be like to fully take my revenge in the manner I find most fitting. I imagine what it is like to be free, to be whole. I can imagine quite a lot." he says. "I imagine the days when I didn't have this burning hole in my mind, that I can't bring myself to ask to have removed."

Emma takes another sip of water. She considers sliding inside Manuel's head for a second, but going in there while the damper is on him is like climbing into a box full of wet sand. "This is because of the Amanda incident, yes?" she asks rhetorically.

"I don't want it removed." he says flatly. "I haven't been sleeping through Kwannon's psi classes. I can't keep you out, but I can make things difficult for you. My feelings for her are my own business."

"I don't want you damaged, Manuel," Emma explains. "You think you have it all under control, but darling, your pride will be your downfall."

"It is all that I have left." he says flatly.

"It's what you cling to. It's not all you have."

Manuel looked at Emma. "What else do I have? Position? At your mercy, since I am no longer Empath. Wealth? Same problem. Breeding? Means nothing here. Power? Blocked, channeled, thwarted. Might? Hardly. What do I have, Emma, since you see it so much more clearly than I."

"You're an intelligent man, Manuel," Emma says coolly, refusing to become agitated by his challenging tone. "You have that. You have your wits, your looks. You could be charming, if you would only try. Even without powers, Manuel, even without wealth or breeding, you ought to have the world at your feet."

"No one here cares, Emma! That's just it! They are children, content to play children's games! And I am not very good at reading people without my powers. My initial assumptions are often wrong, and it is hard to tell how people feel by expression and word alone. I learn, yes, but it is slow and difficult," he whines.

"Don't be so pathetic," says Emma, with clear disgust. "They're children? How do you think you sound, the way you pout and complain? You're not the man you think you are, Manuel. Do the de la Rocha's always balk at a challenge, or is it just you?"

"I am playing with both hands tied behind my back, and I am TIRED of it! Goddammit!" he rages, fists clenched so hard that his fingers are turning white from the strain.

"Well, you don't have a choice, Manuel, so you'd better learn a new trick or two," Emma says sternly.

Manuel is so angry that his empathic filter actually beeps audibly from the strain of holding his power back. "I guess I do not. Do you have any suggestions, my dear Queen, or are you merely content to sit back and watch me flail about amusingly?"

"Flail long enough, sweet prince, and I think you'll learn to swim," Emma replies. "Calm down, Manuel. I'm on your side, even when no-one else is." She pauses. "In fact, calm, and a little meditation, may be exactly what you need."

"Meditation." Manuel repeats flatly. "That's going to help me with taking my revenge, getting this dampener off my wrist, and to stop making an ass of myself in public? In my amusing flailings, I could knock over some senstivie items. I would hate to see that happen."

"The dampener responds to heightened brain activity, Manuel," Emma says patiently. "You think about it, darling. Like I said, you're an intelligent boy."

Manuel stops to actually think for a second, and then, finally, after too many minutes, the candle gets lit. "I think I have a new hobby." he says with some glee in his voice. "So, tell me more about this meditation of yours. How does it work?"

Emma checks her watch. "It starts by learning a little patience, darling," she explains. "I have to get to class," she says with a smirk. "Find me later. We'll talk then."

Manuel stands up, and sticks his hand out to Emma. "Thank you. Thank you. I think I'll go do some checking, see what I can find out about my new hobby."

"You do that, darling," Emma replies, taking his hand without rising. She's relieved to have finally found a way to push him into learning a little self-discipline - and the end result should prove beneficial to her as well, of course. "You can let yourself out." Emma waves him off.

As soon as he's gone, she collects her class notes together and follows him out, locking the door behind her.